Is Justice Katju a whistle-blower or rank opportunist?

If corruption in judiciary is a secret, then it is an open secret and it has been continuing for quite long time. It will be an oxymoron to say that the judiciary is insulated from the executive. The fact is that even after the introduction of the collegium system only such persons have been elevated to the bench, who have worked as the Law Officers in the High Courts or in the Supreme Court.It is difficult to find any advocate being elevated to the bench if he or she has not been a law officer at one point of time or the other. The reason behind it is that the state is the largest litigant in the courts, the law officers get the frequent opportunities to appear before the bench, and therefore they have the better prospects of being considered by the collegium for their elevation.

Now the controversy generated by the so-called revelation of Justice Katju about a corrupt judge of the Madras High Court is the old and stale one. Justice Katju has not named the judge in his disclosure but almost advocate of the Madras High Court knew about the late Justice Ashok Kumar. However, the way Justice Katju is projecting his image of a whistle blower is far from the realty. The more he is a defending the long spell of his silence and inaction during the period when he was holding the post of the Chief Justice of Madras High Court and  the judge of the Supreme Court of India, the more he becomes a grotesque picture  of his image  in the eyes of the public. He has no explanation as to why he remained silent for three years after his retirement as the judge of the Supreme Court.

 It may be noted here that Writ Petition was filed against the late Justice Ashok Kumar in the Supreme Court and the petitioners were the Senior Lawyer Shanti Bhusan and Advocate Kamini Jaiswal. The Supreme Court, although,refused to interfere with his appointment as a judge but it observed that the then Chief Justice of India R. C. Lahoti should not have been influenced by the stand of the Government in favour of confirmation of Justice Ashok Kumar. Where was Justice Katju at that time? He was the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, of course. What did he do then? Nothing, of course. What has been his contributiuon in purgating judiciary from corruption? The answer is big ZERO. His claim of a whistle blower is nothing but a preposterous statement.

Was it not the duty of Justice Katju to have sacrificed the judgeship of the Supreme Court  for the sake of  independent and corruption-free judiciary? Now Justice Katju says that he did not bring all these corrupt practices in the public domain because he was holding the august office as the judge of the Supreme Court.  How ridiculous it is? By saying so Justice Katju is a painting himself with the laughable colours.

 There is a difference between a whistle -blower and a person, who opens the lid for his/ her own interests. Not long ago Justice Katju wrote a very stinking article against the present Prime Minister of India saying, that all the perfumes of the Arabia would not able to wipe out the stains blood from the hands of Narendra Modi for the massacre of Muslims in Gujrat. He never knew that Narendra Modi would romp home with thunderous victory in the Lok Sabha election; otherwise, he would never have dared to write the article. In reply to that article Mr. Arun Jetly, the present Finance and Defence minister of India wrote another article in the same newspaper saying that the article of Justice Katju amounted to an exercise of bungalow hunting in Lutyens’ Delhi.

 Needless to say, that when Narendra Modi came to power Justice Katju started cozying  with present dispensation in different,, covert and over manners. Firstly; he became the champion of Uniform Civil Code, which he never supported in any one of his judgments either of the judge of different High Courts or as the Judge of the Supreme Court. Now when he is raising the matter related to the late Justice Ashok Kumar, he is trying to develop proximity with Narendra Modi government.

 However, there is a silver lining in the so-called in the controversy raked by Justice Katju. This has given the opportunity to immediately go in for the National Judical Commission for the appointment of the judges because the system of Colloegum has become rotten. If the exclusive control of the executive in the appointment of the judges was wrong, the present system is no good. Therefore, there is a crying need that the government of today must discuss and debate about the National Judicial Commission and introduce a new system for the appointment of the judges, where the transparency must be the key factor. 

