Gopal Subramanian controversy underlines the need for National Judicial Commission

The unsavory controversy about the appointment of the Gopal Subramanian as the judge of the Supreme Court was avoidable. However, this further underscores the need for the National Judicial Commission for the selection of the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In fact it has become almost imperative in the present circumstances. The way the appointment of the eminent lawyer was turned down by the Executive has compelled the people to consider over this matter with all seriousness that it deserves. India is perhaps the one and the only major democratic country in the world where the judiciary has appropriated the right to appoint judges for the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In all other countries, the appointments are done by the Executive, mostly in consultation with the judges of the top courts. In India the Supreme Court has made it a law by the judicial pronouncement that judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court can be appointed the collegiums system, which consists of normally a handful of senior most judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

Earlier the Executive was being blamed for not appointing the competent judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The allegations were also made that those pliable and in good books of the government of the day were being appointed the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. It was also being said in jest that there are two types of judges, 'those who know the law and those who know the law minister'. However, the history bears testimony to the fact that the judges appointed by the Executive have delivered many landmark judgments, which have stood the test of the times and they are still serving as the beacon lights. The Executive appointed judges like V.R.Krishnaiyer, Y.V.Chandrachud, Venkatachaliah, P.N.Bhagwathi, Vivian Bose, H. R. Khanna and Jeevan Reddy are remembered for their contributions to the development of jurisprudence through their judgments.  

Therefore, to say that the appointment through the Executive was a wrong method and amounted to interference in the independence of the judiciary is not fully true. We have seen that after 1995, when the method of collegiums was introduced has not been hunky-dory because we have yet to find the judges of high caliber and extraordinary competence who have made marks by delivering the path breaking judgments.

There are many vacancies existing in many High Court and they could not have been filled despite the scarce interference from the Executive. So no else can be blamed for but the collegiums itself.  This shows that there has been no improvement in the process of appointment of judges, which is sluggish and tardy as used to be the Second Judges case. The controversy generated with regard to the appointment of Shri Gopal Subramanian may, therefore, prove to be a blessing in disguise.

  

Mr. Subramanian is a brilliant lawyer and it is always a delight to hear his arguments in courts. He is, without doubt, an asset the bar and his elevation could have been a great tribute to the Supreme Court. His appointment has been stalled for seemingly very frivolous reasons. The present process of appointment, nevertheless, provides that if collegiums had recommended his name again then the government would have been duty bound to appoint him but the Supreme Court had given no inkling whether it wanted to send his name again or not. That is why, Mr. Subramanian has, in his nine page letter to the Chief Justice of India, has said that he felt let down by the highest court of the land. Although, he has tried to give quietus to the controversy but it has opened up more controversy with regard to the efficacy of the collegiums system.

The demand for having the transparent National Judicial Commission to appoint the judges of competence and unbiased mind has certainly gained currency with this controversy. Presently, those who are chosen by the collegiums of the senior judges to be appointed as the judges of the High Courts or even of the Supreme Court have served as the law officers at one point of time or the other. Thus the influence of the government can be seen, may be not directly but indirectly. Since the government is the biggest litigator, therefore, the Law Officers get frequent opportunities to appear before the judges and  are noticed by them to be  picked up for their appointment as  the judges. However, it National Judicial Commission is constituted then even those who are not in government panels but are intelligent lawyers will get the opportunity to prove their mettle. Moreover, they will be doing their job with impartiality and sincerity, which will go a long way in curbing the corruption in the judiciary. For the purposes of accelerating the process of justice delivery, the modern technology must be availed to the maximum possible. Technology is the best leveler and it does not discriminate between the two sets of people. It will definitely work for benefit of common person. It will help in overcoming the problems of nepotism. Therefore, the need of the hour is to immediately introduce the system of National Judicial Commission for the selection of judges of the higher courts and the modern technology for clearing the backlogs.

Keep Hindi Out Of Political Muck

A routine circular issued by the Home Ministry of the Government of India about the use of Hindi has been made a subject of controversy and contention. Of all the persons, who have taken the lead to kick up the dust is none but the former Chief Minister of Tamilnudu, M. Karunanidhi. See the irony that Mr. Karunanidhi is advocating the cause of English, a language with which he does not have even the nodding acquaintance. A person who neither understands the English language nor can even properly read it, has taken up the cudgels on its behalf. He is not asking for the promotion of Tamil which he knows fairly well, but he is speaking against the so-called hegemony of Hindi.

