Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Judges appointing judges may soon become history
Judges appointing judges may soon become history
Pradeep Thakur TNN
New Delhi:The government has finally decided to not let judges appoint themselves anymore. The Union Cabinet is likely to soon consider a bold proposal to replace the collegium system of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and highcourts where the CJI , along with four seniormost judges of the apex court, enjoy the prerogative of picking up members of higher judiciary.
According to sources, government proposes to vest the power of appointment of judges of the SC in a broad-based mechanism which will consist of the leader of opposition, an eminent jurist and the law minister, besides the CJI and two senior-most judges of the top court.
Similarly, for appointments of HC judges, the government proposes a panel consisting of the leader of opposition and law minister of the state concerned, an eminent jurist and the chief justice of the high court. Govt had key role in hiring judges till ’93
New Delhi: The law ministry is waiting for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s approval for the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. Under the proposed system, for appointments of HC judges, the government proposes a panel consisting of the leader of opposition, law minister of the state concerned, an eminent jurist and the chief justice of the high court.
The government had the upper hand in appointment of judges until 1993 when the judiciary acquired primacy in the process, courtesy an SC judgment. The judgment turfed out the executive completely, vesting the prerogative solely in the CJI and four of his seniormost colleagues in the apex court. The judgment said the constitutional provision for consulting judges should be interpreted as a requirement of their concurrence: something that at once transformed the requirement to consult judges into an obligation to heed them.
Although the government can return the recommendations of the collegium for its reconsideration, it has no role to play if the CJI and his colleagues stick to their choices.
The judiciary's monopoly over appointments of judges of the SC and HCs has been a source of serious heartburn to the political class, while even judges, including former CJI J S Verma who accorded primacy to the judiciary, have acknowledged that the collegium system in practice has been prone to favouritism and needs to be reformed.
The move to challenge the status quo is likely to find broad support from the political class, with the resentment of judicial overreach likely to be the additional driver.
Sources said the BJP has indicated its “in-principle” support to the move that seeks to make the system of judicial appointments more transparent. According to them, government had consulted leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley while drafting the JAC Bill.
NEW SCHOOL COLLEGIUM SYSTEM Introduced in 1993, gives “primacy” to senior judges in the Supreme Court and their counterparts in deciding appointments to higher judiciary
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION | Designed to let the law minister, leader of opposition and jurists have a say, besides three senior judges
SYSTEMS IN UK AND US
UK has a Judicial Appointments Commission, which has 15 members drawn from the judiciary, legal profession, magistracy and the public. Selection is done through ‘open and fair competition’
For appointments to the US Supreme Court and federal courts, the President makes the nominations which are subject to confirmation by the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee
Sunday, April 7, 2013
MP gets traffic cop fired for doing her job
MP gets traffic cop fired for doing her job
Linah Baliga | TNN
Mumbai: The traffic police have terminated the services of Bandra-Khar traffic warden Anita Lobo, who had taken on Congress MP Nilesh Rane for blocking traffic in January.
Lobo, who has been regulating traffic in Bandra-Khar voluntarily for two decades, said the traffic police’s notice states that her services are being discontinued due to the complaints from politicians over her alleged misbehaviour. She received the notice 15 days ago. “The notice cites political pressure as the reason for termination of my services. After 20 years of voluntary service, I am now being told that I misbehaved with politicians. Are politicians ruling the police and our country? I don’t deserve this. Where is justice in this country?” asked Lobo (55).
On January 28, TOI carried a report on how Lobo allegedly suffered the wrath of state industries minister Narayan Rane’s son Nilesh for carrying out her duty in Khar (W). Lobo had stopped Nilesh and his convoy for blocking traffic on 20th Road. An argument had ensued between Lobo and Rane Jr and she was reportedly detained at the Khar police station for three hours. Following the incident, support had poured in for Lobo from citizens, who criticized Nilesh’s highhandedness.
Now, 15 advanced locality managements and residents’ sssociations have decided to meet joint commissioner of police (traffic) Vivek Phansalkar to demand revocation of Lobo’s termination.
Friday, April 5, 2013
3 cops get death for UP fake encounter in 1982
3 cops get death for UP fake encounter in 1982
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The court also criticized the CBI for its shoddy investigation as it found, from the evidence submitted, the involvement of other senior police officers in the massacre. "The evidence on record indicated conspiracy at a high level but the CBI kept its eyes closed," said the court, pronouncing the judgment.
In all, 19 policemen were chargesheeted, 10 of whom died during trial and seven retired from service. Only one of the convicts remains in service. Vibha Singh, the wife of DSP K P Singh who was the target of the encounter, also died during trial.