The debate in public against the corruption in the judiciary should become more vocal. Till now judiciary has been treated as Holy Cow, this has further caused damage not only to the judiciary but to our healthy democratic system. In the tail end, it is expected that Justice Katju would opt out from the  second term of the Chairmanship of the Press Council of India otherwise; an impression will go down that he is rank opportunist, who has created the controversy to serve his own ulterior motives to retain a his bungalow in the Lutyens’ Delhi.

Disclosure of corrupt judge in Madras High court by Justice Katju reveals less but conceals more

The so-called revelation of Justice Markandey Katju about a corrupt judge in Madras High Court is a classic example of opportunism. What is shocking is not that there was a corrupt judge in the Madras High Court but the disclosure of Markendey Katju after years of his retirement from the Supreme Court of India. He is presently holding the post of the Chairman of the Press Council of India after his retirement as a judge of the Supreme Court. There is no gainsaying that there are large numbers of corrupt, incompetent judges, who are bereft of any moral scruples. Such judges are not confined only to the Madras High Court but they can be found in all High Courts across the country.

The moot question is why Justice Markandey Katju remained tight lipped for such a long period of time? Why did he not open his mouth until he was in position of authority as the judge of the Apex Court? The judge about whom he has referred to in his lead article of the Times of India of 21^st July, 2014 can be easily identified by the advocates of Madras High Court. He was none else but the late Justice Ashok Kumar, who expired nearly five years ago in 2009. The late Justice Ashok Kumar had granted bail to the DMK leader Shri Karunanidhi and it is a known fact Shri Karunanidhi was instrumental in his elevation as the judge of the Madras High Court.

Be that as it may, Justice Markandey Katju was the Chief Justice of Madras High Court but in his news article in the Times of India, he has displayed the timidity of not naming either the late Justice Ashok Kumar or the octogenarian leader of Tamilnadu K. Karunanidhi, who was responsible in providing the protective cover to him. Granted that DMK was in alliance with the Congress Party, which was in power at the Centre and Shri Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister was a very weak person ready to bend backwards to save his seat. However, the million-dollar question is who prevented Justice Markandey Katju from writing to the then Chief Justice of India and the Collegium of senior judges and informing them with the factual position. As a Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, he could have prevented Justice Ashok Kumar from holding the court as is the precedent the Bombay High Court. And this was also done in the case of Justice Ramaswami of the Supreme Court of India, he was divested of the responsibility of presiding over the bench, when allegations of corruption flew thick and fast against him.

It is in the pubic domain that impeachment proceedings were proceeded against him but it could not get through in Parliament because the then Prime Minister Shri P.V. Narsinga Rao decided to abstain during the crucial voting. The recent example of Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court when impeachment proceedings were initiated against him in Parliament but before the voting could take place he resigned from the post, thus making all debates in parliament infrctuous. Justice P.D. Dinakaran’s case is also an example that how a tainted could be effectively made dys-functional?

Therefore, if Justice Markandey Katju was interested in cleansing the judiciary from corruption he should have taken the lead when he was the Chief Justice of Madras High Court but alas, he did not do any such thing. He is now flogging the name of a person who is no more in this world. It is very easy to level allegations against a dead man but very difficult to prove because the dead man will not come to contravene the allegations. All the same, it is also the part of the our culture that a person who is dead should not be soiled and besmirched. Here Justice Katju has again committed the ethical wrong and thereby he has done damage to the credibility of the Supreme Court of India by naming those Chief Justices, who have already retired. Now it, the turn of those retired Chief Justices namely; Justice R.C. Lahuti, Justice Y. K. Sabharwal and Justice K.G. Balakrishnan who are fortunately alive to set the records straight. For the restoration of the credibility of judiciary, it will be in the fitness of things that all three retired Chief Justices must do so, otherwise go down in the history with tainted image.

