Day: September 4, 2017

China Is Responsible For Doklam Standoff With India

 It needs no rocket science to conclude that China itself is most responsible for unnecessarily intruding into Doklam and creating an unnecessary confrontation with India by flexing its military prowess. What it conveniently forgets is that India of today is not the India of 1962 and India’s gentle approach is being taken for granted by China! Much water has flown under the bridge since 1962 and India too can go to any extent to defend itself and its neighbour Bhutan with whom India enjoys good equations and to whom India has pledged its support against any kind of attack by any foreign power!
China Is Responsible For Doklam Standoff With India

                                             Be it noted, Doklam is known as Donglang in China. It is an area with a plateau and a valley lying between Tibet’s Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan’s Ha Valley to the east and India’s Sikkim state to the west. This Doklam plateau which is north of the trijunction between Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet has immense strategic importance which alone explains that why India and China have witnessed such a ugly stand-off since last more than two months! It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961 but it is also claimed by China.
                                   It is a matter of great regret that till date we have not seen this prolonged dispute getting resolved despite several rounds of border negotiations between Bhutan and China. Needless to add, this area is of immense strategic significance to all three countries – India, China and Bhutan. India has always shown commendable restraint even in the face of huge provocation from the Chinese side! Bhutan’s ruler Jigme Singye Wangchuk in 2001 had rejected in the National Assembly the unilateral offer made by China to take 500 square kilometer of land in the northwestern part of Bhutan in lieu of giving China 269 square kilometer of land of Doklam plateau!
                                           It merits mention here that the government of Bhutan has refuted Chinese foreign ministry claims about Thimphu telling Beijing that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam in the Sikkim sector is not Bhutan’s territory. Beijing has blamed New Delhi for Doklam standoff and accused Indian soldiers of trespass and preventing Chinese soldiers from building a road in the region, which is claimed by Bhutan. China wants India to withdraw its troops from Doklam before the two sides begin talks. India has made its position clear that the road, if built, will alter the status quo.  
                                              To put things in perspective, while reacting to the developments in Doklam, Bhutan had onJune 29 issued a Press release in which it clearly stated that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the agreements and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between the two countries. In the Press release, Bhutan said the Chinese Army started constructing a motorable road from Dokola in the Doklam area towards the Bhutan Army camp at Zompelri on June 16, 2017. This is totally unwarranted.
                                        Truth be told, Bhutan in its Press release further said that the boundary talks between Bhutan and China were under way and the two countries had written agreements of 1988 and 1998 stating that they agree to maintain peace and tranquility in their border areas pending a final settlement on the boundary question. The two countries have also agreed to maintain a status quo on the boundary as before March 1959 and refrain from taking unilateral action or use of force, to change the status quo of the boundary. Bhutan has hoped that the status quo in the Doklam area would be maintained by China as it was before June 16, 2017.   
                               While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me also inform them that Bhutan has also issued a demarche to China over the construction of the road and asked Beijing to restore the “status quo” by stopping the work being undertaken forthwith. This unilateral action by China is what has compelled India to step in. So China has no right to blame India for the impasse!
                                                 It is imperative to mention here that Bhutan has no direct diplomatic relations with China and maintains contacts with Beijing through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi. India has rightly maintained that both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place. India has also cited the Bhutanese Foreign Ministry as emphasizing that “the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between these two countries”. India has conveyed to China unequivocally that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for New Delhi!
                                  What assumes immense significance here is that under the 2007 India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, the two sides have agreed to “cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other.” Under the previous treaty of friendship signed in 1949, India was to guide Bhutan on foreign and defence policies.
                                   No doubt, the language of 2007 treaty is interpreted to mean respecting the sensitivities of Bhutan regarding its sovereignty. But the ground reality is that as per the 1949 treaty, the Indian military is virtually responsible for protecting Bhutan from all kinds of military threats and this includes the threat posed by Chinese military also! Let there be no doubt about it.
                                   It was clearly stipulated in the 1949 treaty that a troop of Indian Army will always be stationed in Bhutan to train Bhutan’s army and to help them in time of need as and when required! As China began illegally constructing road on the triangle of Bhutan and Sikkim border, Bhutan took an offence to it and termed it a direct encroachment on its territorial integrity and sovereignty. As a consequence, the stepping in of Indian Army to help Bhutan ward off the impending Chinese threat became imperative in accordance with the terms and conditions of the treaty! How can China brush all this aside? It cannot!
                                              As things stand, India and China have been locked in a standoff for more than two months in Doklam near the Sikkim sector which is near the India-Bhutan-China trijunction since June 16. There are 12 major areas of dispute along the over 4,000-km Line of Actual Control (LAC). The faceoff started after Indian troops stopped Chinese military from building a road India believes would allow Beijing to cut its access to the northeastern states. Bhutan has maintained time and again that Doklam is an integral part of it but China while mocking it has claimed sovereignty over the area.
                                            It needs to be understood that Doklam plateau is governed by Bhutan and has long been inhabited by the Bhutanese shepherds. China has been eyeing this coveted piece of hilly terrain because of its immense strategic significance. It cannot be lost upon us that Doklam is very close to the Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal that connects the northeastern states to India with the rest of the country. It is the sole passage for supplying materials as also transportation to and from the northeastern states. In one fell swoop, China can break all links of India with the 7 North-Eastern States by occupying this passage! So India has to do all it can to prevent China from doing so!
                                            Truth be told, while delivering the General BC Joshi Memorial Lecture in Pune recently, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warned strongly in no uncertain terms that standoffs with China like that at Doklam are likely to “increase in future”. He said that, “The recent stand-off in the Doklam plateau by the Chinese side attempting to change the status quo are issues which we need to be wary about, and I think such kind of incidents are likely to increase in the future”. The standoff started when Indian troops after receiving formal request by the Royal Army of Bhutan stopped the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China from illegally constructing a highway through Doklam area. According to Gen VPMalik who is former Army Chief: “India has operational advantage at Doklam but it has to be prepared for skirmishes in any part of the Line of Actual Control – from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. The military part, there is no doubt we must review. We have to improve our border roads and military capability in the mountains as long as we continue to have an unresolved boundary with China. Lately, the frequency of such confrontations along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) has been increasing. The cycles are getting shorter. The decibel level of threats and warnings has gone up. Under these circumstances, the military has to be prepared for all eventualities. Even if there was no sakirmish, a long stand-off would take its own toll. We will require considerable amount of logistics and high-altitude conditioning of troops and equipment. Our troops are quite capable of going through that. But it will definitely have its financial and some health costs.”
                                                Truly speaking, China has made no bones in making it absolutely clear that it stands for territorial expansion at the cost of its smaller neighbours. It has also made it clear time and again that it can stoop to any extent to further its grand ambitions of being the undisputed supreme power in the whole region! We are living in a fools paradise if we think that China will behave properly if we extend diplomatic niceties and overtures with them by regularly backtracking from our stated position!
                                              Let me be direct in asking: What did we gain by recognizing Tibet as an integral part of China as we saw in 1954 through a consultative agreement and again during the 2003 visit of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee explicitly acknowledged that the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) was part of the People’s Republic of China? Has China ever cared to respond? What did Pakistan which is China’s closest ally gain by  ceding almost 6,000 sq km area north of Karakoram mountain ranges in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir? It is only China which has gained!
                                                Let me also be direct in asking:  What will Pakistan gain by China Pakistan Economic Corridor? It is China which will gradually increase its leverage in developing ports in Pakistan and ultimately occupy it! China is not sparing even its closest ally Pakistan then how can we expect them to be fair with us?
                                 Kanwal Sibal who is India’s former Foreign Secretary very elegantly brings out in his enlightening article titled “Doklam: Bundle of Chinese Lies” in ‘The Economic Times’ dated 11 August, 2017 that, “China is wallowing in its own mendacious propaganda on the Doklam stand-off. China obfuscates the Doklam issue by suddenly finding great virtue in colonial era unequal treaties which it rejects as in the case of the McMohan Line, for instance. It now argues that the 1890 British India-China treaty on the Tibet-Sikkim border extends to Bhutan too, even though neither Sikkim nor Bhutan were a party. China is distorting the content of Nehru’s 1959 letter to Chou En Lai which, while accepting that the Sikkim-Tibet boundary had been settled, refers to the unsettled tri-junction with Bhutan. China refers selectively to the 2006 talks between the Special Representatives (SRs) and omits mentioning the 2012 pact between SRs that the tri-junction would be settled in negotiations with third country involvement (Bhutan) and until then the status quo will be maintained. China’s contention that India has entered its territory in Doklam is bogus as this area has figured in the 24 rounds of China-Bhutan talks so far on border differences. For India, the plateau is Bhutanese territory claimed by China, just as, by virtue of its occupation of Tibet, China claims Indian territory. India has entered Bhutanese territory under existing bilateral security arrangements. India is acting in close coordination with Bhutan. China has done lasting damage to bilateral ties, as India will henceforth be exceedingly cautious about its intentions. China is alienating a billion plus Indians.”  
                                     Briefly stated: We must be prepared to engage in war with China under all circumstances. We must deploy more troops in our border with China. We cannot afford complacency of any kind on this score! We need to speed up in developing roads and all infrastructure in borders with China because they are far ahead of us and our leaders have not shown sufficient maturity in dealing it on an urgent priority even after suffering serious reverses in the 1962 war with China!
                                          All said and done, we should not take lightly what China has threatened us that if we enter India, it will be chaos. This can certainly be repulsed strongly if our political establishment cares to be more generous in spending more in developing all the border areas with China! Centre must remember the time tested old adage that, “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war!”
                                      It is heartening to note that the Army is taking no chances on the Sikkim axis. It has been steadily but discreetly moving the bulk of its soldiers under the 17 (Gangtok) and 27 (Kalimpong) Mountain Divisions (each has over 10,000 troops) of the Sukna-based 33 Corps to their “operational alert areas” to cater for any contingency! Also, around 2500 soldiers have been moved forward to Zulung and Nathang Valley in Sikkim after proper acclimatization by early July to reinforce the over 6000 soldiers that were already deployed in eastern and north-eastern parts of the state!  
                                       But still a lot more needs to be done as we cannot afford to take any threat by China lightly and the military has been raising concerns about lagging behind in defence preparedness and military transformation since last many decades! Indian Army has sought Rs 20,000 crore from the Defence Ministry as part of the efforts to build up emergency reserves of spares and ammunition. This comes at the same time the Ministry of defence (MoD) has sought Rs 20,000 crore more to meet its financial requirements! Army needs to meet deficiencies in 46 types of ammunition and spares for 10 types of weapons. This itself speaks aloud as to how well prepared we are for war with China! It is shameful that this years defence allocation constitutes just 1.56% of the GDP, much lower than the recommended 2% and this is worse than the situation in 1962! Centre must come out of its complacency and deep slumber well before China suddenly pounces upon us and leaves us with so deep scars that may be worse than even 1962!
                                      Let me now cite here what Gen VP Malik who is a distinguished former Chief of Army Staff (1997-2000) has said that, “Somehow, both the public opinion and the government have not backed the armed forces in this and we have continued to neglect the defence of our northern borders. The mindset in the government has never recognized that we can have a serious confrontation with China sometime or the other. Otherwise why should our infrastructure on the northern border be so weak? We have been talking about infrastructure on the northern border from the time I was Army chief, that is nearly two decades ago. Plans were made but they remain on paper mostly. Even though the budget as a percentage of GDP has been going down every year, we are often unable to spend the capital side. We have been surrendering part of the budget so often.”
                                       Recalling his controversial statement at the time of the Kargil war that “We will fight with what we have”, Gen Malik said the situation was no better now. He lamented that, “The same kind of problems, attitudes that we faced in my time, the present lot [in the Army] seems to be facing.” This is truly regrettable!
                                  In hindsight, Centre must at least now pay heed to what he has said with all the experience of more than 45 years under his belt otherwise we may again end up licking our own wounds for which Centre can blame no one but its ownself! Does Centre wants this to happen? Centre should not repeat the same mistakes committed by Jawaharlal Nehru of treating China as a friendly country only to be backstabbed most grievously!  
                                        A lot more needs to be done than what is being done at present to give a bloody nose to China without itself suffering many casualties and still strongly repulsing any kind of unprovoked and sudden attack that China has been planning all along! For this to happen our preparation has to be complete which in turn can happen only if Centre spends more on Army and in developing all areas connected with the border alongside China! Let there be no doubt of any kind on this!
                                On a concluding note, let me reiterate again that India while doing all it can to enhance friendly relations with China should not tolerate any kind of intrusion by Chinese PLA inside Indian territory if it really wants to be a global power! It is heartening to note that even USA has endorsed India’s position on Doklam and has castigated China for unnecessarily provoking India by trying to illegally construct road in Doklam which belongs to Bhutan! But it is India that has to fight its own battle and make it clear to China that it cannot dare to take India for granted! Gen VP Malik hits the nail on the head when he articulates most emphatically that, “India is not interested in picking a fight, but when your national interests are jeopardized, like in this case, diplomacy without adequate military backing cannot succeed. Your risk-taking ability in negotiations gets enhanced when you know that you can defend yourself on the border. We don’t want a war, but when you are faced with such a situation, you don’t want to leave your diplomacy and political initiatives without any backing. It’s nothing new to say that globally, diplomacy feels more comfortable in negotiations when they know that there is a strong military to defend the country.”     
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

