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 occurred 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? Why, at all, the dreaded criminals and gangsters are brought to the courtrooms 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, video conferencing can be very easily done. 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 AI. This will save the expenses of the government and the public from unnecessary botheration. The number of courtrooms and 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 change 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 to the problem and not to go on 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 must play a pivotal role in overhauling the court proceedings. Cosmetic changes here and there will be of no use. The days are over when the third-rate judicial system 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.