The owe it the nation whether they compromised the independence of the judiciary by accommodating corrupt judged under the political pressure of the day? They must also tell the nation why they yielded to the pressure. Having said it all, Justice Katju also owes explanation to the people of the country that why he not made efforts to purify the judiciary when he was holding the high positions of Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts and the Supreme Court of India? What prevented him to do so? If he fails to offer satisfactory explanation then he will also carry the baggage of infamy in history. It is pertinent to point out that Justice Markandey Katju’s term as the Chairman of the Press Council of India is coming to close in the month of September 2014. In case he gets the second term, the public will have the impression that here is a person who can manage the good of both worlds irrespective of whether it is Congress of BJP.

This further underlines the fact that the National Judiciary Commission has become the need of the hour and it must be introduced sooner than later for the appointment of the judges. So long the immense discretionary powers remains vested in the members of Collegium, there will be no scope of rooting out the corruption. Transparency in the appointment of judges and introduction of technology must be brought about as soon as possible. There is no doubt that is status-quoist will oppose it tooth and nail but for any change, the defeat of status quoism needs to be hardly emphasized.

Vaidik -Saeed Meeting Cries For Satisfactory Answers

  

Meeting of Shri Ved Pratap Vaidik with terrorist Hafiz Saeed of in Lahore, the other day, has caused lot of furore across India. The reasons for indignation and hullabaloo over this meeting are very valid and genuine. The terrorist Hafiz Saeed was the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack of 2008 which resulted into killing of nearly 200 innocent lives. Among those who were killed were tourists; who were staying in famous Taj Mahal Hotel near the Gateway of India, journalists, police officers etc. All terrorists, except one Mohammad Azmal Kasab, who caused death and devastation in Bombay, were killed. The arrest of terrorist Kasab was the major achievement of Indian forces, which established beyond all doubt that it was the handiwork of the ISI and its henchmen like Md. Hafiz Saeed.  Pakistan was always in the denial mode saying that it had nothing to do with Mumbai terror attack .Pakistan even shed crocodile tears by joining the chorus of condemnation coming from all over the world.

Nevertheless, the deception and the acting of Pakistan were exposed when Intelligence Agencies of the world unambiguously pointed out that the terror attack was planed and executed from Pakistan. The person, who was guilty of this heinous crime, was Mohammed Hafiz Saeed, who has always been living in multi layered protective cover of the ISI.

United State of America said that Hafiz Saeed get all support from Mullahs and Military of Pakistan. He has been declared by the UN as an international terrorist and carries the bounty of 10 million dollar on his head, which comes to INR 60 crore and Rs.100 crore in Pakistani currency. The lies of Pakistan were further nailed when Kasab gave all details during his trial.

This is, however, different matter. The issue here is whether Shri  Vaidik was justified in meeting the terrorist, who has been spewing venom  against India day in and day out. If Mr. vaidik met him in the capacity of journalists, which he is claiming to, then ther5e is nothing wrong in it because journalists have been meeting dacoits, terrorists, dictators and dreaded persons like Hitler, Musolini and Ayatolla Khumeini. The purpose of such meetings and interviews has been to know the mind, objectives and modus operendi of such cruel and perverted persons. However, the meeting of Shri Vaidik was most appalling, to say the least.Mr. Vaidik did meet alone, without any evidence. He did not take any note of the interview nor did he carry any audio / video tape of his interview.

What is even more shocking is that he started giving solution to the Kashmir problem surrendering the interests of India. He went to the extent of suggesting that both sides of Kashmir should be allowed to merge and be declared independent of India and Pakistan. This is outrageous and outlandish suggestion, which needs to be decried and deprecated by every India. It is against the spirit of the constitution and the resolution of Indian Parliament. Moreover, who is Shri Vaidik to offer this suggestion on behalf of the Indian Government of India and people of India? Who authorized him to propose such bizarre opinion to that despicable terrorist and the enemy of India?

What, therefore, Shri Vaidik did in his meeting with that scum Saeed was nothing but un-journalistic, anti Indian and unbecoming of any sane person, who has shown complete insensitivity to the people of India and particularly to those families, whose near dears lost their lives in the terror attack.