No Law And No Court Can Compel Anyone To Sing Anything

I am very clear on one thing right from the time I was child: No one can compel anyone to sing anything which he/she does not want to sing. There is not even an iota of doubt in my mind that no law and no court can compel anyone to sing anything against his/her wishes. Our Constitution guarantees not just the right to freedom of speech and expression as envisaged in Article 19 but also guarantees to remain silent to what one does not wish to sing.
No Law And No Court Can Compel Anyone To Sing Anything

                                              Having said this, let me refer here now to the latest judgment by the Madras High Court which culminated from a goof-up by the Government of Tamil Nadu. A government job applicant – K Veeramani had in his entrance exam for the post of BT Assistant written to a question that Vande Mataram was written in Bengali. The examiner said that it was Sanskrit. The applicant challenged it as he missed by just one mark. The applicant contended that in all the books he had read, Bengali was mentioned as the language in which Vande Mataram was originally written.
                                        Following this, the Judge had directed the Advocate General of Madras High Court – R Muthukumaraswamy to apprise the court of the correct answer in order to settle the dispute over the linguistic origin of the song. When the case up on July 13, the Advocate General informed the court that Vande Mataram was of Sanskrit origin but had originally been penned in Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. The Judge directed the Teachers Recruitment Board to award the mark to the petitioner.
                                                     Needless to say, the Hon’ble Madras High Court should have focused only on this. Instead what we saw is that it stipulated that the national song Vande Mataram should be compulsorily sung and played in all schools and educational establishments across the State at least once a week. Justice MV Muralidharan also ordered that Vande Mataram should be played in all Government offices and institutions, private companies, factories and industries at least once a month. Certainly I must say here that patriotism cannot be thrust upon anyone. Singing of national song or anything else must be purely voluntary.
                                         Be it noted, Justice Muralidharan also made it clear that nobody should be forced to sing the national song provided there were valid reasons. This itself proves that it is just not correct to force anyone to sing Vande Mataram or anything else which he/she does not want to sing. Singing or not singing anything cannot be made a crime by any law.
                                       But the moot question that arises here is: Who will determine these valid reasons and what standards will be applied haven’t been specified? All this will only serve to provide more leeway to authorities and moral brigade to harass a common person who is just concerned about how to earn his/her bread and butter! Moreover, every citizen have been guaranteed the fundamental choice by the founding fathers of our Constitution to sing what they want or not to sing at all! No law and no court can force any citizen to sing any song whether it is national song or anything else! Patriotism cannot be forced at gun point or lawpoint or any other point!
                                             This latest order of Madras High Court is reminiscent of the Supreme Court direction in November 2016 on the compulsory singing of the national anthem in cinema houses. We all know how some fringe elements exploit such orders to further their own narrow vested political interests by forcing people from a particular religion or group to sing something which they feel their religion does not permit them to sing! This is why I very strongly feel that no one should be forced anyhow to sing anything against his/her wishes because this is no way to usher in nationalism.
                                               Truth be told, there are many who don’t like to sing any song but they love our nation as much as we do. Why should they be made to sing any song against their wishes? Why should goons be given a pretext to attack those who refuse to sing song? How can this be legally justified?  
                                             Don’t we know that there were incidents of physical assaults on those who did not stand up when the national anthem was played in theatres and in some cases even the physically disabled people or those who can’t hear properly or see properly were beaten up! What sort of nationalism is this? Such sort of forced nationalism cannot be justified under any circumstances! All courts right from bottom to top must guard against giving such judgments which can be misconstrued by goons to further their own vested interests or the vested interests of their political masters!
                     Nationalism cannot be forcibly spoon-feeded. What is the guarantee that those who sing Vande Mataram or any other song would be good citizens or would not indulge in anti-national acts or corruption? Who invited Pakistani invader Gen Pervez Musharraf who masterminded Kargil war in which we lost more than 500 brave soldiers as per official figures? Who gave Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan unilaterally for more than 20 years which is even now continuing? Those politicians who love singing Vande Mataram and other songs!
                                       Everyday our brave soldiers are dying because of the proxy war being waged by our rogue neighbour – Pakistan and yet our politicians who keep chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Mataram etc etc” are not ready to declare Pakistan as a “rogue and terror” nation just like Kuwait did recently and severe all ties with Pakistan! No national party is willing to support the likes of independent MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar who has tried several times to bring in a private member Bill to declare Pakistan a terror state! Most shameful!
                                           Even former Rajya Sabha MP Maulana Mehmood Madani who is also leader of Jamiat-e-Ulema had demanded sometime back that Pakistan be named “Aatankistaan” and India should severe all ties with Pakistan but our mainstream parties who enjoy singing national songs are just not prepared for it and feel very strongly that no matter how many soldiers are killed but relations with Pakistan must remain intact! Corruption is silently killing so many people more than that of terror killings and there are so many corrupt politicians who never tire of singing national songs yet shamelessly and wantonly indulge in corruption by nexus with corrupt contractors, engineers etc in making weak roads, weak bridges and weak buildings etc thus directly ensuring that many innocent people are killed in the most brazen manner! Thus there can be no two opinions about the irrefutable truth that moral character is the biggest asset and this should always be stressed upon right from childhood but nowadays it seems that more focus is attached on national songs etc which alone is just not enough!
                                          It is most unfortunate that sparks flew in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on July 28as the ruling BJP MLAs slammed Samajwadi Party’s Abu Asim Azmi who opposed a demand for making the singing of the song mandatory in the schools and colleges of the State. What is most disconcerting to note is that Maharashtra Public Works Minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil even went to the extent of saying that those who want to live in the country must say Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai! This is just not done!
                                      India is a very liberal and democratic country where everyone is free even to worship any God of his/her choice or not worship any God and remain an atheist! How can anyone be forced to worship a particular God or Goddess? I myself consider Bharat as father and not as Mata so will those who disagree with me beat me up? Same is the case with singing of national song or anthem. If some person does not like singing anything, that does not imply that he/she is an anti-national or does not love his/her country!
                                                 I am reminded of 1994 when my faith in Lord Shiva was completely shattered and my best friend Sageer Khan took a vow from me that I would worship Lord Shiva till my last breath just like he himself worshipped Allah. He rightly said to me to always remember that anything can be changed but parents, religion which includes God whom we worship right from our childhood days and nationality can never be shunned or changed! I had to agree not at gunpoint but because of friendpoint which he pointed towards me and while visiting temple alone I used to utter “Matha to tekna hain tekna hain tekna hain Shraddha nahin hain bhakti nahin hain paar matha to tekna hain tekna hain tekna hain, naak to ragaadni hain Sageer Khan ne kahan hain Sageer Khan ne kahan hain”.
                                      An old priest used to observe me daily and one day he said to me that, “You are doing a crime by worshipping Lord Shiva against your wishes and Lord Shiva will be more angry with you”. I said that I don’t care but I have to fulfill the vow which I gave to my best friend Sageer. He said that “Lord Shiva will be most angry with your best friend Sageer Khan because no God wants that anyone should worship him/her against his/her own wishes and your best friend Sageer Khan has committed the biggest sin by forcing you to worship Lord Shiva whom you don’t want to even see”! From then on I decided to always go to temple only with true dedication and not because of gunpoint or friendpoint – Sageer Khan! Also, Sageer himself never wanted that I should worship Lord Shiva in a disinterested manner or in a forcible manner. He used to say that one must worship with full dedication and zeal. For 2 years he ensured that I regularly went to temple by accompanying me regularly and it was just a coincidence that the temple where we both bowed our head was always of Lord Hanuman!   
                                      Same is the case with singing of songs. No song whether it is national song or national anthem can be forced on anyone whether it is Waris Pathan or Abu Asim Azmi or anyone else! Singing of song or anthem has to be purely voluntary! There should be no coercion at all under any circumstances.  Just because a person does not sing a song or anthem does not make him/her an anti-national and just because a person sings a song or anthem does not make him/her a true patriot! This is what we all especially those who are educated must understand and stop quarreling over such trivial issues like illiterate people! Also, Supreme Court itself had on a writ petition on this specific issue of singing of national song clearly stated that there is no mention in the Constitution of the national song that Vande Mataram is meant to be.
                                   Let me now conclude by quoting what the former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian known for his impeccable credentials and genius whom all Central Governments keep consulting from time to time and even has headed many important Committees like the one on National Education Policy had to say in this regard: “I believe that most people in India are patriotic, while they may not be overly demonstrative about it all the time. Love for one’s country is something that comes naturally and can’t be forced. Nothing can be ensured by using force.  The national anthem and Vande Mataram deserve to be respected but binding people by rules can’t ensure patriotism. In my view, it is not to be brought to the bazaar by saying that every shop and every courtroom will sing it every morning. While I respect the spirit of the Madras High Court ruling. I am critical of its application. By asking to play Vande Mataram in every classroom and every office, the court is certainly overdoing it. We should accept and accommodate different views. I think that a debate on patriotism or Vande Mataram, per se, is not required. There are insufficient debates on what’s affecting the country like poverty, preventive medication and education. Our government, Parliament, media and judiciary are not paying attention to these vital subjects.”
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Punjab And Haryana High Court Pulls Up Centre, State

Coming straight to the crux of the matter, let me begin by first and foremost pointing out that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has very strongly pulled up both the Narendra Modi government and the Manoharlal Khattar government in the state of Haryana on August 26 that is a day after 32 people were killed in the violence that was unleashed by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after he was convicted of raping two women. Needless to say, if Centre and State of Haryana had acted in time, there would have been no killings at all and at the most very few people would have been injured. But this most unfortunately was not to happen!
Punjab And Haryana High Court Pulls Up Centre, State