The fake encounter took place on the night of March 12, 1982, at Madhavpur village in Gonda. Acting on information about dacoits in the village, a police party led by K P Singh set out for Madhavpur. However, the court found that station house officer (SHO) R B Saroj, against whom DSP Singh was pursuing an inquiry, had set a trap to kill his officer with the help of other cops.
In the massacre that followed, 12 innocent villagers were butchered and later declared dacoits by Saroj and his accomplices. They later submitted a report saying the DSP was killed by dacoits and that the policemen killed the dacoits in an encounter and produced the bodies of villagers as evidence.
However, Vibha Singh and then state president of People's Union for Civil Liberties Chitranjan Singh, moved the Supreme Court alleging foul play in the DSP's death. The SC directed a CBI probe and an FIR was registered in February 1984. The CBI submitted chargesheets against the 19 policemen in February 1989, accusing them of killing the DSP and villagers in a fake encounter.
"All evidence shows... RB Saroj killed the DSP, who was then a 25-year-old. No doubt he (Saroj) had the support of those persons whom the CBI did not chargesheet for reasons known to it," the court observed. It noted that Vibha Singh had voiced suspicion about the then Gonda SP — who went on to become UP DGP — in the murder. Vibha had told the court that the Gonda SP had a strained relationship with his wife because she had taken a shine to the DSP. "The statement indicates... a deep conspiracy behind the encounter," the court said.
Then Kaudia SHO R B Saroj, now 66, constables Ram Nayak Pandey, 59, and Ram Karan Singh, 68, were given death sentence by special CBI judge Rajendra Singh.
"The manner of the killing of DSP KP Singh and 12 villagers and thereafter creating false encounter memo and fake recovery memos makes it rarest of rare case," said the CBI judge. He awarded life imprisonment to five others — Ramakant Dixit (then PAC commandant, now 71); then sub-inspectors Naseem Ahmad, 62; Mangla Prasad Singh, 66; Pervez Hussain, 66; and Rajendra Prasad Singh, 63. The court said they had indulged in criminal conspiracy and participated in the bloodbath. The court acquitted a cop, Prem Singh, for want of evidence. Only Ram Nayak Pandey remains in service as a sub-inspector in Jaunpur.
Turning down the plea for modest punishment for the accused by senior counsel Mridul Rakesh, the court said, "The accused are now old or may be infirm or sick but what was the crime of the victims who were massacred... It's the duty of a policeman to refuse to carry out illegal orders given by any superior for fake encounter," the court said. "Fake encounters are nothing but cold-blooded brutal murder by persons supposed to uphold the law. Moderate punishment can be considered for crimes committed by ordinary people but if it is committed by policemen, severest punishment should be awarded."
Services tribunal quashes RPS promotion list
Services tribunal quashes RPS promotion list
Court Directs State To Reconvene DPC Meeting
Abhinav Sharma TNN
Jaipur: The Rajasthan Services Appellate Tribunal (RAT) on Friday quashed the 2013 super time-scale promotion list of the RPS cadre from which officers were to be promoted to the IPS cadre.
The court further directed the state government to reconvene the DPC (departmental promotion committee) meeting for preparing a revised promotion list of the RPS cadre within three months. The order will affect all promotions from the RPS to the IPS cadre that the government was planning to take up shortly.
A division bench of RAT comprising chairman B B Mohanty and member Anil Kumar Jain passed the order on an appeal filed by RPS officer Satish Kumar Khurana.
Khurana alleged before the Tribunal that in granting promotions to the super timescale on January 28 this year, the state government superseded him in promoting RPS officers Pramod Kumar Sharma and Om Prakash Sharma.
Khurana’s counsel Harsh Vardhan Nandwana told the Tribunal that the officer’s annual progress reports for the years 1994-95 and 1996-97 were deliberately downgraded in violation of the law and the DPC, too, was convened in violation of the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel in 1998.
The state government, on the other hand, argued that the service record of Khurana was not good enough and therefore, he was not allowed promotion to the selection scale in 2001-02, while subsequent promotions were allowed to him. As such, there was nothing illegal in the promotions and the officer cannot challenge the adverse entries now.
Brushing aside the government objections, the RAT bench observed, “The appellant is not challenging the adverse entries, but his downgrading. When the appellant was rated outstanding by his reporting officer and very good by his reviewing officer, his downgrading by the accepting officer in a mechanical manner without recording reasons, thereof, cannot be sustained.”
The Tribunal was told that all adverse entries against Khurana had already been expunged by the high court in 1998.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
DSP killing: UP government to dismiss 8 cops
DSP killing: UP government to dismiss 8 cops
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The departmental inquiry into the role of the policemen has been completed and their fate is believed to have been sealed.
Though the government had wanted to set a precedent in terms of penal action against the errant cops who deserted their superior in a life-threatening situation, the catch was that the Police Act 1981 provides for dismissal of lower-rung policemen from service on charges of negligence, but not for cowardice.
