‘Justice for the Judge’: a Book That Defends Well

 

By Parmanand Pandey

Very few judges in India have written their autobiographies and this is attributed as one of the reasons for the opacity in the judicial system of the country. Three autobiographies, which readily come to mind - ‘Roses in December’ by Justice MC Chagla, ‘My own Boswell’ by JusticeM Hidayatullah, and ‘Up-Till-Now’ by Justice VR Krishna Aiyer- are very much talked about books. A ‘Justice for the Judge’ by Shri Ranjan Gogoi is bound to be more famous than all three previous books for many reasons but mainly because of the controversies that enveloped him during his tenure of Chief Justiceship and more after his retirement. It is indeed a remarkable book in the sense that it fully exposes the lobby that attempted to malign him for being instrumental in delivering some of the judgements.

Nobody is a paragon of virtues, and no one can claim to have a fully unblemished life. The beauty of this book is that Justice Gogoi has accepted, in the hindsight, that where he should have acted differently to avoid controversies. Some landmark judgments, which he presided over as the judge of the Supreme Court are truly epoch-making. It is a famous adage that judges should not speak about their judgments, but they must speak through their judgments. Once a judgment has been delivered, it becomes public property, and it can be criticized or eulogized, but the judges cannot be reviled for them. However, this golden principle was thrown to the wind in the case of Justice Gogoi. Hence, this book has made it abundantly clear that complete transparency was observed at every stage and Justice Gogoihas defended himself very well.
The book is divided into 12 chapters. The first three chapters are related to his childhood, education, and family but from the fourth chapter, he has narrated his life at Bar and Bench. It is a matter of common knowledge that the appointment of judges has been shrouded in mystery. Pulls, pressures, and approaches have been playing important roles in the appointment of judges and justice Gogoi had to also face them. In this mode of selection, many times the deserving and less resourceful members of the Bar do not get the chance to be elevated to the Bench. But Justice Gogoi did not face the handicaps of an ordinary advocate. His father was not only a political heavyweight of Assam but had a fairly good legal practice in the Dibrugarh district and also in the Gauhati High Court. He himself has been a Stephanion and an alumnus of the prestigious Law Centre of Delhi University. The clarity in his judgments can also be attributed to his good education and training at the Bar.
Be that as it may, Justice Gogoi will be eternally known for Ayodhya-judgement. Millions thought that the Ayodhya tangle would never be resolved because Judges in the Supreme Court lacked the courage to face the wrath, slander, and vituperative insinuations of the powerful political lobby that has been working not only in Delhi but across the country. The credit thus goes to Justice, who took the lobby head-on and made it a point that the case was finally decided, although in the beginning he also seemed to be hesitant. But once he made up his mind to get the contentious issue decided, he did not look back. He constituted the Bench and continuously heard the case for months together. Finally, the judgment was delivered, interestingly acceptable to both parties, and paved the way for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. The beauty of the judgment is that it is not only unanimous but anonymous also, although after seeing the letter circulated by the Chief Justice to other companion judges for the approval of the draft gives an unmistakable indication as to who authored the judgment.
The judgment on Ayodhya is also an example of the well-known principle of the ‘moulding of relief for complete justice by the Supreme Court. Under this principle, the court gave the disputed land to Hindus, but Muslims were also given a five-are alternative plot in a suitable and prominent place in Ayodhya for building a mosque. While this judgment was hailed throughout the world, the most significant part of it is that no communal tension got built up in its aftermath.  The other judgment for which Justice Gogoi will be remembered is that of the NRC (NationalRegister for Citizens) in Assam. Being aware of the ground realities of the large-scale infiltration of Bangladeshis, who have got the demography of Assam changed by reducing the original Assamese in certain parts of the state, Justice Gogoiensured that minimum difficulties are faced by the people while identifying the immigrants. It is a different matter that due to the callous and insincere attitude of the successive governments and the corrupt bureaucracy; Assam is still ailing with the serious disease of immigrants.  With regard to the allegations of sexual harassment made by an employee of the Supreme Court against him, he has devoted a full chapter. Going by the report of the InquiryCommittee, one comes to the conclusion that he was framed by some people, who got the lady employee set up against him. The allegations of some vested interests that he himself was the part of the Bench that decided to have the Inquiry is frivolous, which is clear from the records annexed with the book.
His detractors raised the hue and cry over his nomination to the Rajya Sabha and they alleged that it was a quid pro quo for the favourable judgment in the Ayodhya issue, but they forget the fact that by levelling such allegations, these people bring bad name and disrepute, less to Justice Gogoi but more to the institution of the Supreme Court. As a matter of fact, the nomination of such eminent judges to Parliament should be welcomed as it brings lustre to it. Judges can enrich the Parliamentary democracy by their vast knowledge in the field of law-making. They can be more useful for society and as the Parliamentarians rather than by accepting the posts of the chairpersons of certain Tribunals or Commissions.  The other example of Justice Gogoi’s boldness is the reprimand that he gave to a very flippant and talkative judge Markandey Katju, who is known for passing subjective judgments on persons and professions. This happened for the first time in the annals of the Supreme Court when a retired judge of the Supreme Court was hauled-up for his irresponsible conduct.
However, the justification offered by Justice Gogoi for having addressed the Press Conference of 12 January 2018 along with four other SC Judges namely, Justices Chelameswar, Lokur, and Kurienagainst the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra is rather very feeble and unconvincing to a layperson. A lobby that was trying to create a rift among the judges of the Supreme Court was successful to some extent. JusticeGogoi himself has expressed his hope that it might be the first and the last press conference by the judges as they are not expected to wash the dirty linens of the judiciary in the public and thereby erode the people’s confidence in the judiciary.    The book is worth reading. It is written in the crisp language. Hopefully, this book will encourage other judges also to write their memoirs for the benefit of posterity as it is said that ‘lives of great men all remind us that we can make our lives sublime.’