                                                   At the first place, why were lakhs of people allowed to assemble by the Haryana State government? Why when Section 144 of Cr PC was in operation were people allowed to assemble together in such large numbers? Why were they not dispersed right at the very beginning?
                                                  Also, why was no checking done? Why the mob was allowed to carry whatever they wanted with them to carry? Why they were not disarmed promptly? Why they were not placed under arrest?
                                             While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that a full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court minced no words in saying that, “National integration and law and order are above everything. We are one nation, not a party nation. Politicians need to understand that the nation is one. It is the Prime Minister of India, not BJP. It is the Chief Minister of the state, not BJP. He (Satya Pal Jain) is Additional Solicitor General of India, not of any party.” It is shameful that so much of violence happened right under the very nose of PM  Modi and CM of Haryana Khattar! Why PM Modi kept on doing ‘Maan Ki Baat’ but failed to ensure that security was briefed up entirely? Why CM Khattar allowed mob to indulge in unabated violence?
                                        For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that while stating that the Centre was treating Punjab and Haryana like a “colony”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said that it should play a more active role. Why the PM Modi was unable to gauge the extent of damage that lakhs of followers of Gurmeet Baba Ram Rahim Singh could cause at all such places where they were in considerable numbers? On August 24, the Supreme Court had noted that the Centre should not “abdicate or avoid its responsibility”.
                                           Truly speaking, a full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising of Acting Chief Justice SS Saron and Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Surya Kant were hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition by a Panchkula resident raising law and order concerns as a large number of people had reportedly entered the district despite prohibitory orders. The Bench remarked categorically that, “This was political surrender to allure vote bank, they [the Dera followers] were outside, you allowed them to enter and stay.”
                                            Truth be told, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had observed that the Khattar government seemed to have “surrendered before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda for political considerations.” The Court also observed that, “This was a political surrender to allure vote bank. Khattar was ‘protecting’ the Dera.” The entire ruling establishment both at the Centre and in the State must seriously introspect on this!  
                                           It is quite ostensible that the Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court was very miffed over the way the security and safety of citizens was taken for granted. The Bench said that, “The Chief Minister is also the Home Minister. Why could you not prevent the crowd from gathering for the last seven days? They were all outsiders, but were allowed to enter Panchkula, stay there and occupy public space.” This clearly implies that the entry of lakhs of people in Haryana had the tacit support of Chief Minister Khattar because they could not have gathered in such large numbers without his consent!  
                                          As it turned out, while taking note of the suspension of Panchkula District Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashok Kumar, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said a deeper probe was required to ascertain who was behind the flip-flop over the orders to impose Section 144. The Bench said that, “It has strengthened our belief that it is all political. You allowed the crowd to gather. A probe will expose it.” Without a doubt, there is some grain of truth in what the Bench has said! This certainly merits a free, fair and impartial inquiry headed by a former Chief Justice of India!
                                             As things stand, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Deputy Commissioners of Punjab and Haryana to invite applications for claims regarding the damage caused to public and private properties during the violence, and ordered that no property of the Dera Sacha Sauda shall be “sold, transferred and encumbered” in any manner. The Bench said that, “The Deputy Commissioners in the States of Haryana and Punjab are directed to identify the assets and properties of Dera Sacha Sauda and submit a list of the same in this Court for attachment. The list should include assets, incomes, bank accounts and properties.” It also said that, “The reports of interception of the messages given by the Dera Sacha Sauda inciting violence shall be submitted in this Court in a sealed cover.”  
                                          It is imperative to mention here that the Advocate Generals of both the states have been directed to submit in sealed cover their strategies and plan for “preventing this kind of incidents of violence and arson in future and whether such planning includes the complete sensitization of Dera Sacha Sauda”. The Bench said that “a status report of the persons killed in the mayhem be also submitted. The States of Punjab and Haryana shall also submit the details of the expenses incurred in making all types of arrangements at Panchkula and other parts of the State.”
                                           In hindsight, we see how more than 30 people were killed for no fault of theirs and how public property as well as private property was destroyed due to the complete inaction of the Haryana state government in deploying adequate force in time! The Haryana government itself told the Bench that 32 people killed, including 28 in Panchkula were killed in the violence.
                                       The State Advocate General told the Bench that, “Arrests of as many as 524 persons have been made in Panchkula, 24 vehicles have been seized, five pistols with 79 rounds, besides two rifles with 52 rounds were recovered. Moreover, iron rods, dandas, hockey sticks and ten petrol bombs were also recovered.” The Punjab government told the High Court that “there have been as many as 51 incidents in Punjab and 39 FIRs have been registered; besides 19 miscreants have been arrested, including one Gurdev Singh who is a state-level office-bearer of Dera Sacha Sauda.
                                               To put things in perspective, the Punjab Advocate-General Atul Nanda said that, “The Bench has taken a serious cognizance of yesterday’s violence and said the loss due to the violence is a loss to the nation and the taxpayer. This loss will be compensated by those responsible for it.” The Punjab and Haryana High Court has also ordered the Haryana administration to make arrangements to take CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh and two of his staff members to the Rohtak district jail by air for pronouncing the quantum of sentence against Dera Sacha Sauda Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was convicted for rape on August 25. The Court notified the jail as a “place of sitting of the CBI court for the purpose of hearing of quantum of sentence.”
                                          An order issued by the Registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court said: “Suitable accommodation for court room, etc. in the District jail, Rohtak at Sunaria shall be provided and arrangements also be made for the lawyers and parties to have an easy access in court room in the district jail. Further, necessary arrangements for security and safe transport by air of the judicial officer, who has to try the case in the district jail and two of staff members, shall also be made.”
                                     All said and done, what Punjab and Haryana High Court has said must be taken most seriously by both Centre and Haryana State Government. It has rapped on the knuckles of both Centre and Haryana State Government. Full compensation must be recovered from the properties of Dear Sacha Sauda which should be identified and then seized so that those who have suffered from the mindless wanton violence indulged in by lakhs of followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh are suitably compensated!
                                         But this alone is just not enough! It must be investigated thoroughly by a former CJI and CBI as to whether the wanton violence was pre-planned and if it was pre-planned then all those who were a part to it must be charged, tried and punished for murder and mass murder! Under no circumstances should they be allowed to go scot free!
                                              In the ultimate analysis, just attaching property or awarding compensation is a positive step, no doubt but is  a very small step which will certainly not act as a suitable deterrent unless accompanied by jail term and death sentence for all those involved in it hinging on the extent to which they are complicit in the commission of the crime! Overall, it is a very good judgment as it has not dithered in taking into task both PM and CM for not doing enough to check the mindless violence which claimed the precious life of so many people! If Army had been called in earlier, people in huge numbers who were followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh were not allowed to conglomerate in and around Panchkula and also huge force deployed right from the beginning then certainly the loss of lives could certainly have been mitigated!     
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Women Are Most Unsafe In Lawless West UP And UP

Let me begin on a very bitter note by pointing out that crime against women are multiplying most rapidly in UP and this is most felt in West UP which is the worst affected of all the regions of UP. Throwing of acid on woman or rape, gang rape, molestation and all other forms of crimes against women and girls are openly being perpetrated in West UP especially as also in UP which is certainly most concerning! This West UP with 26 districts has an area of 98,000 square km which is more than the area of many other states and has a population of more than 9 crore which is more than any other state except Maharashtra and Bihar. Here too areawise West UP is bigger than Bihar which has an area of 94,000 square km.
Women Are Most Unsafe In Lawless West UP And UP

                                           It is most hurting to read that dacoits are fearlessly killing innocent people on highway as happened most recently on May 25 and then in front of their men had the guts to gang rape the 4 women accompanying them just a kilometer away from the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida and when one man resisted he was shot in the chest from point blank range who died  and others were thrashed badly! This clearly demonstrates that women are not safe even when accompanied with their entire family! Such incidents keep happening on a regular basis in West UP especially! 2 minor girls were gangraped recently in Moradabad! Criminals fully know that West UP has no high court bench and Allahabad High Court tops in the number of pending cases about 10 lakh pending cases and it would take ages before the cases are finally decided as they keep on lingering interminably and by the time they are decided they would die a natural death and victims would suffer endlessly travelling again and again 800-900 km away from West UP to Allahabad as West UP with 26 districts have no high court bench! This must change now if the fear of law is to be ingrained permanently in the minds of such criminals! We all know fully well that how a similar incident had triggered huge protests in July 2016 when a mother and daughter were gangraped in Bulandshahar! The newly appointed Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhonsle rightly lashed out at the law and order situation in UP and said that in Maharashtra women or girl venture out in night anywhere yet never such incidents of gang rape occur!  
                                                Still you see the irony! Maharashtra has 3 high court benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa apart from high court at Mumbai but West UP has not even a single bench of high court! In UP itself both high court at Allahabad and a single bench at Lucknow are located so close to each other with a distance of just about 150-200 km. Why not a single bench of high court was created in West UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi very strongly recommended 3 benches for West UP and hilly areas adjoining it which now form a separate state – Uttarakhand at Agra, Nainital and Dehradun even though bench were created at Aurangabad in Maharashtra on its recommendations? Benches were also approved for Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Madurai in Tamil Nadu! Why women victims have to travel so far away to Allahabad which is about 700-800 km away from most of the districts of West UP and be made to suffer so much for the inordinate delay and made to bear the huge expenses in fighting the case for her right in making sure that sexual offenders are sent behind bars?
                                                   It is so shocking and disgusting to see that West UP is fast becoming the epicenter of all kinds of crimes, rapes, gangrapes, brutal murders, mass murders, dacoity, robbery and what not! What is even more shocking to see is that all political parties barring Samajwadi Party have openly espoused the creation of a high court bench in West UP but still even after seventy years of independence we see no sign of it happening anytime soon! What is most shocking is that inspite of West UP accounting for more than half of the crime cases all over UP, not a single high court bench has been created here since 1947 till now even though a high court bench was created at Lucknow so close to Allahabad way back on July 1, 1948!
                                                  What an unbeatable irony that Allahabad High Court tops with maximum pending cases at 10 lakh and still it has least high court benches – only one at Lucknow for just 8 districts! No other High Court in India has 10 lakh or 9 lakh or 8 lakh or 7 lakh or 6 lakh or 5 lakh or 4 lakh or 3 lakh or even 2 lakh cases pending and still some of them have got 3 high court benches like Karnataka, Maharashtra and others but UP has just one Bench only! Why this step-motherly treatment for UP?
                                              What a shame that man and boys in West UP have the guts to indulge in molestation as they 14 of them did in Rampur district in West UP when they  molested and assaulted 2 girls in broad daylight in a village under Tanda police station in Rampur and also filed the act on their cellphone cameras and later put it on Facebook! One accused even lifts her.  While the girls are seen pleading with them to let them go, the youths are seen laughing and misbehaving with them! Yet we hardly see any strict action! They have just no fear of law!
                                             Such criminals know fully well that Allahabad High Court has the highest number of pending cases – about 10 lakh as compared to other states where the number of pending cases don’t exceed 1 lakh or at the most 2 lakhs cases! They know that they will easily get bail and by the time cases are finally decided they will die a natural death.
                                               But see the unpalatable irony! Politicians are not prepared to create even a single bench anywhere in UP leave alone West UP!  It is a matter of great shame that Allahabad High Court which last year on March 17 had completed its 150th year of establishment has the least benches in India – only one at Lucknow and that too just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad! Why no high court bench in West UP at Meerut or Agra or at Jhansi or some other place? We all know that Allahabad High Court is the biggest court in whole of Asia and also the oldest court! Still why it has least benches in India only one which is so close to Allahabad? If Lucknow is capital of UP, Bhopal is also capital of MP, Bhubaneshwar is also capital of Odisha and so is the case with many other big cities which neither have high court nor bench!
                                          Why politicians have ensured that a high court bench was created for Lucknow about 69 years back on July 1, 1948 but not at any other place especially in West UP, Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur even 70 years later? Why Centre decided to create 2 more benches for Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts but not a single for West UP with 26 disricts? Why 230th report of Law Commission submitted in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches has only been implemented in Karnataka alone and not in UP, Bihar or other big states?
                                           Why when UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 22 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath keeps pointing out every now and then, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies,  maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges – 75 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, maximum dowry cases, maximum rape and gang rape cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP? Why when UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches – only one and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow?
                                 Rajnath Singh who is Union Home Minister while addressing public gathering in Patiyali constituency of Kasarganj district is on record stating in February 2017 that UP reported 7,673 riots, 4660 murder, 4096 robberies and 260 dacoities in just one year and has pledged on numerous occasions his unstinted support for a high court bench in West UP but even after his BJP led government is nearing 3 years in power yet it has failed to create even a single more bench of high court not just in West UP but anywhere in UP! Why?
Our former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had himself raised the demand for a high court bench for West UP in 1986 inside Parliament but even after more than 30 years we are nowhere! 
                                   Women are most unsafe in lawless West UP and UP! This alone explains why former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “rape and crime capital” of India! More steps need to be taken to ensure safety of women. Central government led by PM Narendra Modi should stop coughing excuses now and note that it has completed 3 years in power and now its government is in power in UP also which makes it further easier to create more benches here! Dr Satyapal Singh Malik who is BJP MP had raised the bench issue in Parliament last year and demanded creation of 5 more benches but till now not even a single bench created here! Another Central minister and BJP MP Sanjeev Baliyan had raised the hope that a bench would be created in West UP before 2016 ends by reassuring the people but even now as 2017 has half ended we see no process in place for creating more benches in West UP or at any other place in whole of UP!
                                                 Why are all parties hell bent that under no circumstances should the unique record set by our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru of creating a high court bench at Lucknow on 1 July 1948 be broken before at least 100 years are completed? Seventy years have already been completed since independence! When Nehru allowed the creation of a bench at Lucknow so close to Allahabad way back in 1948 why no other politician allowed creation of a bench atr any other place till now? It was way back in 1955 that Dr Sampoornanand had recommended a high court bench for West UP at Meerut but even after 62 years we see no bench as Centre had refused then! Similarly many other UP CM had also recommended the creation of a high court bench here but to no avail! Why?  
                                           Lawyers of West UP have been striking work for 6 months without break several times demanding high court bench as they did in 2001 and for 3 months as they did in 2014-15 and we keep seeing strike nearly every month apart from the strike of Saturdays yet no bench! They even go on strike everySaturday since May 1981 to protest West UP not being given a bench even though Justice Jaswant Commission had explicitly recommended 3 benches! What they get is just fake assurances sometimes from Centre and sometimes from State! Nothing else!       
                                              Finally and most importantly, now no more delay and no more lame excuses! Now only and only more benches for UP! Only then will the more than 22 crore people of UP get some relief especially women and girls who are most vulnerable to all types of crimes and will not have to waste huge money and time to get justice which they don’t get usually in their lifetime as Allahabad High Court is overloaded with more than 10 lakh pending cases and more than half of High Court Judges post are still lying vacant! This open endless sham must end now!