Shri Vaidik is a known braggart and namedropper. He claims proximity with every Indian Prime Minister after 1977 cutting across political spectrum. Nobody knows the reality but the fact is that of late, he became very close to Baba Ram Dev. But see his ludicrous question to Saeed that if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi  visits Pakistan- will you welcome him or not? Who is that idiot to welcome Modi? Why should any Indian, much less Shri Modi, expect any welcome from that criminal? Apart from he asked he wanted get silly information about his marriages and wives. He has not given any satisfactory answer as to0 facilitated his meeting with Saeed? These are the nagging questions, which need to be answered by Shri Vaidik, otherwise his conduct woulfd continue to be under reproach.

Only Transparency And Technology Will Make India Superpower.

The initial 30 days of Shri Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India have been, more or less, satisfactory. There have been many setbacks to him during this short period but they are not so important as to derail him from taking drastic steps for improving the economic, administrative situations and solving other problems of the country. To be fair in the matter, we must admit that today the country is in a mess. This dismal condition of the country is a legacy that we have inherited from the past direction-less (or, misdirected) national governance spanning more than half a century. The truth of this statement (regarding the Indian dismal condition) is vouchsafed when we compare India with the leading countries of the world with a comparable population/size, like China, Russia, and U.S.A. etc.  We are far behind them in the matters of our people’s standard of living, education, defense, play in world affairs etc. Still, the ordinary people cannot be expected to find solace in the past fifty years’ mal-governance; ordinary people need, and need immediately, food to eat, cloths to wrap them up and houses to live in; they need immediate relief in the matters of inflation, corruption in administrative machinery, law and order etc. etc. On the part of Mr. Modi the drastic and immediate action is called for. How has he fared till date — Let us examine.

The people have been expecting that he would be able to control the growing inflation to mitigate their sufferings. The people across the country, however, have welcomed his two immediate decisions; one is that no minister or even a Member of Parliament of his party would be able to appoint his Personal Assistant, Personal Secretary or Officer on Special Duty from among those who have worked earlier with UPA government or who happened to be their relatives.  Mr. Modi has also asked another important thing is to instruct his ministers not to indulge into the business of transfers and postings of bureaucrats.  Another thing, which he has done is to encourage the bureaucrats to bring to his notice, if any attempt is made by the concerned ministers to stall the right decisions. Although it may not be very important one, yet it is not insignificant also because till now the bureaucrats have been ‘decision shy’. They always thought that discretion was better part of the valor. Bureaucrats were made to become the sycophants and instead of working for the good of the people they have become self-servers and self-seekers. Officials are the instruments of carrying out the policies and programmes but they have virtually been converted into the tools of making money for themselves and their political masters. If Modi is able to change this mindset, it will go a long way and be a great service to the nation indeed.

We expect from Mr. Modi to do three things for the benefit for the common people. One is to make the entire system transparent. There should not be any hanky-panky and whatever decisions are taken; the public should be informed about the reasons thereof. Secondly; they strength of any country lies in the economic prosperity. Manufacturing sector is the core to make the economy strong and vibrant. In this respect Mr. Modi while putting the manufacturing industries/economy on rail should keep two important things in mind: Firstly, all facilities and encouragement should be given to the entrepreneurs to adopt and invest in the latest, original, innovative, cutting-edge technologies, instead of old, junky and obsolete ones. Our universities, technical institutions and educational-pool of the country should be used to the hilt in this regard. Secondly, while every entrepreneur should be given the liberty to go for manufacturing according to his or her own capacity and targets, the manufacturer must be made accountable to the audit of the law and the society. For example, if 10 rupees have been spent of manufacturing a peace of any item then the manufacturer must display the cost of production and its selling price. The public i.e. the consumer should not kept in dark as to how much is the cost of manufacturing and how much is being charged from them. This will help in rooting out the corruption and illegal profiteering. This will also help the manufactures to be bold and not to give bribes to the corrupt officials. At the same time the officials will also be afraid of accepting the bribes.