Kudos to 'Voice of Lucknow' and its Editor for Protecting the jobs and Salaries of Journalists

By Parmanand Pandey

It is feared that two decades hence after there will be no newspapers or magazines in print. This report was published in the 'Economist' some three years ago much before the havoc of pandemic. The tentative year is given 2043. Covid 19 has practically pushed print journalism in a deep strait and has accelerated the pace of digital journalism. In a way, it is good for the readers because the newspapers have leapt beyond all geographical boundaries. If a person is sitting in one corner of the globe wants to read a newspaper of his /her area, he/ she can read it in a jiffy on the cell phone that one carries. This is a miracle of science. But it is bad for the newspaper owners and the employees working for them. Thus, the print medium is the worst victim of technological transformation.

In the time of Covid almost all small and medium newspapers had to wind up their shops rendering thousands of employees out of employment. Even big newspapers took recourse to large scale retrenchment of employees. Those employees who were not retrenched were asked to work on reduced/meagre salaries. Even the journalists working for the big media houses like The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran and The Hindu had to face layoffs and substantial monthly wage cuts.

In these circumstances of deep darkness and despondency, it was like a whiff of fresh air to find that comparatively two small newspapers like ‘Voice of Lucknow’(Hindi) and ‘Quami Khabren’ (Urdu) did not remove even a single journalist from the job. Incidentally, both newspapers are owned by the same person. The employees were certainly denied some allowances on their salaries, which were very willingly accepted by the journalists. The credit for saving the jobs and regular payment of the salaries goes to the Editor of the ‘Voice of Lucknow’, Rameshwar Pandey, who saw to it that no journalist was rendered jobless. Shri Pandey has always been empathetic to the workers and has often fought to safeguard their interests. It was good to listen from the employees that the progressive management of the newspaper heeded his advice. What a relief! particularly when the editors and the proprietors of big newspapers have become more cruel and relentless towards employees in the time of Corona.

It is seen that nowadays editors have mostly been playing a second fiddle to the owners. They work more assiduously for the owners than for the cause of the journalists. This is the reason that in most of the newspapers the species called editors are more hated upon by the employees than the proprietors. It is all the more, distressing to see that most of the editors prefer to be bracketed with the managements but when it comes to getting recognition in the society, they always like to be known as the journalists, although they perform the duties of touts and brokers. Anyway, ‘Voice of Lucknow’ and its Editor must be congratulated and emulated for protecting the jobs and wages of the employees.

It pinches, however, that why the owners opted to name a Hindi newspaper with an English name like ‘Voice of Lucknow’.? It can still be renamed with any suitable Hindi name to relate with the people in a better manner.

Meaningless Controversy on Sameer Wankhede’s Religion

For the last few weeks almost every day, we find one or the other charge is being traded between Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik and an officer of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Samir Wankhede. Nawab Malik says that Wankhede’s name also contains the middle name of Dawood, which he has deliberately deleted. Nawab Malik is insistent on saying that Wankhede is a Muslim as his father had converted to Islam after marrying a Muslim woman. He says that even Sameer Wankhede‘s previous marriage was also with a Muslim woman, which ended in divorce, but later he married, Kranti Redkar, a Hindu woman. The allegation is that Sameer Wankhede has fraudulently obtained a certificate of the Hindu Scheduled Caste, to which his father originally belonged before converting to Islam, to get the job from the reserved quota. Thus, he is said to be guilty of grabbing the job by depriving it to a rightful backward candidate.

But can Nawab Malik pass a judgment that Wankhede is a Muslim, while he and his family is stoutly claiming to be a Hindu? Even if Wankhede was born to a Muslim father and a mother, he has got every right to shun their religion and follow the religion of his choice, which is Hinduism here. Is it not stretching a non-issue too far? If Nawab Malik had not been a Minister, would anybody even have noticed it? Moreover, if Wankhede had not arrested Malik's son-in-law, would he have opened the relentless campaign against Wankhede? An officer may not be lily-white, but the general perception is that a turncoat politician like Malik must have made money in the most hanky-panky manner, which emboldened him to contest elections in Maharashtra and become a Minister, that too, after getting uprooted from Uttar Pradesh. So, Malik cannot adopt the 'holier than thou attitude' towards Wankhede.

There is hardly any doubt that in India substantially large numbers of people have two dates of births. One is given in the certificate, which is decided either by teachers or by their parents and the other one is the real date of birth. I can say with certainty that in the sixties and early seventies most of the students had their dates of birth either 15th July or 1st of January because it was easier and convenient for the class teachers at the primary schools to maintain the records. Now also the dates of births are manipulated but only at the school levels. Even parents used to get recorded the different dates of birth, which normally used to be less than the real ones. The purpose was to get the dates of retirement delayed if their wards were in any job.

However, the controversy used to be set at rest on the basis of the dates that were given in the High School or in the School Leaving Certificates. It was nobody’s business to spark controversy at a later stage. Again, if somebody has fraudulently obtained the certificate of OBC/SC/ST, the issue can certainly be raised by a third party but to create controversy on anybody’s religion is mischief, pure and simple. It cannot be linked with any other misconducts like the misuse of power for extortion etc. Moreover, Wankhede is not trying to hide behind the cover of any religion to save himself from the allegations of extortions etc. Therefore, Nawab Malik would do well not to misuse his position as a Minister to throw mud on a person by questioning his religion, which he and his entire family is stubbornly denying.