                                           If a high court bench is created it is “poorest of poor” and the most deprived and hapless women who will benefit most as they will be saved from the unnecessary trouble of travelling so far and spending so much extra money, time etc to just attend one hearing alone! Centre must have some pity on woman at least who are most unsafe in lawless UP and especially West UP and immediately order creation of more benches not just in West UP but also in other parts of UP where the crime rate is high! Crime rate is highest in West UP which necessitates creation of bench here on  a war footing!    
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Why West UP Has Been Denied A Bench Of High Court?

“Western UP still does not have a high court bench. Think of this, Western UP is 98,933 square kilometres in area. It is bigger than countries like Hungary, Portugal and Jordan. Plus, the population of West UP is huge. We have been demanding a high court bench for so long. Successive governments have done nothing about it. This high court bench has been promised to us multiple times by different politicians. But, nothing has happened. All those statements are only political statements, nothing else.”
Why West UP Has Been Denied A Bench Of High Court?

–      Gajendra Pal Singh who was Chairman of High Court Bench Central Action Committee for Western UP and also was twice President of Meerut Bar.
                                              Why when Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Jaswant Singh appointed by the late Mrs Indira Gandhi government in 1970s recommended 3 high court benches for UP and all 3 being in West UP and hilly areas adjoining them – Agra, Nainital and Dehradun did Centre decide not to approve even a single bench here? Why on basis of this same Justice Jaswant Singh Commission high court benches were created at Aurangabad in Maharashtra? Why benches were also approved for Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Madurai in Tamil Nadu but not for West UP?   
                                          Why states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and others have 3 high court benches even though the number of pending cases in these cases is not 10 lakh or 9 lakh or 8 lakh or 7 lakh or 6 lakh or 5 lakh or 4 lakh or 3 lakh or even 2 lakh as opposed to UP which has more than 10 lakh pending cases and yet has only one single high court bench at Lucknow which is just 150-200 km away from Allahabad leaving the rest of UP high and dry? Why when more than 57% of pending cases are from West UP as was testified by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission did Centre not approve even a single bench here nor for any other place in UP? Why this step-motherly treatment with UP and especially West UP?
                                                  Why we see maximum cases of rapes, gangrapes as we saw recently in Jewar just a kilometer away from the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida while the 4 women who were gangraped while they were travelling on national highway and that too accompanied with their men and one men was even shot dead when he resisted and the other were brutally beaten and yet after more than 14 days we see no criminals being tracked down and yet we see no bench being created here even though politicians like Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh keep assuring repeatedly that very soon good news will be heard regarding this? Why we see no bench in West UP even though we see maximum cases of riots, arson, loot and crime from West UP as we saw recently in Saharanpur when violent clashes broke out between Thakurs and Dalits which left many injured and many dead? Why the high court and benches of 8 states are nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad and even Lahore High Court in Pakistan is nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad yet no bench is being set up here?
                                              Why women victims have to travel so far away to Allahabad which is about 700-800 km away from most of the districts of West UP and be made to suffer so much for the inordinate delay and made to bear the huge expenses in fighting the case for her right in making sure that sexual offenders are sent behind bars? Why poor farmers and poor people from West UP are made to travel so much and spend so much extra money just to secure justice to the extent that they have to mortgage their land, property etc? Why can’t Centre create a high court bench here?
                                                   It is so shocking and disgusting to see that West UP is fast becoming the epicenter of all kinds of crimes, rapes, gangrapes, brutal murders, mass murders, dacoity, robbery and what not! What is even more shocking to see is that all political parties barring Samajwadi Party have openly espoused the creation of a high court bench in West UP but still even after seventy years of independence we see no sign of it happening anytime soon! What is most shocking is that inspite of West UP accounting for more than half of the crime cases all over UP, not a single high court bench has been created here since 1947 till now even though a high court bench was created at Lucknow which is just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad way back on July 1, 1948! Why Centre even after 70 years later in 2018 is not prepared to create even a single bench of high court in West UP in any of the 26 districts wherever it wants?
                                           Why Allahabad High Court is the biggest court in whole of Asia and also the oldest court yet it has least benches only one which is very close to Allahabad at Lucknow? Why no bench at any other place especially in West UP? Why Lucknow has bench when many other capitals like Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Thiruvananthapuram, Dehradun etc have neither high court nor bench?
                                   Why Centre decided to create 2 more benches for Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts but not a single for West UP with 26 disricts? Why 230th report of Law Commission submitted in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches has only been implemented in Karnataka alone and not in UP, Bihar or other big states? Why population of Karnataka is just about 6 crore and that of West UP alone is more than 9 crore yet Karnataka has high court and 3 benches but West UP has not even a single bench even though the pending cases in Karnataka are less than one lakh and that in West UP alone is more than 5 lakh in high court alone?
                                           Why when UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 22 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath keeps pointing out every now and then, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies,  maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges – 75 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, maximum dowry cases, maximum rape and gang rape cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP? Why when UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches – only one and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow?
                                 
                            It was way back in 1955 that Dr Sampoornanand had recommended a high court bench for West UP at Meerut but even after 62 years we see no bench as Centre had refused then! Similarly many other UP CM had also recommended the creation of a high court bench here but to no avail! Why? Our former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had himself raised the demand for a high court bench for West UP in 1986 inside Parliament but even after more than 30 years we are nowhere! 
                                        Dr Satyapal Singh Malik who is BJP MP had raised the bench issue in Parliament last year and demanded creation of 5 benches but till now not even a single bench created here! Another Central minister and BJP MP Sanjeev Baliyan had also assured that by end of 2016 West UP will have a bench but what we see on ground is just nothing!              
                                       Lawyers of West UP have been striking work for 6 months without break several times demanding high court bench as they did in 2001 and for 3 months as they did in 2014-15 and we keep seeing strike nearly every month apart from the strike of Saturdays yet no bench! They even go on strike every Saturday since May 1981 to protest West UP not being given a bench even though Justice Jaswant Commission had explicitly recommended 3 benches! What they get is just fake assurances!     
                                Why West UP has an area of 98,933 square km which accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and yet no bench but Lucknow in Central region has just 62,363 square km and yet it has a bench?   Centre has all the power to create a high court bench in West UP without any recommendation from the state government as the former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee had rightly said way back in 2001 when he was asked about it. He had rightly said that, “The Centre without any recommendation from the State Chief Minister or Chief Justice of a State is fully empowered under our Constitution to set up a high court bench anywhere it wants at its own volition.”  Why Centre ignores blithely what the Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association Krishna Mani had said quite explicitly that, “Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure speedy and cheap justice at their doorsteps!” Centre can also cite Justice Jaswant Singh Commission in its favour and 230th report of Law Commission in its favour. But like the previous governments it is just busy in trotting out excuses for not creating a high court bench in West UP! 
                                              Even former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh Dr Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had acknowledged that a bench of high court for west UP is perfectly justified with Vajpayee raising it even in Parliament! The high court and benches of 8 states are nearer to West UP as compared to Meerut and even Lahore High Court is nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad! Centre is just busy in trotting out excuses for not creating a high court bench in West UP and it will have to pay a very heavy price for this inexcusable crime in the coming elections in UP in 2017! You see for youself the distance from Allahabad to all major districts of West UP and they are as follows: –
District                          Distance
Meerut                          637 km
Muzzaffarnagar            693 km
Saharanpur                  752 km
Ghaziabad                    607 km
Bijnore                          692 km
Gautambuddhnagar     650 km
Bulandshahr                 537 km
Hathras                         550 km
Rampur                         633 km
Moradabad                    662 km
Aligarh                           501 km
Mathura                         501 km
Agra                               464 km
Etah                               497 km
Mainpuri                         462 km
Shamli                            720 km
Hapur                             600 km
Sambhal                         650 km
Amroha                     692 km                                                
                                       Still should a high court bench not be created in West UP? Why no affirmative action is being taken in this regard even now after 70 years of independence when Jawaharlal Nehru had the guts and conviction to set up a high court bench way back in 1948 just 150-200 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow? Why no Prime Minister after Nehruji took any step to create any bench anywhere else other than at Lucknow which was established under his stewardship way back on July 1, 1948?        
                                                     In hindsight, it must be asked that  when West UP contributes to 75% of total revenue of UP then why the people of West UP are compelled to travel so far to get justice? Rajinder Chaudhary who was a senior minister in UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s Cabinet  while addressing lawyers of Meerut Bar strongly recommended creation of 6 more benches for UP and Anil Pratap Singh who is Chairman of UP Bar Council has also supported creation of a bench in West UP and even said that he would speak to Chief Justice and Chief Justice of India in this regard! Many Union Cabinet ministers like Rajnath Singh who is our home minister, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Gen VK Singh, etc have too strongly demanded creation of a bench in West UP! Still why no step is being taken to create a bench here?
                                                 Why the present CM Yogi Adityanath is happy in setting up anti-Romeo squads even though Aaj Tak newschannel exposed how some police cops are busy minting money on pretext of saving women from harassment? Why can’t our leaders understand that a high court bench in West UP is not going to benefit just people of one religion or one caste or one sex alone? Why don’t our politicians appreciate that people of all religions, all communities, all castes, all sexes and all others who comprise part of 9 crore people staying in West UP will benefit if a high court bench is set up here?
                                                 The point that I am trying to drive home here is: Why can’t a bench be set up here? Why should litigants be compelled to travel so far to Allahabad and waste huge money in staying, travelling, eating and other expenses? Why lawyers of West UP repeatedly feel compelled to go strike demanding a high court bench in West UP? Why still Centre is not addressing this so sensitive issue once and for all? Why BJP MPs from West UP keep assuring that bench will be created soon since last many years yet till now no bench? Why no one is caring for “poorest of poor” who have to travel so far all the way to Allahabad to get justice? Why Rajinder Aggarwal who is BJP MP from Meerut brings forward private member bill in Parliament for creating high court bench in West UP but Centre refuses to support it?
Shameful!
                                 If a high court bench is created in West UP for more than 9 crore people living here it is “poorest of poor” and the most deprived and hapless women who will benefit most as they will be saved from the unnecessary trouble of travelling so far and spending so much extra money, time etc to just attend one hearing alone! Centre must have some pity on woman at least who are most unsafe in lawless UP and especially West UP and keeping the interests of such women victims in mind immediately order creation of more benches not just in West UP but also in other parts of UP where the crime rate is high! Crime rate is highest in West UP as validated by recent incidents which necessitates creation of high court bench here on  a war footing!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