Not to be left behind by Karunanidhi is the present Chief Minister of Tamilnanu Ms. J. Jayalalitha, who, surprisingly, has very good knowledge of Hindi as she can speak chaste Hindi. One can understand the logic of Ms. Jayalalitha joining the chorus of protest against Hindi because she knows that if she allows the space of protest open then wily Karunanidhi will grab it. What is, however, more surprising is the joining of the anti-Hindi chorus by Mr.  P.Chidambaram, the former finance minister of India. Mr. Chidambaram has no political stakes or roots in his home state of Tamilnadu. Last time in the year 2009, he could win the parliamentary election with a very tenuous majority because then Mr. Karunanidhi’s party, DMK, was in alliance with the Congress Party. He is very unpopular leader, although he made all efforts as the finance minister to distribute largesse among the voters of his constituency. Mr. Chidambaram is more known as a political manipulator than a leader. He is also a Senior Advocate, but here too, he is known for managing the cases than arguing the finer points of law.

What could be more shameful for a person that, who has lived for four decades in Hindi speaking area and has occupied the important administrative positions in the country, expresses his inability to speak and properly communicate in the Hindi language? Mr. Chidambaram may continue to take pride in his ignorance of Hindi but people across the country consider it the symbol of his being a moron and dolt person. Anybody of basic understanding and average mind would be able to pick-up any language to communicate with the people if he or she had lived for some time in the area where that language is spoken. The statement of Mr. Chidambaram, therefore, castigating and denouncing the circular of the Home Ministry with regard to Hindi Language is most unfortunate, to say the least. This cannot be expected from a person who has been at the helm of affairs for years together and who knows as to how the government is run. It is, thus, inexcusable mischief of Mr. Chidambaram.

Now let us come to the circular of the Home Ministry with regard to the Hindi language, it can be said that it has been issued in most mechanical manner without any application of mind. This circular was unnecessary and useless. Social media does not have the barriers or boundaries as it travels across the globe. So what was the need for sending an advisory to officials to make use of any particular language? Having said it all, there is no gainsaying that the Hindi has already obtained the status of the lingua franca of the country without any support from the Governments. Karunanidhi, Chidambaram and Jayalalitha notwithstanding the march of Hindi will not be stopped because it enjoys tremendous support of the people. It provides comfort and convenience to the masses of the country. Hindi is the most unobtrusive language and more than 90% people of the country from east to west and north to south understand it. Most of the words that are used in Hindi for communication are common to almost all languages of the country. The script of Hindi is Devnagri, which is used for Nepali and Marathi as well and it is very close to Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamies and Bengali scripts. It is heavily dependent on Sanskrit and so are the other South Indian languages like Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu. The syntax of Hindi and Urdu are common and that is why, it a very difficult to differentiate between simple Urdu and simple Hindi.

The language of Bollywood, which has its appeal throughout the country, is Hindi. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Hindi films have made a very significant contribution to make it a very popular language. Similarly, the contribution of the Railways and the Military cannot be underestimated in propagation of Hindi. Perhaps Mr. Karunanidhi does not know the fact that a Jawan of Tamilnadu uses Hindi to communicate with another Jawan of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Bengal, Uttar Preadesh or Madhya Pradesh. A Assami Jawan cannot understand Tamil or a Tamil Jawan would not understand the Assamese or Bengali or Odia or Marathi. Jawans are not expected to be well versed in the English language but they all know enough Hindi to communicate with each other. It is a welcome sign, which should be appreciated and encouraged by all.

To top it all, the development of any language is very closely linked to the employment. The young, educated men and women of Tamilnadu know it well that for better pastures of employment they will have to move out of their state. If they do not know Hindi, a language that is understood in almost all parts of the country, how can they think of getting the bigger markets of jobs? Therefore, the young generation will have to learn the Hindi language, which has become almost indispensable for the sake of employment.

For God's sake, keep Hindi out of politics. It is understandable in the case of Karunanidhi because he has been surviving and flourishing on the fulcrum of the opposition of Hindi. He has no agenda. He is bereft of ideas. He has no vision as to how to make a country strong and vibrant and that is why, he plays the emotional issue of language. The surprising thing is that why the people of Tamilnadu had fallen prey to his emotional blackmailing in the past? Karunanidhi must also know that much water has flown through Kaveri from 1960 to 2014. His threat of stirring movement against Hindi will now have no appeal in 2014. Today's youth cannot be misled by the ilks of Karunanidhi. He is a deadwood and a spent force. Ms. Jayalalitha should, instead of lending her support to Karunanidhi, must come down against such fissiparous elements with iron hand.