Sudden and Enigmatic Withdrawal of Farm Laws

It is really an enigma shrouded in surprising mystery that why the prime minister has decided to suddenly withdraw three Farm Laws, that too, at a time when the farmers’ agitation has almost died down. It was practically gasping for breath for the last many months. There was no support coming for it from any corner. Some political parties were, albeit, extending only their lip service to the agitation. Even Supreme Court has come down very harshly on the agitators and has asked them to vacate the roads surrounding Delhi that they have forcibly kept in their control for the last some months.

The Prime Minister had said that those supporting the agitations were like ‘Andolanjeevis’. What is even more intriguing is that these Farm Laws were already kept on hold for two years, then why were they withdrawn suddenly? The Expert Committee appointed by theSupreme Court has also unambiguously spoken in favour of the Farm Laws. Moreover, there has been a continuous demand for reforms in the agriculture sector. Therefore, this U-turn of the government on the Farm Laws is beyond anyone's logic.

There is hardly any doubt that agriculture needs to be modernised. This admittedly cannot be done by small farmers, who are practically labourers, as they do not have the wherewithal to modernise agriculture. If the Farm Laws had been not withdrawn and implemented with all sincerity, would certainly have modernised agriculture. Presently, the need is to lessen the burden from agriculture, adopt new technology, increase the irrigational facilities, arrange the high yielding seeds, provide the remunerative prices and abolish the net of the middlemen. In fact, these were envisaged in the Farm Laws.

It was thought that the government, experts and the courts would convince the predominantly large number of small and marginal farmers of the benefits of the Farm Laws and implement them with all sincerity in due course.

But unfortunately, the government has buckled down under the pressure of the vocal lobby of rich farmers and politicized intellectuals. Throwing the towels before such persons particularly when, the government had spoken many times that Farm Laws would not be withdrawn, has poured icy waters on the hopes and the aspirations of the small farmers like us.

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Make Hindi the Language of the Supreme Court and Other High Courts

One will have to admire the honesty of the Chief Justice of India for his confession of being a non-sophisticated speaker in the English language. In fact, what he has said about himself is truer about most of the lawyers and judges of the country. Only a minuscule minority having had the privilege of getting an education from the top schools can boast of fairly good command over the English language.  Regrettably, those lawyers who possess proficiency in the English language, get undue importance in the Supreme Court even by those judges, who have had their schoolings through their mother tongues.

Most of us have started learning English as one of the subjects when we were admitted to the sixth standard. Most of the students in village schools used to bid farewell to the English after somehow passing the eighth standard. In most Law Colleges the medium of instruction is either Hindi or regional languages. There is nothing wrong with it, rather it should be appreciated that our dependence on the English has vanished in state sooner than later.

For those who come to practice in the Supreme Court, their comprehension of the English language is no better, although they will demonstrate their vociferous opposition to the Hindi language for no genuine rhyme and reason. I have seen a High Court judge practising in the Supreme Court after his retirement and speaking like, ‘he did not went’ instead of ‘he did not go’. I can say with all the emphasis at my command that those coming from non-Hindi speaking areas can master Hindi with even one-fourth of the effort that they put into learning half-baked English.

In this regard, some constitutional changes are required to be made. Article 348 speaks of only English to be the language of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. However, 348(2) of the Constitution provides that (2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (a) of clause (1), the Governor 1 *** of a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of the Hindi language, or any other language used for any official purposes of the State, in proceedings in the High Court having its principal seat in that State: Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to any judgment, decree or order passed or made by such High Court.

Taking advantage of this proviso in many of the states Hindi has been made the language of their High Courts. But for bringing about the desired change in the Supreme Court, it is the Parliament of India, which has to step in. Even otherwise also, English was to be used as the language of communication, as per Article 346, with the non-Hindi speaking state only for 15 years and that period was over long back.

This is the time that when a predominantly large number of Parliamentarians and judges are Hindi speakers, the Hindi should be given the pride of place in all spheres. During the last seventy-five years, Hindi has obtained acceptability, not only in the country but in many countries across the world. Prime Minister Modi, who is an enviable speaker in Hindi, can help make Hindi the official Lingua Franca of the country. His government has already given importance to Hindi and other languages for imparting education in the New Education Policy. We hope that the English would be replaced in the Supreme Court and other High Courts under Modi’s leadership. He will be remembered by the posterity for this revolutionary step as it will provide freshness to arguments, judgments and jurisprudence in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

 

 

Absorbing and Compelling Biography of Savarkar

 