230th Report Of Law Commission Must Be Implemented In Big States Like UP

How long will Centre callously ignore that  UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 22 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath keeps pointing out every now and then, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies,  maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges – about 78 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, maximum dowry cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP? How long will Centre ignore that UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches?
230th Report Of Law Commission Must Be Implemented In Big States Like UP

                                              Why West UP has an area of 98,933 square km which accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and yet no bench but Lucknow in Central region has just 62,363 square km and yet it has a bench?   Centre has all the power to create a high court bench in West UP without any recommendation from the state government as the former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee had rightly said way back in 2001 when he was asked about it. He had rightly said that, “The Centre without any recommendation from the State Chief Minister or Chief Justice of a State is fully empowered under our Constitution to set up a high court bench anywhere it wants at its own volition.”  Why Centre ignores blithely what the Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association Krishna Mani had said quite explicitly that, “Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure speedy and cheap justice at their doorsteps!” 
                                               Why is Centre still not creating a high court bench in West UP knowing fully well that it deserves a bench right since independence? How strange that not even the 230th Report of the Law Commission elicited any interest from our media which strongly advocated setting up of more High Court Benches and sharply castigated the prevailing “Uncle Judges Culture” and unsatisfactory performance of High Court in disposing of pending cases. Recently even Supreme Court had also lashed out on the prevailing “Uncle Judges Culture” in different High Courts. What I find even more paradoxical is that the maximum opposition for establishment of more Benches emanates mainly from those advocates practicing in High Court or those people residing in the place where the High Court is located. Very conveniently, they ignore the undisputed fact that it is the “poorest of the poor” and not the “richest of the rich” who will benefit the most if more Benches are created because they cannot afford heavy expenses incurred in travelling, lodging and many other related things and therefore emerge as the worst sufferers. This is exactly what not only the media but most of us tend to ignore.
                                      What is the purpose of setting up Law Commission if their recommendations are not implemented? I only hope that wisdom prevails on our policy-makers and they decide at the earliest to create many more Benches of High Court as recommended recently by the Law Commission in its 230th report especially in big States like UP and Rajasthan which have only one Bench and Bihar which does not have even a single bench. The media must at least now step forward and represent the unheard voices of thousands of undertrial prisoners residing in remote areas who are the worst sufferers in the whole process and unstintedly support the people of West UP in their noble cause for setting up a bench of high court in West UP at the earliest !
                                                  That West UP does not have a Bench since 1947 till 2017 is most disquieting! It is a ghoulish mockery of Article 21 and  Article 39 A which provides for equal justice and free legal aid and the 230th report of Law Commission which provides for setting up of more High Court benches ! Former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association Krishna Mani had very categorically stated that, “Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure justice”. Lawyers of West UP have on several occasions gone on strike for several months in support of a bench here but to no avail ! Not only this , they have been regularly going on strike since 1981 every Saturday to press home the point that bench is a dire necessity here which cannot be ignored but again to no avail ! 
                                                       Why is it that when Dr Sampoornanand who was the UP CM way back in 1955 had strongly recommended creation of a high court bench in Meerut but Centre overruled him? Why Centre decided that only the people of Eastern UP were entitled to have all three – capital, high court as well as bench and West UP to have nothing? Why Centre did not create a bench even after many UP CM like Dr Sampoornanand, Banarsi Das, ND Tiwari, Rajnath Singh etc strongly recommended creation of a bench in West UP?
                                             Why Centre decided that the people of West UP which included all those also who now comprise in Uttaranchal and who till 2000 formed part of UP had to travel about 1200-1500 km and even more all the way to seek justice to Allahabad to attend just a single hearing and waste many days in coming and going and wasting money on so many unnecessary inconveniences? Why Centre decided that even though many capitals like Bhopal which is capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhubaneshwar which is capital of Orissa, Thiruvananthapuram which is capital of Kerala had neither high court nor bench as is the situation also in so many other states but in UP, a single bench was created in 1948 just about 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow which is capital of UP?
                                            Why Centre feels that even though the high court and benches of 8 different states fall nearer to West UP and even Lahore high court in Pakistan is just 450 km away but people of West UP must travel all the way to Allahabad about 600-800 km away to attend just a single hearing and spend whole life in travelling and attending cases in Allahabad? Why Centre is firm that for 12 districts falling in Lucknow jurisdiction must have high court but for 26 districts of West UP, not a single bench of high court must exist? Why Centre decided that even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended creation of 3 high court benches for West UP, not a single bench be created? Why Centre decided to create benches at Aurangabad in Maharashtra as recommended by Justice Jaswant Commission but not for West UP? Why Centre decided to create benches at Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal but denied even a single bench to West UP?
                                                   Why former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee inspite of himself raising West UP high court bench issue in Parliament while in Opposition in 1986 failed to create a bench himself on becoming PM? Why when more than half of the pending cases of UP are from West UP has Centre decided not to create a single bench here? Why Centre decided to create 2 more benches for Karnataka alone at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts but refused even a single more bench not just for 26 districts but for all the 80 districts of UP knowing fully well that it is UP which tops the state list of pending cases with 15 lakh cases and Karnataka is way behind with just less than 2 lakh pending cases which is far less than even the pending cases of West UP alone? Why Centre till now has overlooked the 36 year old strike by lawyers of West UP every Saturday as also the 6 months old strike by lawyers of West UP due to which courts remained close as we saw in 2001?
                                             Why Centre is still not waking up its eyes even after  80 days of strike by the lawyers of West UP? Why inspite of lawyers of West UP blocking trains, rail tracks, observing complete shut down is Centre adamant that it is perfectly in order that a single bench exist just 150-200 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow and nowhere else? Why so many Cabinet Ministers like Gen VK Singh, Rajnath Singh, Sanjeev Baliyan, Mahesh Sharma are vociferously advocating the creation of a bench in West UP but Centre is still not listening? Why lawyers of West UP were compelled to even go on strike for 2 days in a week –Wednesday and Saturday and yet Centre remained muted?
                                       Why Centre has implemented the recommendations of 230th report of Law Commission of creating more benches of high court only with respect to Karnataka by creating 2 more benches there and no other state? Is it because most of the time the law ministers were from Karnataka? Supreme Court must investigate that why 2 more high court benches were set up for Karnataka which has less than 2 lakh pending cases and not a single more for UP which has more than 10 lakh pending cases as this is a very serious issue which just cannot be brushed aside as it affects the life of not just 9 crore people of West UP but also of all such regions in India where there is no bench and people have to travel so far and mortgage their land, jewellery etc to just struggle to cope with the mounting expenses in travelling so far to Allahabad for every hearing and on many other expenses like hiring lawyer etc!
                                           Why inspite of Ban Ki Moon who is the UN Secretary General and who ridiculed UP as the “crime and rape capital of India” has UP least benches in India? Why inspite of West UP being enmeshed in communal riots time and again as we saw either during Meerut riots, Agra riots, Saharanpur riots, Muzaffarnagar riots, etc there is no bench here? Why inspite of senior lawyers being murdered time and again in West UP and crime and riots sweeping all across West UP is Centre not setting up a bench?   
                                                  Centre and State are just passing the buck of decision making on this sensitive issue on the other and both in principle agree that a bench must come up in West UP! Therefore, it is the Supreme Court which is the guardian of all which must step in now promptly! When Supreme Court can set up a “Social Justice Bench”, it must look into this also and promptly take the appropriate decision!
                                 However, let me hasten to add here that things have changed in last 3 months after the newly elected government in UP led by Yogi Adityanath of BJP was sworn in. Now Centre cannot forward the excuse that State is ruled by another party which is not cooperating! Brijesh Pathak who is the Law Minister of UP very rightly said recently while in Meerut that, “We know that lawyers from Western UP have been suffering for many years and have been agitating for long. We are considering all options that are available. We assure you that we will resolve this issue very soon. The lawyers of Western UP will not have to suffer much longer. We will soon discuss the matter and I assure you that we will set up the high court bench soon.” Let us recall here that earlier former Union RPN Singh had also disclosed that Union Law Minister in UPA regime – Kapil Sibal wanted to create a bench in Meerut but State Government in UP led by the then UP CM Akhilesh Yadav did not agree to it!
                                                  Former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan had said that, “Only more courts can make justice delivery effective. If we have adequate courts, the system would function smoothly”.  It needs no genius to conclude that UP being one of the biggest states in India with maximum population, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of rape, loot, riots and arson and maximum pending cases certainly needs more benches and not the least as we shamefully see right now. It’s an outright fraud perpetrated on people of UP and worst affected are the people of West UP.
                                                   It is time we realised that a nation where pending cases like Frankenstein’s monster are assuming more and more gigantic proportions with UP topping the notorious hit list will go to wolves if the festering problem of pending cases is not addressed at the earliest by promptly creating more benches in UP. It makes absolutely no sense to perpetuate the historical blunder of vesting UP with only one bench at Lucknow so close to Allahabad!
                                      Prof NR Madhava Menon who is a founder director of the National Judicial Academy and a former member of the Law Commission of India very rightly said : “The litigant public now has a right to demand from the judiciary quicker delivery of justice, planned elimination of arrears and enhanced access to justice. The judiciary is indeed on trial on its commitment to timely justice. No more alibis would be acceptable to the public.” Also, the Centre should then waste no time in immediately setting up more benches all over India wherever required as recommended by the 230th report of Law Commission especially in big states like UP so that the poorest of the poor who are the worst affected can avail its benefit at the earliest. No government can afford to ignore the gargantuan problems faced by the people of West UP since independence in securing justice for themselves in a fair time which mostly often turns out to be an endless wait but which most unfortunately has been completely disregarded by all the successive governments since independence without any exception whatsoever which is most disgusting and frustrating to note !   
                                        The First Law Commission in its fourth report made in 1956 that is more than 50 years ago strongly recommended that more High Court Benches should not be created but the 18th Law Commission in its 230th report made in 2009 has strongly recommended creation of more High Court Benches all over India. Which report should the Government adhere – one made in 1956 or one made in 2009?               
                                               The 18th Law Commission in its 230th report had itself noted that, “In almost every High Court, there is huge pendency of cases and the present strength of the judges can hardly be said to be sufficient to cope with the alarming situation. The institution of cases is much more than the disposal and it adds to arrears of cases. The litigating citizens have a fundamental right of life i.e. a tension-free life through speedy justice-delivery system. Now it has become essential that the present strength of the judges should be increased manifold according to the pendency, present and probable. It is also necessary that the work of the High Courts is decentralized, that is, more Benches are established in all States. If there is manifold increase in the strength of the judges and the staff, all cannot be housed in one campus. Therefore, the establishment of new Benches is necessary. It is also in the interest of the litigants. The Benches should be so established that a litigant is not required to travel long. It is true that the new establishments will require money, but it is necessary as a development measure, particularly, when efforts are being made for all-round development of the country. Therefore, the money should not be a problem. We have to watch and protect the interest of the litigants. We must always keep in mind that the existence of judges and advocates is because of the litigants and they are there to serve their cause only. Sometimes, some advocates object to creation of new Benches and selection of new sites for construction of new buildings. But they raise objections in their personal, limited interest. Creation of new Benches is certainly beneficial for the litigants and the lawyers and a beginning has to be made somewhere. A speedy trial is not only required to give quick justice but it is also an integral part of the fundamental right of life, personal liberty, as envisaged in article 21 of the Constitution. Article 39A of the Constitution provides for equal justice and free legal aid. The said article obligates the State to promote justice on a basis of equal opportunity and, in particular, provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities!”
                                                 It is more than 8 years that the Law Commission made this historic recommendation yet only one State – Karnataka has gained from it and the bigger States like UP have not gained anything! This anomaly must be set right by creating more benches in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and other big states! It brooks no more delay now! I hope Centre will now act and accord due weightage to the landmark recommendations that were made by 230th report!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