As per the findings of the inquiry report, at least six of the eight policemen who accompanied Haq fled the scene immediately after being confronted by the mob. Most of them made good their escape even before the mob actually targeted the police. They fled the scene "anticipating that they may be attacked" and deserted the seniormost officer who was leading them. Their act is believed to have been described as "gross negligence" that resulted in the DSP's death.
The inquiry findings are said to have stressed that given the nature of job that the police personnel had to perform on a daily basis, such negligence demands stringent action against them to set a precedent for their counterparts. The inquiry is believed to have deliberated in detail on the possibility of the DSP's life being saved had his subordinates stood behind him.
As per the inquiry, by the time the mob came close to the police, only Haq was left at the scene —the rest of them had taken flight. This was the only reason why none of the other police personnel at the scene suffered any injury.
The inquiry has revealed that after the murder of pradhan Nanhe Yadav, the police reached Balipur village to take custody of the body for postmortem examination. At the pradhan's house, they found his body had been kept outside on a charpoy. A mob had gathered at the site and in the light of handheld torches the police saw that almost a dozen of them, along with Nanhe's brother Suresh, were carrying firearms.
The mob was agitated but not violent till then. But the policemen ran away, leaving the DSP all alone.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
THOUGHT POLICE
Bangladesh arrests 3 bloggers for blasphemy
Dhaka: Three atheist bloggers in Bangladesh were on Tuesday arrested on charges of defaming Islam, as the government set up the country’s first cyber crime tribunal to prevent exploitation of religion on the internet.
The crackdown as well as the announcement came two days after PM Sheikh Hasina pledged stern action against people found guilty of defaming Islam.
“We are amending both the Right to Information Act and the Penal Code toughening punitive measures for hurting the people’s religious sentiments,” law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed told a press meet also joined by home minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir and two state ministers.
Ahmed said that the government constituted the tribunal appointing a judge in the capital while a process was underway to set up identical special courts at divisional cities including Chittagong. He said a government committee comprising two Islamic scholars was constituted to identify websites which were either exploiting or defaming the religion. The committee had recommended the arrests of the three, who have been sent to seven days remand. The trio could face 10 years in jail. PTI
Monday, April 1, 2013
Fathers and sons: Why a modern Dhritarashtra is a failed citizen
Fathers and sons: Why a modern Dhritarashtra is a failed citizen
by Sagarika Ghose 54 mins ago
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Once there was a fond father. A fond father blinded by the love for his son, blind to his son’s failings. The fond father moved heaven and earth, even broke the law to save his son from the law. But inspite of his efforts, the fond father failed to protect his son and instead became a symbol of a model of failed parenthood. The son’s life was ruined by an excess of love, the father’s own life came undone. His actions raised the questions: should parental love seek to bend the law, does an adult accused of a criminal offence continues to be papa’s “raja beta”.
I have written earlier about the Dhritarashtra syndromein politics. Like the blind king Dhritarashtra who stayed silent when Draupadi was disrobed in public and failed to uphold his moral duty to act against his own offspring, Karunandhi’s dark glasses have always rendered him sightless to the antics of his sons and Mulayam Singh Yadav at the moment appears blind to his son’s total inability to perform as Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Sanjay Dutt. AFP
Apart from politics, the Dhritarashtra syndrome exists in civil society too. In the quivering tremulous world of Indian parenthood, Sunil Dutt, BB Mohanty even a Venod Sharma (father of Manu Sharma) or a Suresh Nanda (father of BMW hit and run convict Sanjeev Nanda), embody a tragedy. A tragedy of citizenship, a tragedy of love, a tragedy of a father, like the blind Dhritarashtra, who simply cannot see the wrongs committed by his son. The blind loving fathers of India, the father who shields a criminal offspring from the law, are obstacles towards the democratisation of society, they are fundamental obstacles to the rule of law and one of the reasons why we are still not a law abiding country.
Is democracy only about elections and voting for a ruling regime? Or is democracy also about recognising our role as citizens, recognising our roles as agents of change in a society where constitutional values, rule of law and accountability are still distant dreams. A feudal society seeks to protect the clan above all else. Based on client- patron relations in the family and in the wider kinship system, feudalism upholds notions of “honour”, “family pride” and “family name”.
A democratic society, on the other hand recognises the primacy of society above family, recognises the rule of law as the primary individual responsibility of citizens and recognises the role that each of us must play as upholders of the law in even within the family. But our modern Dhritarashtras remain blind—and feudal—when it comes to their sons.