Parmanand Pandey

There are some path-breaking books that open the eyes of the readers. The two-volume biography of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar by Vikram Sampath is certainly one of them. The first volume titled ‘Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past’ covered his life from 1883 to 2023. It was published in 2019 and talks about his daring escape and capture from the ship S. S. Morea at Marseilles (France) and the long and harrowing incarceration in the Cellular Jail of Andaman, more known as Kaala Paani. The second part is the sequel of the first one, which is named’Savarkar: A Contested Legacy’ and covers his life from 1923 till his death in 1966. It deals with his activities of social reforms, political activities from the platform of Hindu Mahasabha, elucidation of the concept of the Hindutva, opposition to the idea of Gandhi’s non-violence and the two-nation theory of MA Jinnah. The book provides a vivid description of the red fort trial of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination case.
Savarkar worked vigorously for the eradication of the caste system, particularly the abolition of untouchability, from the Hindu society. He advocated for the reconversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, who had abandoned their religion because of force, fraud, and other inducements. He was deeply pained to see the farcical Hindu Muslim unity that was being trumpeted by Mahatma Gandhi by supporting the Khilafat movement. Instead, he told Muslim brethren that ‘you are Hindu by blood and race, and you are dearer to us than the Muslims of the world, but if you feel that you are dearer to the Islamic countries like Turkey than the ‘Hindu Kafirs’, then do understand that this delusion will end in your downfall.’ For him, in fact, ‘Hindu-Muslim unity was a mirage and ‘Hindutva’ is the only nationalist creed.’
Savarkar had talked about seven shackles of Hindu society. They were (1) denial of Vedic literature to one and all Hindus; (2) choice of profession by merit, not heredity; (3) untouchability; (4) barring crossing the seas fearing loss of caste;(5) denial of reconversions to Hinduism; (6) restrictions on inter-caste dining; and (7) inter-caste marriages. Thankfully, most of these shackles have either now got broken or diluted with the passage of time but the curse of casteism and non-entry of other religions to Hinduism is not only continuing but has become more entrenched. He sharply disagreed with Mahatma Gandhi, who was of the view that Islam was the religion of peace. Savarkar was candid and direct in asking him: what makes you think so patently wrong? He was of the view that Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, of course, teach peace but not Islam.
Savarkar was always ready to work with the Shuddhi movement of Arya Samaj and with its help in October 1926 he converted one Professor Pinto of Lucknow to Hindu fold. Professor Pinto was M A from Cambridge and was attracted to Hinduism after having studied comparative religion. There is an interesting incident that happened in January 1928, Tukoji Holkar, Maharaja of Indore, wanted to marry an American girl, Miss Miller but it was being opposed by orthodox Hindus. He was even ready to convert to Islam to marry the girl he was madly in love with. Savarkar supported him to marry his ladylove without converting to Islam. He got support from the Arya Samaj and even from the Shankaracharya. Maharaja was so happy with Savarkar and Shankaracharya that he gave a generous grant of Rs Two lakhs for undertaking Shuddhi work.
The amount of work that has been done by the author in writing the biography is really mind-boggling. One is amazed by the industry, inclination and commitment to the cause of presenting the authentic life history of Savarkar. There is no trace of hagiography, which is usually found in the biographies. The readers have been left to arrive at their own conclusions on the basis of the copious facts. Savarkar analysed the problems of Muslims that ‘their theology and politics divide the human world into two groups only- The Muslim land and the enemy land. All lands which are either entirely inhabited by the Muslims or ruled over by Muslims are Muslim lands. All lands, which are mostly inhabited by non-Muslim power are enemy lands and no faithful Muslim is allowed to bear any loyalty to them and is called upon to do everything in his power by policy or force or fraud to convert the non-Muslim there to the Muslim faith, to bring about its political conquest by a Muslim power. Consequently, traditional patriotism is a word unknown to the Muslim-nay is, taboo, unless in connection with a Muslim territory…………… They could not be accused from their point of view of being traitors to Hindustan. Their conscience was clear. They never looked upon today’s Hindustan as their country. It is to them already an alien land, and enemy land- ‘a Dar ul Harb’ and not a Dar-ul- Islam’.

Savarkar shared the views of Dr BR Ambedkar, who while quoting Theodore Morrison speech delivered in Paris in 1899, had said, ‘The views held by the Mohammedans are alone sufficient to prevent the establishment of an independent Indian Government. Were the Afghan, to descend from the North upon an autonomous India, the Mohamedans, instead of uniting with Sikhs and the Hindus to repel him, would be drawn by all the ties of Kinship and religion to join his flag.’ Dr Ambedkar further said that ‘Hinduism is said to divide people and is in contrast Islam is said to bind people together. This is only a half-truth. For Islam divides as inexorably as it binds. Islam is a close corporation and the distinction that it makes between, and non-Muslims is a very real, very positive and very alienating distinction. The brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is the brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only. To the Muslims ‘ibi bene ibi patria (where there is bread, there is my country) is unthinkable. Where there is the rule of Islam, there is his own country. In other words, Islam can never allow a true Muslim to adopt India as his motherland and regard a Hindu as his kith and kin. That is probably the reason that why Maulana Mohammed Ali, a great Indian but true Muslim, preferred to be buried in Jerusalem rather than in India.’

A life full of miseries

Savarkar’s life was full of miseries from his young days to the last breath of his life. It is difficult to fathom the pains that he endured in his lifetime but never deviated from his chosen path. The famous Amrit Bazar Patrika wrote about
him saying ‘whether one agrees with all his views or not, Mr Savarkar compels attention by his boldness and clarity of his utterances. He knows no doubt or hesitation. His logic is merciless, his humour caustic, and his irony effective. He is a man with a mission.’
Savarkar had never made any bones of his disliking for the policies, principles, and programmes of Mahatma Gandhi. Non-violence for him was not only sinful but immoral as well. He used to say that the doctrine of no-violence numbed the revolutionary fervour, softened the limbs and hearts of Hindus, and stiffened the bones of enemies. The lambs resolved to lead vegetarian life, but wolves were not connected with their pious resolution. It may sound strange, but it is a fact that Savarkar was an ardent supporter of Cow protection but was against Cow worship. This was the reason that his name was even being linked with the murder of Mahatma Gandhi although he was exonerated of all charges in the Red Fort trial. Nonetheless, his adversaries always try to paint him as the guilty man of Mahatma Gandhi’s murder. He himself had claimed that he was neither a fanatic Hindu nor a communalist but ‘I cannot make donkeys think like horses.’ He was a staunch supporter of Hindi in Devanagari script for making it the national language.
In the twilight of his life, he was almost immovable and had abandoned taking anything before proceeding for his last journey. He remained engulfed with controversies during his lifetime as well as after his death. Glowing tributes were paid to him after his death by the political leaders of all hues.
The book is a commendable effort to make the objective assessment of Veer Savarkar and deserves to be read by all those interested in the history of the freedom struggle. It is written in a racy style and good English and keeps the readers absorbed from beginning to the end.