HC Bench In West UP Soon: Law Minister Of UP

To begin with, I still can’t believe my eyes but I have to now believe after seeing it again and again in The Times Of India newspaper New Delhi/Meerut edition dated June 16, 2017 on page 5  in last column by Kabir Agarwal with the heading “HC bench in West UP soon: Law Minister”. The relentless struggle by the lawyers of West UP since last more than six decades when my father was a small baby demanding a high court bench here is finally beginning to show signs of turning into reality. To say the least, there can be no more happy news for the lawyers and the more than 9 crore people who reside here.
HC Bench In West UP Soon: Law Minister Of UP

                                            It is very clearly written in this newspaper that, “Western Uttar Pradesh will soon have a high court bench. We will discuss the details soon and inform you,” said Brijesh Pathak, law minister of Uttar Pradesh, here on Thursday. On a visit to the city, Pathak made this remark while discussing problems faced by lawyers at the Circuit House. In the past too, various governments have made such promises but none has fulfilled it. People still have to travel hundreds of kilometers from various parts of Western UP to Allahabad for hearing of their cases.
                                        It is also clearly mentioned in this newspaper that, “We know that lawyers from Western UP have been suffering for many years and have been agitating for long. We are considering all options that are available. We assure you that we will resolve this issue very soon. The lawyers of Western UP will not have to suffer much longer. We will soon discuss the matter and I assure you that we will set up the high court bench soon,” said Pathak.
                                             The demand for a high court bench in Western UP dates back to 1955, when the then Chief Minister Babu Sampurnanand had recommended a bench be set up in the region, preferably in Meerut. In 1985, the Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended setting up of a high court bench in Western UP but the central government failed to act upon it.
                                          “This assurance has been given many times. Even BJP President Amit Shah had voiced the same view but nothing happened. We will continue agitating,” said a lawyer. Misbauddin Siddiqui, President of the Meerut District Bar Association said, “The problem is that the Allahabad High Court has the highest number of pending cases. The pressure is huge. Allahabad is very far from Western UP. It is around 800 km from Saharanpur. Eight other high courts are closer to Western UP, and interestingly Lahore High Court in Pakistan is closer than Allahabad High Court. The cost of travelling to Allahabad, and then staying there is huge for poor people. That is why we have been demanding a high court bench. Successive governments have denied us this. Now, we are hopeful as there is the same party in both the Centre and state and the law minister has given us an assurance.”    
                                              None other than Rajnath Singh too had recently assured the lawyers of Meerut that very soon you will hear the happy news regarding the creation of a high court bench in West UP! Certainly Amit Shah who is the BJP President, Rajnath Singh who is the Union Home Minister and most recently Brijesh Pathak who is the Law Minister of UP who have all assured the creation of a high court bench in West UP soon are not talking just in air! They are very responsible people occupying the top posts in the ruling party BJP which is in power both in UP and in the Centre!
                                                  When a high court bench can be set up for Andaman and Nicobar Islands at Port Blair for just 3 lakh people residing there then why not for more than 9 crore people residing in 26 districts in West UP? What an unbeatable irony that Allahabad High Court tops with maximum pending cases at 10 lakh and still it has least high court benches – only one at Lucknow for just 12 districts but none for West UP which accounts for more than 57% of pending cases as was testified by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission way back in 1980s! No other High Court in India has 10 lakh or 9 lakh or 8 lakh or 7 lakh or 6 lakh or 5 lakh or 4 lakh or even 3 lakh cases or even 2 lakh cases pending and still some of them have got 3 high court benches like Karnataka, Maharashtra and others but UP has just one bench only at Lucknow which is just 150-200 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow! Why this step-motherly treatment for UP and West UP in particular?
                                              How long will the  more than 9 crore people of West UP be made to travel more than 700 km on an average to travel all the way to Allahabad as there is no high court bench in West UP? How long will Centre keep coughing out innumerable excuses for not creating a bench here? How long will Centre keep treating more than 9 crore people of West UP as third rated citizens who must be made to travel all the way to Allahabad just to attend a court hearing as there is no high court bench in West UP?
                                   How long will Centre ignore that the newly appointed Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhonsle rightly lashed out at the law and order situation in UP and said that in Maharashtra women or girl venture out in night anywhere yet never such incidents of gang rape occur and yet Maharashtra has 3 benches and UP only one and West UP none?
                                  How long will Centre ignore that Rajnath Singh who is Union Home Minister while addressing public gathering in Patiyali constituency of Kasarganj district is on record stating in February 2017 that UP reported 7,673 riots, 4660 murder, 4096 robberies and 260 dacoities in just one year and has pledged on numerous occasions his unstinted support for a high court bench in West UP but even after his BJP led government is nearing 3 years in power yet it has failed to create even a single more bench of high court not just in West UP but anywhere in UP?
                                        How long will Centre ignore that it has completed 3 years in power and now its government is in power in UP also which makes it further easier to create more benches here? How long will Centre ignore that Dr Satyapal Singh Malik who is also a ruling BJP MP had raised the bench issue in Parliament last year and demanded creation of 5 more benches but till now not even a single bench created here? How long will Centre ignore that another Central minister and BJP MP Sanjeev Baliyan had raised the hope that a bench would be created in West UP before 2016 ends by reassuring the people but even now as 2017 has half ended we see no process in place for creating more benches in West UP or at any other place in whole of UP?
                                             How long will Centre ignore the latest recommendations of the 230th Law Commission report which strongly recommended creation of more high court benches and castigated the “Uncle Judges” culture prevalent in various high courts due to lack of more benches? How long will Centre ignore that none other than Sol J Sorabjee as Attorney General had strongly said way back in 2001 that, “The Centre without any recommendation from the State Chief Minister or Chief Justice of a State is fully empowered under our Constitution to set up a high court bench anywhere it wants at its own volition”? How long will Centre ignore what BN Krishnamani who is the former Supreme Court Bar Association Chairman had said that, “Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure speedy and cheap justice at their doorsteps”?
                                             How long will Centre ignore that the lawyers of West UP have been demanding a high court bench since independence but Centre decided to create a high court bench in Lucknow way back in 1948 and even after 70 years is not ready to create even a single bench in West UP? How long will Centre ignore that lawyers of West UP keep going on strike demanding bench for 3 months at a row as they did in 2014-15 and even for 6 months at a row as they did in 2001? How long will centre ignore that lawyers of West UP keep boycotting work every Saturday since 1981 demanding high court bench and apart from this keep boycotting work even on Wednesdays many times apart from other days which is decided by Central Action Committee constituted way back in 1981 to pursue the people’s struggle for a bench in West UP as it is the common man who faces the most inconvenience due to West UP not having a bench here since 1947?
                                 How long will Centre ignore that even former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had himself raised the demand for setting up a high court bench in Parliament 30 years ago in 1986? How long will Centre ignore that former Union Cabinet Minister RPN Singh has himself disclosed that the former Law Minister Kapil Sibal wanted to set up a high court bench for West UP at Meerut but UP CM Akhilesh Yadav did not agree to it? How long will Centre ignore that Dr Sampoornanand had himself recommended the creation of a high court bench for West UP at Meerut but Nehurji didn’t agree as the Law Commission in its 4th report had opposed the setting up of more benches but what about denying bench to West UP even after the recommendations of 230th report of Law Commission made in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches? How long will Centre ignore that only Karnataka has gained from the recommendations of 230th Law Commission recommendations when 2 more benches were created at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts even though the pending cases of Karntaka are just less than 2 lakh and that of UP are more than 10 lakhs and that of West UP alone are more than 5 lakhs? How long will Centre ignore that former UP CM Mayawati had even recommended in 1995 a separate statehood to be given to West UP to be named Harit Pradesh yet not even a bench is being created here after more than 22 years of this recommendation?
                                                      How long will Centre ignore that it is a matter of great shame that Allahabad High Court which last year on March 17 had completed its 150th year of establishment has the least benches in India – only one at Lucknow and that too just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad and that Allahabad High Court is the biggest court in whole of Asia and also the oldest court? How long will Centre ignore that if a high court bench is created in West UP it is the “poorest of poor” who will benefit most as they will be saved from the unnecessary trouble of travelling so far and spending so much extra money, time etc to just attend one hearing alone?  
                                    We are all seeing how Saharanpur is burning after violent clashes erupted between Dalits and Thakurs that left many dead and many injured! We all saw how BSP leader Munawwar Hasan Rana and his 6 family members were brutally killed in Muzaffarnagar just recently! We all know how Meerut and Agra top in the number of incidents of communal clashes and how everyday the local newspapers is flooded with cases of murders, rapes and other heinous crimes! The situation in communally sensitive districts like Aligarh and Kanpur in West UP among others is no better! Still no bench here!                   
                                     This West UP with 26 districts has an area of 98,000 square km which is more than the area of many other states and has a population of more than 9 crore which is more than any other state except Maharashtra and Bihar. Here too areawise West UP is bigger than Bihar which has an area of 94,000 square km. Yet no bench!
                                                       It is most hurting to read that dacoits are fearlessly killing innocent people on highway as happened most recently on May 25 and then in front of their men had the guts to gang rape the 4 women accompanying them just a kilometer away from the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida and when one man resisted he was shot in the chest from point blank range who died  and others were thrashed badly! Even after so many weeks police has no clue as to who were involved! This shows the complete lawlessness in West UP! This clearly demonstrates that women are not safe even when accompanied with their entire family! Such incidents keep happening on a regular basis in West UP especially! 2 minor girls were gangraped recently in Moradabad!
                                          Criminals fully know that West UP has no high court bench and Allahabad High Court tops in the number of pending cases about 10 lakh pending cases and it would take ages before the cases are finally decided as they keep on lingering interminably and by the time they are decided they would die a natural death and victims would suffer endlessly travelling again and again 800-900 km away from West UP to Allahabad as West UP with 26 districts have no high court bench! This must change now if the fear of law is to be ingrained permanently in the minds of such criminals! But how can this be changed? By creating promptly a high court bench here as the Law Minister of UP has promised recently!
                                      Why not a single bench of high court was created in West UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Jaswant Singh and appointed by former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi very strongly recommended 3 benches for West UP and hilly areas adjoining it which now form a separate state – Uttarakhand at Agra, Nainital and Dehradun even though on its recommendations a high court bench was set up at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal? I hope that at least now UP CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi will both work in tandem to ensure that a high court bench is created in West UP at the earliest! Brijesh Pathak who is UP Law Minister seems determined to create a high court bench in West UP and Ravi Shankar Prasad who is Union Law Minister had in his earlier stint had already recommended the creation of a high court bench in West UP! So now with the queering of pitch one fervently hopes that very  soon a high court bench in West UP will be created here without any more delay!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Kapil Sibal Had Asked For Making Available Land For Creating High Court Bench In Meerut: RPN Singh