In the mean time, it is also advisable that the pig-headed officials of the Home Ministry will avoid doing anything which may provide fodder to the lose cannons like; Karunanidhi and Chidambaram.

In the progress of Hindi lies of progress of the country, lies the honor of the country. Hindi is a symbol of the unity, strength and respect of the people of the country. It must be supported by all not resented by anyone. 

SWARAJ: A BOOK WITH HAIR BRAINED IDEAS

I have today finished reading the book ‘Swaraj’ written by Arvind Kejariwal who resigned from the Chief Ministership of Delhi last evening. He remained the Chief Minster for just only 49 days. This book was given to me by my Advocate friend Shri Radhakrishna Kumar, who is very emotional person. Shri Kumar has been earlier an ardent supporter of Narendra Modi and Baba Ramdev but these days he has become their bitter critic and a passionate supporter of Arvind Kejariwal. The cover price of the Book is although Rs. 150/- but Shri Kumar gave it to me in only Rs. 40/- He has given this book to many other persons at the same price. This thin book of 150 and odd page is in octavo size and printed in easy to read fonts.

Now let me come to the contents of the book. Frankly speaking, except the passion of the writer to root out the corruption from the society root and branch, this book has left me completely unimpressed. I find that the ideas of the writer are the tangles of confusion.

Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest votary of the Gram Swaraj. He wanted every village to be self-reliant. However, he was also not able to impress upon the people about the economics of the villages. By adopting the cottage industries you will certainly be able to provide employment to every village, but you cannot make the viable in all manners. Here in this book Mr. Kejarival wants to make Assemblies and Parliament redundant by empowering and strengthening the villages and Mohalla Sabhas.

Kejariwal appears to have disillusionment with the old form of Indian democracy. He says that the modern democracy has not been imported from the West but it existed in ancient India, which possibly every person would not agree. He gives the example of Vaishali Republic of Buddha era but anybody having the rudimentary knowledge of the history of ancient India would vouchsafe that it was absolutely different from the present from of democracy, which is very coherent and representative one than that of the chaotic democracy of Buddha era. Kejariwal wants to do away with every symbolisn of the State like; the Rashtrapati Bhawan, which is spread over in 340 acre as if the Rashtrapati Bhawan is one of the causes of the poverty in India.

Mr. Kejariwal has suggested that untied funds should be provided to all Gram Sabhas and Mohall Sabhas and they must have the full freedom to spend the funds with the approval of 80% people of that particular Sabha as to where the money should be spent? His hairbrained idea is that local people are the better judge of the their own interests. They know how the funds could be better utilised like; for making the arrangements of water, schools or houses or hospitals. Nevertheless, he seems to be totally clueless as from where the money would come or who will release the money and how will it be generated by the Central or state governments? He does not have even any hazy idea of the most important aspect of the economics, although he has served as an officer of the Income Tax department.

Mr. Kejariwal lives in the utopia. He perhaps does not know that Indian villages are steeped and divided on the lines of castes and creeds. It is only those who belong to the dominant caste or religion have the final say. He advocates that the Gram Sabhas should have the blanket power and freedom to open schools, hospitals and other offices. So much so, the appointments should be made by the Gram Sabhas. Nobody knows, wherefrom these Gram Sabhas will get the deserving candidates for the jobs. He wants that the judicial and police powers to be vested with the Gram Sabhas, which will be a sure recipe for chaos and disaster. But then, you cannot help a person who lives in the make believe world and considers that his ideas are the panacea of for all malaises that are prevailing in the country.

He says that everybody of the village will be told about the bad effects of the liquor and thus with the permission of Gram Sabhas the liquor shops will be closed. He wants that equal powers should be given to women and no doubt it is a lofty idea but how will they be empowered, he has no solution to offer.

I have very high regards for the zeal of Shri Kejariwal to wipe out the corruption but I am sorry to say that his tiny book ‘Swaraj’, which is said to be the manifesto of ‘AAP’ does not provide any solution. His book is silent on issues like; foreign relations, scientific and technological development of the country, expansion of infra structures, industrialisation, agricultural production, trade and commerce, military and economics. If he thinks that only by crying hoarse and from house tops the corruption can he eliminated, I can only wish him good luck but I do not agree with him even a whit that such wishful ideas could be of any help.