Goal of 50 %Women Judges is a Mere Will-o-Wisp

Goal of 50 %Women Judges is a Mere Will-o-Wisp

Hon’ble Chief Justice of India NV Ramna, the other day, while inaugurating a meet of the women advocates and judges in the Supreme Court gave a very call that they must unite and scream for 50 per cent reservation in the judiciary. Paraphrasing Karl Marx, he said that ‘women of the world unite as they have nothing to lose but their chains. It is nothing but romanticizing of the women’s struggle. It cannot be said to be a reasonable and judicious call by any yardstick. Women cannot be compared with workers of any industrial house, who can be exhorted for class struggle. Women come from a different socio-economic milieu like their men counterparts, they cannot be expected to come on the roads and fight for 50 per cent reservation.

The Hon’ble Chief Justice furnished some startling data like out of 17 lakh lawyers across the country, only 15 per cent are women. The number of judges in the subordinate judiciary is about 30 per cent, in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, it is slightly more than 11 per cent.

Now the question that arises here is that if there are only 15 per cent women in lawyering, how can it be made 50 per cent in the appointment of judges across the board? Can the country afford to have second-rate judges and spoil the standard of justice in its zeal to achieve the objective of 50 per cent judges? The reply is an emphatic NO.

As a matter of fact, we have to create an atmosphere, which should attract a large number of women towards the legal profession, nay to all professions. The standard of education has to be elevated; facilities need to be upgraded. The conducive environment and proper facilities are to be developed to attract more women to the judiciary or for that matter any other profession. There is no doubt that quite a substantial number of women are doing extremely well in the profession. Many of them do not want to go to the judicial services because of multiple obstacles and compulsions. Some of them are related to their families and they need to be addressed with the active cooperation of the Bar, Judiciary, Government, and above all the society.

So long, it is not done, it will be like a wild goose chase. Neither the quality of justice will be improved nor the desired goal of increasing the number of judges will be achieved.

Demand of Caste Census is Preposterous: Firmly Reject it

 

These days the demand for caste census is being raised particularly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where the politics usually revolves around castes. The irony is that it is being demanded by those, who claim to be the votary of the casteless society. There is ample testimony that the socialists, led by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, have been the real progenitor of caste politics in the country. Instead of making any positive efforts for the establishment of the casteless society, they almost spent their whole energy in perpetuating this social evil.

The Congress Party did not lag behind in exploiting caste politics to remain in power for long years. In fact, it not only encouraged casteism but also made all efforts to appease the minorities so as to remain ensconced in power. Some political leaders think that it will provide them with the opportunity to make further demands for reservations in government jobs and educational institutions on the basis of the castes. This demand has become more intense and vigorous particularly after the decision of the Modi government to provide ten per cent reservation to the weaker section among high caste Hindus.

This idea of caste census is fraught with innumerable dangers for the unity of the country as it will pour oil on the fire being smouldered by fissiparous elements, which are presently dormant for many reasons but mainly due to the strong government at the Centre. Assuming that the proposal for caste census is accepted then what will be its fallout? Will it stop at that? No, never.

If the caste census is done, then the caste leaders will again ask that the reservation should be done as per the proportion of the population of the particular caste. For example, the Yadav will say that since their number is more than Kurmi or Kushwaha in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, therefore, they must get more reservations than others. This will ultimately lead to the caste war in different parts of the country. Once the caste war has started civil war will not be far away. It will be difficult for any government to handle it, giving the opportunity of rejoicing to the enemies of the country, who will do everything to fan it.

This also demonstrates how myopic our leaders are, who do not believe in the universal progress of all groups of society. They want to further drive a wedge among different castes causing a hugely deleterious impact on our cohesive social fabric. Therefore, the government must reject this dangerous demand with all firmness that it possesses.

Only Increased Use of Technology can Prevent Rohini Court Type of Crimes

                                                                                      Parmanand Pandey

The gruesome shootout at Rohini court yesterday was shocking, without doubt, but not surprising. It has not happened for the first time, such incidents have taken place many times in many countries, but the moot question is that despite the incredible march of technology, why is it not being used to prevent such incidents from taking place? Why, at all, the dreaded criminals and gangsters are brought to the court rooms causing huge inconvenience to the public? The governments have to incur a lot of expenses in transporting the hardened criminals from jails to courtrooms and back to their cells. Nowadays, it can very easily be done by video conferencing. The increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can reduce the number of cases by at least 70 per cent. A large number of flimsy and frivolous cases are filed every day and they can be filtered by the AI. This will be saving the expenses of the government and the public both from unnecessary botheration. The number of courtrooms and the judges will be considerably reduced. The courtrooms, which will become surplus, can be used for some other purposes. The second thing that can be done is to bring about change in the mindset of the judges and the advocates. Why should they not be properly screened and frisked before entering the court premises? It is often seen advocates quarrelling with the security staff. They flaunt and throw around their weight of being in the robes. This must be done away with, and everyone must be subjected to strict checking. For this purpose, high-quality sensory machines can be installed, which can very easily detect the arms that might be carried under the coats and gowns of the lawyers. The need is to get the solution of the problem and not to go on the strike at the drop of the hat. The live streaming of the courtroom proceedings is long overdue. But why this is not being done in the right spirit beggars all logic. Live- streaming will certainly remove the lethargy of the judges and the advocates. The Bar Council and the Bar Associations will have to play the pivotal role in complete overhauling of the court proceedings. Cosmetic changes here and there will be of no use. The days are over when the third-rate judicial system was silently suffered. The new generation is fed up with the sleepy judges, cunning lawyers and go-getting touts.