In one of the most sensational disclosure ever made in my life time, I was most astonished to read in the Hindi edition of Hindustan newspaper dated July 24, 2016 on page 4 that RPN Singh who is one of the leading Congress national spokesperson and former Union Minister whom we all keep hearing in various news channels saying that, “In Congress government’s rule in Centre, Kapil Sibal who was Union Law Minister had written very categorically to UP Government for creating a high court bench for West UP at Meerut and asked the State Government to make available land for creating a high court bench in Meerut. But the request was not granted.” It is most hurting to learn that for more than 9 crore people of West UP, the then Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal wanted a bench to be created at Meerut but the State Government refused and did not grant the land for creating a bench in Meerut!
Kapil Sibal Had Asked For Making Available Land For Creating High Court Bench In Meerut: RPN Singh

                                       Let me recall here that Dr Sampoornanand who was UP CM had recommended a high court bench to be created way back in 1955 at Meerut but till now no bench has been created! Many other UP CM later had also recommended for the same but the request was not complied by Centre! Disgusting!
                                                           RPN Singh further clarified that he himself wants that a high court bench for West UP should be created at Agra, Meerut, Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur! What a pity that still not a single more bench has been created till now except the one already at Lucknow just 150-200 km away from Allahabad where high court is located.! What a pity that when Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Central Government way back in 1970s headed by former Supreme Court Judge and former Chief Justice of J&K High Court Justice Jaswant Singh strongly recommended for creating 3 benches for West UP at Agra, Nainital and Dehradun did Centre ruled by Congress did not allow the creation of a single high court bench anywhere in West UP even while accepting the recommendations of Justice Jaswant Commission to create a high court bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra! Benches were also approved for Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal but not for West UP! What a pity that all national parties  kept a deafening silence when this worst form of injustice was committed on more than 9 crore people of West UP by denying even a single bench to West UP while later allowing high court for just 88 lakh people of new State Uttarakhand which till 2000 formed part of West UP and UP! It is precisely due to this third rated treatment meted out to West UP that the lawyers of West UP have been going on strike every Saturdaysince May 1981 and 35 years later they are still on strike and today being a Saturday they are again on strike with senior lawyers themselves supervising the complete boycott of work in all courts! What a pity that lawyers of West UP went on strike for 3 months as they did in 2014-15 and even for six months as they did in 2001 yet no bench ! What a pity that lawyers of West UP even started going on strike for 2 days in a week – Wednesday andSaturday but Centre refused to budge!   
                                                 Former Justice BP Singh (retd) of Allahabad High Court not just accepted the invitation to swear in the newly elected members of Meerut Bar recently but also publicly supported the age old demand for a high court bench in West UP. He said unambiguously that Centre should promptly create a high court bench in West UP without any more further delay. He also exhorted the lawyers of Meerut Bar to make bench movement a public movement. He also suggested that it is only by connecting people that the bench movement will be made more stronger and stronger.
                                     Justice BP Singh minced no words in making it absolutely clear that as long as this bench movement for creation of a high court bench in West UP is restricted to lawyers only and will not get connected with people it will never attain success. It is a no brainer thus that the more than 9 crore people of West UP would have to connect with this bench issue to make it a splendid success. There can be no denying this and when such an experienced Judge of the Allahabad High Court himself says this on record, what more should I say?
                                          What a pity that West UP whose population is more than any other state except Maharashtra and Bihar has not even a single bench whereas Andaman and Nicobar islands with just 3 districts and 3 lakh population, Goa with just 2 districts and 14 lakh population have benches! Not just this, areawise West UP exceeds that of Bihar which has 94000 square km and West UP has 98000 square kilometers! What a pity that Centre takes no time in creating high court itself at Sikkim where the number of pending cases were just 69 – 54 civil and 15 criminal but fails to approve even a single bench for West UP which has several lakhs of pending cases! What a pity that when a bench can be created at Goa for just 2 districts, at Dharwad for just 4 districts, at Gulbarga for just 8 districts, at Aizwal for just 8 districts, at Port Blair for 3 districts, at Lucknow for 12 districts etc but no bench for West UP with 26 districts!
                                          What a pity that Centre decided to create high courts for Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur with just 36, 29 and 27 lakh population but denied a bench to West UP with more than 9 crore population! What a pity that Centre has overlooked that as UP accounts for maximum pending cases – 15 lakh cases and here too West UP accounts for more than 57% of pending cases, UP must have maximum and not minimum benches and West UP must have most benches and not none as we see most unfortunately right now!
                                              What a pity that when UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 20 crore, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies,  maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges – 88 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that UN Secretary General termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP! What a pity that when UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches – only one and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow! What a pity that UP has least benches in India and West UP has none?
                                                         What a pity that more than 9 crore people of West UP are compelled to travel more than 800 km on an average all the way to Allahabad to attend hearings, spend huge money in travelling, staying and other needless expenses as Centre feels only Eastern UP is elite class and that is why a single bench for UP is set up just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow which is capital even though capitals of other states like Bhopal, Dehradun, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneshwar etc have neither high court nor bench! Is Bhopal inferior to Lucknow in any manner? Then why it has no high court or bench even though it is capital? Same can be said for other capital cities like Dehradun and others!
                                                             Dr Satyapal Singh who is the former Mumbai Police Commissioner and presently represents Baghpat constituency raised most forcefully the pressing issue of setting up of a high court bench issue in Lok Sabha on March 9, 2016. He pointed out how despite UP having more than 22 crore population and 75 districts has least benches and West UP has none! Should we be proud of this? He rightly said that, “I had raised the issue of the HC bench in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This is not only a need for lawyers but also the need of the common people as well. There should be a bench in Meerut, Agra, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Jhansi. If the Lucknow bench of HC can be created for 12 districts, why can’t we have 4-5 separate benches for all the 75 districts in the state? The first war of independence began from Meerut and the movement to provide affordable justice to people should also start from Meerut. I have already written a letter to PM Modi and I will write to him again. We don’t need the consent of either the state government or the CJ of the Allahabad HC”. Still even after more than 2 years of BJP being in power with majority in Parliament, it is not creating even a single bench anywhere in UP not even in Varanasi which PM Modi himself represents! Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee too had forcefully raised it in Parliament way back in 1986 and demanded the setting up of a bench in West UP!
                                     Rajnath Singh who is number 2 in the present NDA government holding Home Minister portfolio too recently assured the creation of high court bench at the earliest when a delegation of lawyers from West UP met him. He had even while in Opposition assured the creation of a bench in West UP if his party came to power in Centre!  He admitted that there was a dire need of a bench in West UP. Two years have already passed since this government came to power in Centre and now it must walk the talk and waste no time in creating a high court bench in West UP. Where the bench is created is not relevant. What is relevant is that a bench must be created at the earliest as the people have to travel so far all the way to Allahabad which is about 750 km away on an average from most of the districts of West UP and suffer all sorts of inconveniences! But still we see no bench being created not just in West UP but anywhere in UP except the one at Lucknow! Most disgusting!  
                                                    Centre is following what the previous governments in Centre have followed – No bench not just in West UP but in any hook and corner of UP except at Lucknow which is so near to Allahabad! Centre wastes no time to set up 2 more benches for Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts in 2012 but refuses to set up even a single bench for 26 districts in West UP or for 75 districts of UP! Karnataka has just 6 crore population and less than 2 lakh cases pending whereas UP has more than 10 lakh cases pending with West UP alone having more than 5 lakh cases pending still not a single more bench being created here not just in West UP but anywhere in UP!
                                   For Haryana with just 2 crore population, Centre is contemplating setting up of a bench for Western Haryana and a 4 Judge panel comprising of high court judges of Punjab and Haryana high court had been set up for the purpose! The Assembly of Jharkhand has approved setting up of bench at Dumkur and it already has high court and population just 3 crore! When states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam etc have 3 or more benches then why should UP have only one bench and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad and West UP with more than 9 crore population have none? When UP has maximum pending cases among all states more than 10 lakhs and here too West UP accounts for more than half of them and here also in all heinous crimes like riots, rape, murder, arson, loot it is West UP which tops the list and yet West UP has no high court bench in any of the 26 districts which are about 750-900 km away from Allahabad and UP only one bench and that too very near to Allahabad at Lucknow which is just 150-200 km away! Is this fair? This is the crux of the matter! Centre must now create one! It brooks no delay anymore now.
                                                    Just promising to make UP “Uttam Pradesh” without creating even a single more bench anywhere in UP will only tantamount to duping people of not just West UP but of entire UP which is the largest state with maximum population! When the Law Commission itself in its 230th report had strongly recommended more than seven years ago that more high court benches must be created in India then why only Karnataka alone is the single beneficiary with 2 more benches being created for 4 and 8 districts but not anywhere else? Why is Centre always afraid of creating more benches in UP even though it knows that it is UP alone with more than 20 crore population that needs more benches with West UP needing it most with more than 9 crore population and most crime, riots, murders, loots etc happening in maximum cases here?
                                                           When West UP contributes to 75% of the total revenue of UP then why the people of West UP are compelled to travel so far to get justice? Rajinder Chaudhary who is a senior minister in UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s Cabinet  while addressing lawyers of Meerut Bar strongly recommended creation of 6 more benches for UP and just recently Madhulika Yadav who is Vice Chairman of UP Bar Council pitched her voice very strongly in favour of creation of a bench in West UP. Many Union Cabinet ministers like Rajnath Singh who is our home minister, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Gen VK Singh, etc have too strongly demanded creation of a bench in West UP! Eminent jurist and former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee, former Supreme Court Bar Association Chairman BN Krishnamani, Ram Jethmalani, Kapil Sibal, and many others have also strongly supported demand of bench in West UP! Ravi Shankar Prasad who is now Law Minister had in his earlier stint himself asked the Chief Justice of UP High Court to give his opinion on creating a high court bench in West UP! 
                                                     Why West UP has an area of 98,933 square km which accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and yet no bench but Lucknow in Central region has just 62,363 square km and yet it has a bench? Why Centre keeps on blaming State for not recommending even when it was in 1955 that a bench for West UP was first recommended and as Soli J Sorabjee, the former Attorney General rightly said way back in 2001 that, “The Centre without any recommendation from the State Chief Minister or Chief Justice of a State is fully empowered under our Constitution to set up a high court bench anywhere it wants at its own volition.” Why Centre ignores blithely what the Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association Krishna Mani had said quite explicitly that, “Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure speedy and cheap justice at their doorsteps!”
                                              I very strongly feel that if 4 to 5 benches are created in UP there is no need for UP being divided into 4 to 5 parts! But the real problem is: Centre is not ready to create even a single bench anywhere in UP leave alone West UP! Centre and State keep throwing the ball of decision making in the court of other when it comes to creating more benches in UP! It is the more than 20 crore people of UP who are suffering the most especially those who are not close to Allahabad or Lucknow both in Eastern UP yet we see only promises being dished out every time when elections are just round the corner like we see now and nothing else! Why Centre trembles to create even a single more bench anywhere in UP when 3 benches can exist in much smaller states with far less pending cases? This is the worst form of hypocrisy which I dislike the most and no party in Centre till now has risen to the expectations of the people of not just West UP but of whole of UP! Centre must either create 4 to 5 benches or else the last option is to divide UP into 4 or 5 parts just like when it refused to create even a single bench at either Dehradun or Nainital even after Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended for the same had no compunction in creating a high court at Nainital after Uttarakhand was created as a separate state! Why Centre knowing well that West UP has maximum crime, maximum riots as happened recently in  Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar etc which brought us international shame yet it approves no bench? Most disgusting! How tragic!
                                               All parties admit that there has been an exodus of people from many places of West UP like Shamli, Kairana etc due to deteriorating law and order even though there is a difference over which community is affected worst. My point is simple: Why can’t a high court bench be created here by which all members of all communities benefit equally?   For a peaceful state like Karnataka Dr Manmohan Singh had the guts to create 2 more benches of high court at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts respectively but for 26 districts of West UP and 75 districts of UP, the present PM – Narendra Damodardas Modi even after completing 2 years in office does not have the guts to create even a single more bench in not just West UP but in any hook and corner of UP which has 75 districts and is bigger than many countries! Why?
                                           He speaks so confidently but why he behaves so meekly when it comes to setting up of even a single bench in not just West UP but in any hook and corner of UP and personally goes uninvited to Allahabad High Court as was pointed out by Rohitashawa Aggarwal who is the President of Meerut Bar and is also a member of UP Bar Council and assures the lawyers that no decision on creating a high court bench in West UP would be taken without their consent and this was roundly condemned in West UP by all leading senior lawyers? Will PM Modi keep waiting for the lawyers of Allahabad High Court to give consent knowing fully well that they did not want even a separate high court to be set up at Nainital for Uttaranchal and had prevented setting up of even a bench there even after Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended for the same? If they don’t give consent will he not act at all?
                                             Narendra Modi must behave like PM and not like a subordinate official! If PM Narendra Modi can’t create more benches he must divide UP into 4 to 5 parts! But he can’t just sit idle and wait for others to advice him! UP is the worst faring state and if prompt action is not taken right now by striving hard to improve UP in all respects then well perhaps it may be too late! He must act soon and not just keep shouting from rooftop of ushering peace, progress and prosperity in UP! This cannot happen unless either more benches are created in UP as Rajinder Aggarwal who is BJP MP from Meerut rightly pointed out as also Dr Satpal Singh who is again his party MP from Baghpat!
                                            When West UP contributes to 75% of the total revenue of UP then why the people of West UP are compelled to travel so far to get justice? Rajinder Chaudhary who is a senior minister in UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s Cabinet  while addressing lawyers of Meerut Bar strongly recommended creation of 6 more benches for UP and just recently Madhulika Yadav who is Vice Chairman of UP Bar Council pitched her voice very strongly in favour of creation of a bench in West UP. Many Union Cabinet ministers like Rajnath Singh who is our home minister, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Gen VK Singh, etc have too strongly demanded creation of a bench in West UP! Eminent jurist and former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee, former Supreme Court Bar Association Chairman BN Krishnamani, Ram Jethmalani, Kapil Sibal, and many others have also strongly supported demand of bench in West UP! Ravi Shankar Prasad who is now Law Minister had in his earlier stint himself asked the Chief Justice of UP High Court to give his opinion on creating a high court bench in West UP! He must now convince PM Narendra Modi of wasting no time in creating a high court bench in West UP at the earliest! When former PM Manmohan Singh could create 2 benches for just 4 and 8 districts of Karnataka then why can’t PM Narendra Modi create even a single bench for 26 districts of West UP or 75 Districts of UP? 
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Foreign Funds: Why No Action Against BJP And Congress Asks Delhi HC