Labour laws need to be reformed for more employment

The Government of Rajasthan has taken a bold decision to amend the labour laws. The state government has initiated steps to change three central labour laws- Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Act and the Factories Act -to unshackle them from the stringent requirement of their compliance. If at all, the Industrial Disputes Act is reformed then the companies will be allowed to retrench up to 300 hundred employees without seeking government permission, which is next to impossible to get. At present, it is restricted to 100 employees. The Contract Labour Act, which once passed, will be applicable to companies with more then 50 workers instead of the current 20 workers at present. Similarly the changed in the Factories Act will be applicable to factory premises with workforce of up to 40, which is currently 20, and without power supply to premises with 20 workers, which is at present 10. Lot of criticism is coming from almost all trade unions including the Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh, which is an outfit of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The opposition from the CPI’s, All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and CPI (M)’s, Central Industrial Trade Union (CITU) is on the expected lines. The labour wing of the Congress i.e. the Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC) has also opposed the purposed amendment being mooted by the Vasundhara Raje Government.

As a matter of fact, the need to change most of the labour laws are long overdue many of the laws were enacted in the beginning years after independence and they have, undoubtedly, become outdated. There are 45 central laws on labour and nearly 200 hundred state laws. The procedures to be adopted for the compliance of these laws are nothing less than nightmares for the industrialists. Six lacs labour disputes of more than ten years old are pending in the labour courts. The long-standing disputes in the courts have only harmed the interests of the employees because it is very difficult for them to sustain inordinately long periods of unemployment or under employment.

There has hardly been any significant job creation in the last two decades. This is a fact, which has been accepted by everybody including the government. Why there have not been many jobs in the last two decades. Young boys and girls, even if they are well qualified and skilled, find it very difficult to find the remunerative jobs with satisfactory working conditions. Most of our boys and girls are working in highly dissatisfactory working conditions where the exploitation is the rule of the day. There is no doubt that whatever jobs we have today, most of them are contract based.Contractors often cross the limit of exploitation of the employees. We all know the reality, politicians know the reality, and employees know the reality because only the bearer knows where the shoe pinches. Employers gleefully indulge into the large-scale exploitation in connivance with the labour department officials. Then why do we not come face to face with the reality? Why do we look at other way and avoid looking at the problems as they are? Exploitation is going on in the most devious and sinister manner and our governments hardly taken any steps to control it.

In this backdrop, the initiatives taken by the Rajasthan Government are welcome. Rajasthan will show the way to other states and the BJP Government in the Centre will do well by not creating any obstacles in the way. It may be noted here that it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government, which had setup the Second Labour Commission under the chairmanship of  former Labour Minister of India, Ravindra Verma and after extensive study in India and abroad he had submitted the report in two bulky volumes to the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, in 2004, his government was voted out of power and in the last ten years there was a complete silence on the issue the reforms of the labour laws. Since labour laws fall under concurrent list of Constitution of India, the Rajasthan Government is within its constitutional rights to take this lead. Once the assembly passes it, it will have to be sent to the President of India through the Governor of the State for his assent.

Needless to say, most of the industrialists from India and abroad have been feeling discouraged to make in large-scale investment in India because of archaic labour laws. It may be recalled here that long back when Ram Bilas Paswan was the Communication Minister he had given the telephone facility to all linemen at their residences. Most of the people raised objection to it on the ground that it would put extra burden on the government. However, Shri Paswan gave an apt reply to his critics, which is still relevant. He said that in any case linemen never make telephone calls to anybody on payment. They use government telephones during office hours. Consequently, the work suffers and no monetary profit comes to the kitty of the government. Then why should there be the hypocrisy of not providing telephone facility to linemen at there residences? Similarly, in the labour sector we find that, the employees are appointed on the contract basis and, that too, on very low payment. Then why should not the Contract Labour Act should be made flexible to safeguard the interests of employees. Industrial Disputes Act in the present form has killed many industries and has rendered huge number of employees to unemployment. So, why can’t it be amended to make it employment friendly? Likewise, we find that in small factories Labour Inspectors make money by accepting bribes from the employers and allow the exploitation of the employees go unabated. Therefore, it does not appeal to reason why the Factories Act should not be reformed to stop the corruption of the Inspectors. This will provide freedom to the employees and employers to bargain for higher wages and facilities. According to a report published in some of the newspapers the Raje Government has promised to generate employment for millions of young and able boys and girls in the next five years, if this aim is achieved it will be laudable.

The need of hour is to create employment with dignity to youngsters and reasonable freedom to employers. This initiative will certainly go long way in solving the problems of unemployment. It is expected that other state government will also follow suit and will not be swayed by the statements of trade unions and opposition parties.