SC gets tough for not appearing in proper dress

Hearing of cases in courts in Virtual mode is a blessing, particularly for the senior advocates, because they can manage their cases from the cosy comforts of their houses or offices. However, sometimes, they also get a snub from the courts for not adhering to the dress code or for not following the basic protocols of the courts. Some of the advocates have even been seen sipping tea while arguing their cases, which is unthinkable in the physical mode. This happened today with Senior Counsel KTS Tulsi, who, by the way, is also a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) got a snub by the bench of Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Aniruddha Bose. As far as the dress code is concerned, it is an altogether different issue and Shri Tulsi being a lawmaker and interpreter of the law can definitely take a stand to get it changed.

When Shri Tulsi appeared today in Virtual Court number 9 of the SC without wearing a neckband and a black coat, Justice Saran asked him: Are you appearing as an Advocate? If you are appearing as an Advocate, why are you not in the proper dress? Profusely apologising to the Court, Shri Tulsi, sought a minute's time from the court to wear the coat and band. In the meantime, the court took up the next matter, which did not take more than two minutes. By that time Shri Tulsi was ready in the proper dress to argue the case.

Hearings in virtual modes have received mixed reactions from the Bench and the Bar as well. It is, without doubt, a time-saving, money-saving, and pollution protecting mode. On average, an advocate has to waste nearly two hours of time commuting from home to the court and back from the court to the home, if the court works in physical mode. The money spent on conveyance and petrol fuel is also saved in virtual modes and in the process, the congestion on the roads and atmospheric pollution is reduced.

It has many demerits also. For example, it does not give the feel of the courts. One can only see either the Bench or one or two more advocates because the audio and video of advocates are kept disabled by the host. One cannot have the benefit of hearing the arguments of other advocates in the absence of enabling links. Our Bars are bereft of innovative ideas, so nothing better be expected from them.

This can certainly be adequately addressed if the live streaming of all courts is started. Live streaming will be immensely helpful in making the judges and lawyers more responsible. At present, it is found that in most of the courts, judges sit and leave the courtrooms as their whims and fancies. The Supreme Court is, of course, an exception, where the judges are mostly very punctual. The virtual mode has deprived the opportunity of socialisation among advocates and clients. Thrills of gossips in the canteens and the search for relevant materials in the libraries are felt like pangs.

The other difficulty relates to technology because, in many places, the internet is found to be very erratic. If teething troubles are got over, the technology can give optimum benefits. The proper use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not only reduce the burden of the courts but will also go a long way in filtering the frivolous cases, which consume a lot of judicial time of the courts.

 Laudable Supertech Judgement

Parmanand Pandey

 The judgment of the Supreme Court in the Supertech case of NOIDA will be long remembered and it must be strictly executed. The judgment has sent a highly positive message across the country that ‘high and mighty'  cannot take the law into their own hands. Unfortunately, this perception has gained momentum, particularly after the Union Carbide case that powerful persons have very safe escape routes, and the law cannot touch them. This is the reason that they flout the rules and the laws with gay abandon. The stinging comment of the Supreme Court on the corruption of officials must wake up the higher authorities to take stringent action against those, who allowed the Supertech to go like an untamed and unfettered bull. To mete out exemplary punishment to those reeking with corruption from their noses, eyes, and ears will serve the ends of complete justice.

 The justice, as they say, must be reformative and deterrent. In a democratic society like ours, retributive justice has no place. Of late. The cynicism has also grown among people about the judiciary. The conduct of the shady judges has been largely responsible for the unsavoury image of the judiciary. That is why, it is said that judges should be like Caesar’s wife, beyond any reproach.

  There is not even a shred of doubt that without the complicity of the officials, it is not possible to get any illegal construction done. Large-scale illegal constructions in any city bear the testimony of the huge corruption among officials. Almost all illegal constructions in Delhi scream about the neck-deep corruption prevailing in the DDA. Corrupt officials enjoy the full support of corrupt politicians for mutual benefits. The unplanned growth in Delhi could not have been possible without the complicity of the DDA, MCD and the Police. If exemplary punishments were given to them, Delhi would have been the ideal place.

To uphold the majesty of justice, it is all the more necessary to take action against NOIDA officials, and only then the maxim that ‘howsoever high one may be, the law is above them’ will have dignity and grace. Among all three organs of the State- the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary, it is the judiciary that enjoys the highest respect and trust of the people. The Legislature and the Executive have lost much of their sheen.

It is, therefore, the responsibility of the Judiciary is to ensure that the powerful persons are not allowed to hold the common people to ransom as per their whims and fancies. This decision of the Supreme Court will, without doubt, instil a new sense of confidence in the public.

 

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Cowardice of the Afghan Army has no Parallel in History

In recent known history, two instances of the abject surrender of two big armies come to mind. The first one was the surrender of nearly one lakh Pakistani army personnel in Dhaka in December 1971 before the mighty army of India. But the second one that has happened in Kabul is unprecedented. Here a professionally trained Afghan army of three lakh men has left the field before75, 000 primitive Taliban. It is unheard of in history when the entire government has fled to some other country and the army has absconded from the scene.  This clearly shows the Afghan government, and the army consisted not only of cowards but of the supporters and sympathizers of the Taliban. These bigotedTalibani terrorists will very soon convert Afghanistan into another Syria. It is ironic that when Russians had occupied Afghanistan in the late seventies, it was the USA that supplied modern arms and ammunitions to Talibans through Pakistan. The then President of Pakistan, General Zia ul Haque, used and fooled Americans to the hilt and got most of the arms diverted to its own country. He had then made the infamous statement of making a thousand cuts on the body of India to bleed and fester. In a way, America was responsible through Pakistan for creating the problems in Indian occupied Kashmir.  After the Russians left Afghanistan, Americans got Afghanistan got it occupied. Then again, the Taliban started getting arms and ammunition from Russia and China through Pakistan. However, the ultimate loser has been India, which invested a whopping amount of Rupees 23 thousand crores in the last twenty years for developing the infrastructures like the building of Parliament, universities, factories, and roads, etc. in Afghanistan. As of now, it appears that the entire goodwill investments have gone down the drains.  