In the case of businessman Sanjeev Nanda implicated in the BMW hit and run case of 1999, the suspicion was that his businessman man father Suresh Nanda, once a Lt Commander in the navy had actually helped the bloodied BMW being washed of all evidence, after it had mowed down six people on the early morning of 10 January 1999. In 1996 Santosh Kumar Singh, son of senior police officer JP singh, followed, stalked raped and murdered Delhi University student Priyadarshini Mattoo. Once again apparently because of his father’s influence—JP singh was Joint Commissioner, Delhi Police during Santosh’s trial. Santosh was initially acquitted by the trial court.
DP Yadav, the “mafia don” of western Uttar Pradesh, can hardly be called a Dhritarashtra. Yet as father of Vikas Yadav, the convicted murderer of Nitish Katara, Yadav continues his reign of terror against Neelam Katara, Nitish’s valiant mother, who fought to bring the murderer to justice. When Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lal, father Venod Sharma, Congress politician and former minister, remained adamant on his son’s innocence, refusing to bring Manu befor the law. Rich and privileged stalkers, rapists and murderers seem to have staunch allies in their fathers. Commit any crime and daddy will get you off is probably the worst lesson a parent can convey to a child.
Covering Nitish Kumar’s campaign in 2010 in Bihar, the chief minister gave me some words of wisdom. How did you manage to restore law and order in Bihar, I asked him. He replied, in the old days criminals would come to the chief minister’s house and ask to be protected from the law. Today if a criminal comes to my house they know that the chief minister will turn them over to the police.
When a child commits a criminal offence, how many Indian parents will turn them over to the law? Or will many of us instead use every means at our disposal to shield a criminal from justice simply because he happens to our very own a spoilt brat, cocooned by his parents’ money and privilege?
Let us examine the case of another modern day Dhritarashtra: Bidya Bhushan Mohanty, father of Bitti Mohanty, accused of rape and now in custody. An upright and admired Odisha police officer, BB Mohanty as IG Prisons brought in a slew of reforms including the rehabilitation of children of under-trials. But BB’s long record as an upright policeman was destroyed when that same blind love for his son came in the way of upholding the law. Using his contacts in the Rajasthan police, BB Mohanty was accused of not only helping Bitti jump parole, but also aiding him in his creating a fake identity in Kerala. Should a policeman father help his son run from the law? Or (if he believed his son was innocent) should he not encourage him to fight his case lawfully, in the court, and clear his name?
BB Mohanty, the upright police officer himself became a fugitive from the law, and today his face reveals a broken spirit. He could not save his son from the law, and could not save his own good name. Senior police officers have been quoted as saying: “Bitti might have come out of prison by now and started life afresh. But thanks to a father who made mincemeat of the law, the son now faces a dark future.” The Dhritarashtra syndrome takes a heavy toll on both father and son.
Perhaps the most tragic modern Dhritarashtra is Sunil Dutt, father of Sanjay Dutt. Sunil Dutt was the much loved and respected five time member of Parliament from Mumbai, a Padma Shri, an acclaimed actor and known for his social commitment. When Sanjay was first arrested in April 1993, Dutt senior cried out that he now lived only with one hope: to hear the courts declare that his son was not a terrorist.
Year after year, after Sunjay’s arrest Sunil Dutt lobbied with governments, first the Congress then the BJP-Shiv Sena, even making his peace with arch enemy Bal Thackeray to try and secure legal relief for his son.
In October 1994 Sunil Dutt traded in all the goodwill he had acquired to get Sanjay out of jail. His decision not to contest the 1996 Lok Sabha elections is seen as the pound of flesh Sunil Dutt had to pay for Sanjay’s release. The father’s blind love may have slowed down the process of justice but in the end Sunil Dutt’s “Sunju baba” would probably have been better off, had he been tried, convicted and allowed to serve his sentence then and there, instead of a grinding 20 year legal ordeal and a prison sentence at the age of 53, when his father is no longer here to help him or to beg politicians for reprieve.
The Dhritarashtra syndrome begs the question: is it better to try and evade the law, delay the law, circumvent the law for the sake of raja beta? Or is it better to let raja beta face the law, take responsibility for his actions, serve his time and get a chance to begin a new life afresh? Both BB Mohanty and Sunil Dutt, delayed the law for their sons, but in the end their loving efforts hurt rather than helped. In the end both Mohanty and Sunil Dutt surrendered their democratic citizenship at the altar of blind paternal love.
What lesson can we draw from the Dhritarashtras of our times? The lesson is a hard one, but in a sense Sanjay Dutt’s fate should become a moment of inflexion for every parent. Is it worth it to try and shield your child from the law for as long as you possibly can, blinded by love? Or, if there are criminal charges, should every parent not let the law take its course and accept their child’s wrongdoing, however heart-wrenching that acceptance may be.
The blindness of Dhritarashtra may exist in myth, reality demands that every parent in today’s times shed the blindness, open their eyes wide and teach their children that even a father’s love cannot save you if you break the law.
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