At present an opaque system is working, which is commonly known as MRP i.e. maximum retail price system. This is very deceptive and it goes against the welfare and the interests of the common man. It helps only the dishonest businessmen and manufactures who have their own axes to grind. For example; if a pressure cooker’s production cost is Rs. 250/-, then in the name of MRP the general public is looted and compelled to pay three or four times more than the cost of production. The mind boggling profit is charged by the clique of brokers, retailers, wholesalers and the manufactures. If everything is displayed from production cost to profit margin, then there would be little chance of exorbitant pricing and exploitation.

Another example will help understand the nefarious game of duping the public. The potato or corn is purchased at the lowest possible price by dishonest manufactures from the farmers but their end products are sold at many times higher prices to the public. To be very precise if potato is purchased at Rs. 1000 per quintal and maze at 1500 Rs. per quintal its end product  like potato chips  or cornflakes are sold at least 50 times higher than their original purchase prices. This type of anomaly is not found anywhere in the world. Unless it is done away with by adopting the stringent measures the disadvantaged section will continue to suffer and profiteers will roll into luxury by amassing huge amount of unaccounted wealth leading to generation of black money. And apart from it, the manufactures do not give any guarantee to the quality of their products. This is all due to lack of transparency. Another alarming situation is prevailing in the field of pharmaceutical companies. Different pharmaceutical companies are selling their medicines at very hefty prices by giving commissions and discounts, incentives and promotions to retail druggists, pharmacists, doctors, and medical representatives. One fails to understand why there is a huge difference in the cost of production of the medicines and their selling prices. What is most shocking is that they compromise with the quality of medicines in collusion with officials of the drug department and play with the lives and health of the people without any fear of being punished. That is why, there is the crying need of transparency, which we hope the Modi government to address it with the urgency that it deserves.

The same transparency is required to improve the functioning of the government and other organ of the State, like; the judiciary and the legislatures by introducing state-of the-art technology. Technology does not allow for any scope of the discretion and there is no doubt that where there is space for desecration for any official or minister that will breed to corruption. Therefore, the best way is to nip the corruption in the bud itself.

The third thing that is expected from the Modi government is to take bold decision on population control which is growing menacingly. Population explosion is the biggest threat to fight against poverty. Population bomb is bound to disrupt law and order, unity and integrity of the country. It is regrettable that all previous governments have felt shy of taking any effective measures to check the population of the country. The days are not far away when India will overtake its neighboring country China in 20 years’ time in respect of population. We conveniently forget the China has made the giant strides in the field of technology and manufacturing. Even the developed country like; Untied State of America, Canada, Australia, England and France are under the burden of the debts of China.

How come the China which was considered not long back a sleeping tiger has surged forward to become economic giant of the world? It is true that Indian cannot adopt the same methods which are adopted by China but there can be no denying the unless stern steps are taking it will very difficult to control the monster of population. The another point which we note is that the termite of black money has eaten most of its vitals of the country and the people are genuinely looking forward with bated breath that the black money that has been illegally stashed away to the foreign countries will be brought back soon without any let or hindrance. If Modi is taking all these steps then he will have the overwhelming support of the general public of the country; otherwise people will get disillusioned with him, sooner than later.

India is, no doubt, a rich country with poor administration because of the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. As the saying goes that the bottlenecks always start at the top never at the bottom. So the Prime Minister is expected to take care of the smooth and transparent functioning at the top level. If the right message goes at the top, it will undoubtedly percolate down to the lowest level.

With these suggestions we are expecting the bright future for the country, which may also prove to be bright for Mr. Modi otherwise he will not be able to check the disappointment of the general public. He cannot, for long hide behind, the mistakes and shortcomings of the previous governments. People have reposed faith in him with high hopes and aspirations he must work to fulfill them.