This region has been one of the most developed and cultured places of the world but from the time it came under the influence of the primitive Islamic forces, it has become an abhorring example of barbarianism. Shockingly, the so-called civilized and democratic world has even today become the mute spectator of the savagery of the Taliban. It is time for the entire world to unite against these brutes to completely annihilate them. It is all the more sad to find that even in India, there are many takers of the Taliban forces. Americans cannot be trusted in this fight against the Taliban. Therefore, China, Russia, France, Great Britain, and Israel must be brought on board to crush the Taliban. India will have to take a lead role in galvanizing the world forces for the extermination of the Taliban. A group or a force that targets women, children, and innocent people and perpetrate crimes against them can never be brave.

Talibans are a bunch of cowards, and their brutalities are the reflections of their cowardice. They will definitely now grow more opium and earn money by bootlegging.

Setting Time-limit for Arguments by Loquacious Lawyers is a Praiseworthy Move

What should have been done long back is being done now by the Supreme Court of India. Anyway, it is better late than never. Filibustering by the lawyers at the time of the arguments, mostly in high profile and media’s attention-catching cases has become almost a norm. I have been watching many top-notch lawyers arguing their cases for days together, sometimes making the judges sleepy and drowsy. Some of the advocates start reading page after page from books and the decided judgments to buttress their points. Judges also give them the indulgence to hear for hours. They make millions for the presentation of their cases even if it is witless and without any sparks.

Many centuries ago, Shakespeare had said ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ but in our courts, that is hardly followed either by advocates or by the judges. The judgments are padded by hundreds of pages to make them unnecessarily bulky. However, a ray of hope was seen yesterday when the Supreme Court directed the lawyers to adopt the practice of confining their oral arguments to 30 minutes and submissions on the law to three pages. The bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and R Subhash Reddy asked the lawyers to change their habits. This will go a long way in the speedy disposal of the knotty cases. This observation by the Supreme Court came on a petition filed by Yatin Narendra Oza, a veteran lawyer from Gujarat, who was stripped of the 'senior advocate' designation following contempt proceedings initiated against him by the Gujarat High Court.

The decisions and observations of the Supreme Court of India are mostly ‘in rem’ and not ‘in personem’. The difference between the two is that while the former is applicable to one and all, the latter remains confined to the litigating persons or parties. The Supreme Court will do a great service to the people if the proceedings of all constitutional courts are ‘live streamed’ for the sake of transparency.

It will be helpful not only for the lawyers and litigants but to the vast numbers of teachers and law students. There are many colleges, who have been charging hefty fees from students just to show them the proceedings of some courts for a few hours in a year.

No Tears should be shed for Raids on DB Corps

It is really painful to see the monumental ignorance of some journalists, who have been orchestrating that the IT raids on the offices and residences of the owners of DB Corps are attacks on the ‘freedom of speech and expression’. It is an open secret that most of the big media houses in India are corrupt to the core and they are the past masters of exploitation of their employees. There is hardly any exception; be it the BennetColeman and Company, HT Media Ltd., Indian Express Newspapers Group, the Hindu, Eenadu, Anand Bazar Patrika, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, Deccan Chronicle, Matribhumi, Deccan Herald, Rajasthan Patrika or any other group. Albeit two medium newspapers; The Tribune of Chandigarh and The Assam Tribune of Guwahati can certainly be considered to be exceptions. Dainik Bhaskar is one of the worst exploiters and it has ruined the lives of hundreds of employees, most of them happen to be journalists. I do not say on the basis of any hearsay but on personally experienced facts. When the Majithia Wage Board recommendations were notified, there was a provision of 20 J, which said that those employees, who were getting more wages than what was prescribed in the Wage Board, could enter into an agreement with their management that they would not claim for the WageBoard wages. A time limit was prescribed for that individual agreement.

Lo and behold, when all employees began asking for the Wage Board wages, they were called by the managers to sign the management prepared agreements from the backdate. The language of all agreements was identical. Employees were asked to give in writing that they would not ask for the wages according to the Wage Board, although these employees were getting much less than the wage board recommendations. All the government officials knew about the forgery of the agreements, but they were hugely bribed by the managements that they preferred to keep mum. This has happened in the majority of newspapers, but the owners of language newspapers (what they say Vernacular newspapers) have been the biggest culprits. They have been bending and slaughtering the rules and laws with gay abandon. The meaning of freedom of speech and expression has been converted into a big joke. Their semi-literate editors vie with each other in proving their loyalty to their masters and contriving the ways and means of exploitation of employees for their benefit. Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala and Rajasthan Patrika are the known offenders. They are the blots on journalism. They have not thought even for a moment about the employees while victimizing them.

Many of the journalists working in Dainik Bhaskar were transferred from Delhi to far off and remote places of Bihar, Bengal or Tamilnadu, where people have not even heard the name of the newspaper. The journalists working for the print medium were/are shown to be the employees of the digital platform, where the Wage Board is not applicable. Nobody can tell what has been the contribution of Dainik Bhaskar Dainik Jagran in the development of healthy journalism? These newspapers have been encouraging the journalists to become pimps/ blackmailers/ advertisement collectors. They have brought down the image and credibility of journalism in the eyes of the public because of their unscrupulous conduct. These newspapers have built huge empires mainly because of the blackmailing, browbeating and nefarious connections with politicians and bureaucrats. There is another question whether these media houses owners should be left to openly violate the law? No action should be taken against them even if they are evading taxes? Can they be allowed to slay the labour laws to the detriment of poor employees? Can they grab the advertisements at exorbitant rates and fleece the public exchequer? It does not mean that the governments' officials are lily-white. Accepted that they are equally or more corrupt, but it does not provide any immunity to these media houses.