Murders most foul in Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh must go

The gruesome murder after rape of two teenage girls in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh sends shock waves  across the country  and beyond .Any human being will shudder with the repulsion over the ghastly manner in which the two innocent girls were firstly raped and then strangulated to death . As if it was not enough ,the beasts were emboldened to hang those hapless victims to the branches of a mango tree. Their dead bodies were found hanging by their family members.What is most shocking is that when the parents of those girls approached the police to search their daughters, the policemen told them that they could get their bodies after two hours hanging to a tree. The police in the dispensation of Akhilesh Yadav could have become so insensitive was unimaginable. Instead of commiserating and sympathizing with the family members and immediately swinging into action they showed the utter irresponsibility and criminality in discharging their duties. 

 The Ahiklesh Yadav government has not only failed but it has shamed the state, the country and the entire humanity by its misdeeds and inactions. This government has done nothing for the people of state to alleviate their sufferings but it has certainly drowned itself in the deep vale of shame , which has further added insult to injury of the people by the stupid , heartless and mindless utterances of the Chief Minister and his family members.The Samajwadi Party, which has now become a rump  after the recent Lok Sabha elections and is confined to only the family of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav has lost trust of all sections of the society. 

It may not the out of place to mention that during the recent Lok Sabha elections Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav defended the rapists and goondas by one of his idiotic and preposterous speeches in which he had said that “boys will be boys. They will be committing mistakes. Even if they have committed the mistake of raping a girl, they cannot be put to gallows.” This is the clear mirror of the criminal mentality of a person who has unfortunately been the Chief Minister of a largest state of the country for three times. He also happened to be the Defence Minister of India for a short time. Responsibility, restraint and moderation is not the virtue of Mulayam Singh Yadav, his family members or even of the top leadership of his party. They do not know as to what they speak because they are intoxicated with power. These lumpens came to power not because of any leadership qualities or any ideological zeal but because of the narrow castiest and communal politics. Everybody knows how Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members have sucked the state white and amassed wealth by diverting the state funds, arm twisting ,extortion and and bribe taking. 

Regrettably,this young Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ahkilesh Yadav has crossed all limits of puerility. When media persons asked him  why the state was not taking care of the safety and security of the people? He shot back on the reporter that have you also been attacked? When the media person replied in negative then the Chief Minister fatuously said, thank you. Can it be the behaviour of a Chief Minister in senses? Most certainly NOT. It will be an understatement that the Chief Minister has failed to govern the state and if he has left any sense of self-respect and conscience, he should resign from his post and go for sel-introspection.

 The funny behaviour of his other family members and top leaders of his party further mercilessly rubs salt on the injuries of the people. His two other infamous uncles -Shiv Pal Yadav, who is a minister in Uttar Pradesh and Ram Gopal Yadav, who is a Rajya Sabha member have also defended the rapist and goondas. No amount of logic or persuasion can help these people to see the reason because they have blind with power. Shri Ram Gopal Yadav has blamed the media for the anarchy and law and order problem in the state. He unabashedly said that normally in such cases boys and girls fall in love with each other and when something goes wrong in their relationships then the girls give the colour of rape. 

Nothing can be farther from the truth than the senseless and shameless statement by this leader about the spine-chilling incidences of rapes and murders. The other leaders of the party like Shiv Pal Singh Yadav and Mohd. Azam Khan do not lag behind in passing the senseless comments. It appears that there is a competition in the Samajvadi Party to make silly statements and steal the limelight for all wrong reasons. It appears as if that even small time leaders of the party are vying with each other to make statements which please to their party bosses. 

 Uttar Pradesh is a cursed state. Sometimes dacoits make the hay while the sun of the politicians shines . Other times the general public is harassed by the goons and agents of two political parties namely; the BSP of Mayawati and the SP of Mulayam Singh . The story of these leaders is that of rags to riches. These leaders ,who were not in position to afford a bicycle when they started their political careers but now they have become the masters of thousands of crores of rupees in a span of less then twenty five years. These leaders, although, have been professing for Socialism and Dalit cause but in actual politics they have always played the politics of caste and creed coupled with insatiable greed to remain in power. 

The trends of the recent Lok Sabha elections have pleasantly and surprisingly dismantled all the cobwebs of castes and creeds, so assiduously built by the selfish and myopic leaders,be they from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party or even the Congress Party. The emergence of the Narendra Modi by shaking and destroying the caste and creed equations to become the tallest leader of the country is, no doubt,a happy development. But in the meantime Akhilesh must go lock, stock and barrel at least for some years.