Therefore, no tears should be shed for these media houses, which have been using their organs for their enrichment and aggrandisement behind the veneer of the freedom of speech and expression. Such Media houses should be shamed and not sympathised.

Advocates’ Dress Code Exemplifies Absurdity

                                                                                                    Parmanand Pandey

My good friend Asok Pande, a practising Advocate, mainly at the High Court of Lucknow, has raised a very pertinent point in a PIL before the High Court that the dress code of judges and advocates as prescribed by the Bar Council should be scrapped as it is totally unsuitable to the clime and culture of India. The High Court has issued notice to the BCI after getting prima facie convinced with the petitioner. As a matter of fact, an Advocate actually appears like a buffoon, and a madari after wearing a black coat, a gown and a band (which the petitioner says symbolises a Christian preacher). No Advocate, a Judge or even the Bar council office-bearer would be able to give any justification or convincing reply to this highly irksome and irritating dress code.

The Advocate Act was enacted in 1961 and the Bar Council of India (Bharat) also came into existence along with it, but the latter derives its strength from the former. The Advocates Act removed many anomalies and brought about a semblance of uniformity in the profession. Bar The council became a regulatory body. The changes have been introduced in the Bar Council from time to time, but they have been inadequate. For example, why has it not been able to dispense with the glaring absurdity of the dress code? Why the legal education is still in the mess? Why no efforts have been made to stop the Tribunalisation of justice in India? Why no trustworthy system of appointment of judges right from the Magistrate level to the Supreme Court has evolved? Why the appointment of pleaders or advocates of the States is left at the whims and fancies of the powers that be, which often stinks of corruption to the high heaven?

In the olden days, even the judges of the Indian Supreme Court and the High Courts used to wear wigs, for no sensible rhyme and reason, but that was changed for good. Earlier the judges used to wield batons on their desks, which was also very ludicrous but thankfully, that has been done away with.

There is no doubt that there should be a dress code for the Advocates like it is prescribed for in most of the professions, which may differentiate them from others but that should be soothing and climate-appropriate. For the sake of a separate identity, the advocates should not be made to undergo pain and suffering and become a laughingstock.

Hundreds of PILs are filed every year but only a few really fall within the ambit of Public Interest. Most of them are filed either for Publicity Interests or Private interests. But this PIL of Sri Pande has certainly caught the imagination of the public. Almost all advocates have been thinking for a quite long time about the absurdity of the present dress code, but this PIL has given vent to their feelings. The Hon’ble Judges have understood the gravity of the problem for issuing the notice. This is a significant step in the direction of the inevitable change. Hopefully, this PIL will be able to garner widespread and comprehensive support across the country.

Why Conversions ought to be Denounced?

                                                                                          Parmanand Pandey

Cases of religious conversions have increased across the country. Until a few years ago ‘conversion’ was thought to be switching over of the religious beliefs mostly of Hindus to Christianity. It was a common scene in Uttar Pradesh that any Christian missionaries would come to the remote villages and open a school in the name of any ‘Father’ or ‘Saint’. They start imparting education to children and glorify Christianity in the classrooms. Not much attention is paid to the boys and girls belonging to upper castes because it is difficult to convert them, but they focus on the children belonging to scheduled castes and tribes. Many of them get attracted to the inducements of these ‘Christian Fathers’ and embrace Christianity.

Similarly, the marrying of Hindu girls to Muslim men has also been going on for quite some time but changing the religion of Hindu men to Islam is a new phenomenon. Although there is a law against religious conversion due to force, fraud and inducement, yet it is an open secret that these tactics are adopted to lure Hindu girls mainly belonging to poor families. The girls pertaining to the lower social hierarchy are targeted by these Muslim men. This is very similar to the ‘love jihad’. Nobody would have any objection to the conversion made on the free will but if the conversion becomes a ‘Hobson's choice’, then it is condemnable, without a doubt.

A pertinent question is asked why mostly Hindus convert to other religions. Is there any inherent drawback among Hindus? To my mind, there could be two reasons: one is that Hinduism is not a regimented religion. It is highly eclectic in beliefs and customs. There is no higher authority whose dictates and writs would be large. The second region is that it is divided into multi-layered castes and sub-castes. It does not draw its strength from one book. It provides enough scope for differences of thought and ideas but in other important religions, the main source is their books. Any difference with their books would mean     It is certainly very evolving and spiritually uplifting but has an enfeebling effect also because excessive liberty often leads to anarchy, which is capitalised by the poachers. Other religions have also fragmentations but not as they are found in Hinduism. Unlike Hinduism and other Indigenous religions, Islam and Christianity silently speak about extra-territorial loyalty. 

In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, the love jihad got unprecedented impetus during the regime of Mulayam Singh Yadav, which included five years of Akhilesh Yadav. Everybody knew that any complaint made against these jihadists would invite the wrath of the police rather than any sympathetic action.

Now the noxious trend of driving a wedge among Hindus in the name caste Hindus and Scheduled caste is going on in full scale. The Islamists groups, which are flush with foreign funds are instigating SCs, particularly neo Ambedkarites, to wage their verbal diatribe against high caste Hindus like Brahmins and Rajputs. This is causing some confrontation and caste attrition. However, at the same time, many other castes have also been getting polarised and they have got themselves distanced from Muslims and Ambedkarites. It appears that they have become strong supporters of the Bhartiya Janata Party, making it almost invincible in the assembly elections.

The growing influence of love jihad is also a cause of huge concern because many of the girls are dispatched to some countries, where they are condemned to live as prostitutes. To be fair to the Yogi government, this menace is being very strictly dealt with yet there is no doubt that such activities are still going on, although stealthily.