Coming straight to the nub of the matter, let me begin at the beginning itself by first and foremost expressing my heartburn at the callous manner in which political parties have full liberty to accept foreign funds. Why should foreign funding not be banned completely? Why should political parties have the liberty to accept foreign funding?
Foreign Funds: Why No Action Against BJP And Congress Asks Delhi HC

                                           While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that the Delhi High Court on July 20, 2017 asked why the Centre has not acted against the Congress and the BJP for accepting foreign funding in violation of the law despite a 2014 court directive. What is there that Centre wants to hide? Why can’t it be fully transparent if it has got nothing to hide? Why Centre is dilly-dallying on such a vital issue?
                                                     For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that Justice AK Chawla gave six weeks time to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to file compliance report on its 2014 judgment. Six weeks time is more than enough to file compliance report. The MHA must file compliance report within the given time limit on its 2014 judgment.
                                          Truth be told, the 2014 judgment had found both parties flouting the norms of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) by accepting donations from foreign funds from Indian subsidiaries of UK-based Vedanta Resources. Why is PM Narendra Modi silent on this? Why when PM Modi says that he will make sure that people give details of each and every pie of their income is he completely maintaining a deafening silence on this key issue in which his own party as also the opposition party is found involved? Why did he not act in time so that Delhi High Court was not constrained to ask as to why no action against BJP and Congress?     
                                             To put things in perspective, the Delhi High Court was hearing a contempt plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) alleging non-action of the government against the political parties. Why non-action on part of the government against the political parties? Why only people are made to suffer because of note-bandhi and big business tycoons like Vijay Mallya are allowed to flee India after taking a huge loan of more than Rs 9000 crore and live a luxurious life in England?
                                               Needless to say, Justice AK Chawla observed angrily that delay in implementing the court order was “unjustified”. It must be brought out here that the counsel appearing for the MHA told the Delhi High Court that the records were 40 years old and it would take time to go through. Counsel also said that notice has been issued to both parties to file documents.     
                                               Truly speaking, on March 28, 2014, the Delhi High Court had ordered the Election Commission (EC) and the Home Ministry to look into the accounts of the Congress and BJP for traces of foreign funds and take action within six months. Still we see no action being taken against either the BJP or the Congress! Why? This is exactly what the Delhi High Court wants to know!
                                               Be it noted, Section 4 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) (FCR) Act prohibits a political party or legislator from accepting foreign contributions. Advocate Pranav Sachdeva while appearing for ADR had told the Delhi High Court that even after the lapse of three years of the Delhi High Court order, the government had not taken any action. Why? Has it got something to hide? If not then why no action taken by government?  
                                         “Since there has been willful disobedience on the part of the respondent (government) in compliance with the impugned order, respondent is liable for contempt of the court and contempt proceedings should be initiated against the respondent,” said the plea in its earlier hearing. Very rightly said! There can be no denying or disputing it!
                                              Justice Manmohan had issued a show cause notice to the Union Home Secretary on the contempt plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The Delhi High Court held that UK-based Vedanta Resources is a foreign company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956, and therefore, the firm and its subsidiaries – Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa – are a foreign source as contemplated under the Act. The Delhi High Court had also directed the Centre to look into the donations made to political parties by not only Sterlite and Sesa but other similarly situated companies or corporations.
                                             It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that Centre should have acted very fast on this. But it has not taken any action till now. This alone explains why the Delhi High Court was compelled to make a scathing observation on foreign funds that, “Why no action against BJP and Congress?” Why PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jiatley wants transparency only from people and are doing nothing on this by taking strong action against both BJP and Congress? Just because it hurts their own political vested interests?
                                            All said and done, both the PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must make their position very clear on this and not be evasive at all on such a sensitive issue! They must rise above narrow political considerations and take appropriate action against both BJP and Congress as the Delhi High Court has very rightly sought! Only then will the war against corruption be taken to its logical conclusion! Also the political funding must be made totally transparent and there should be no hiding as the former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Naseem Zaidi who retired just recently had very rightly pointed out while expressing his disapproval at the  recent changes made in political funding by which the names of donors to parties are concealed!   
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Parliament Must Declare Pakistan A Terror State Right Now

Let me begin at the very beginning itself by expressing my profound sorrow and utmost sympathies with the families of all those 7 Amarnath pilgrims who were killed in most ghastly manner by terrorists of Pakistan of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen group. Had it not been the braveness of the driver Saleem Sheikh who inspite of being wounded did not stop the bus but further drove fast and stopped 2 km away at the Army Base Camp perhaps the number of people killed would have been much higher! Every day our citizens residing on border areas are regularly being massacred by gunfire from across the border yet our politicians barring a few exceptions are fully determined that India must continue treating Pakistan as MFN and should always maintain cordial relations with it? How long will we tolerate quietly the terrorists sponsored directly by Pakistan and yet maintain cordial relations with Pakistan?
Parliament Must Declare Pakistan A Terror State Right Now

                                                       Naresh Aggarwal of Samajwadi Party has very rightly called for declaring Pakistan a terror state in an interview with journalists in a news channel. Even earlier Rajeev Chandrashekhar who is a Rajya Sabha MP had even tried to move a private member bill for declaring Pakistan a terror sponsor country but he was dissuaded by other MPs from doing so. But now he again intends to bring a Bill on this very same issue. But who really cares for them? Neither PM nor Leader of Opposition nor leaders of other parties!
                                                All members of all parties must sink all their differences and unite to declare Pakistan a terror state. Maulana Mehmood Madani of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind and a former Rajya Sabha MP had demanded some time back that Pakistan must be declared as “Aatankistaan” and should be boycotted completely but this is not acceptable to our MPs for reasons known best to them! This ghastly attack on Amarnath pilgrims is not an attack on just them alone or an attack on people following one religion alone rather it is a direct attack on the very identity of our nation as a whole which stands for plurality, unity, tolerance and communal harmony. It is most unfortunate that even after so many terror attacks being directly sponsored by Pakistani Army and Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan since last 4 decades we have not responded by declaring Pakistan a terror state and nuking all relations with them.
                                          We must also pay our deepest tribute to the 2 brave soldiers – Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of Indian Army and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF and heartfelt condolences to their families who were recently badly mutilated and beheaded by Border Action Force of Pakistan! This has not happened for the first time with our soldiers. Earlier also we have seen such incidents happening and what is worse is that still our political leadership very strongly believes that relations with Pakistan are more important than the human rights of soldiers!
                                                    Nothing on earth can be more shocking! It were our brave soldiers who won the 1971 war against Pakistan. But see what happened! We released 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war but they didn’t release our 54 soldiers who were tortured mercilessly as was testified by none other than the then Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who after being deposed by Gen Zia ul Haq was thrown in prison next to where the Indian soldiers who were prisoners in custody of Pakistan were lodged and he wrote that whole night the Indian prisoners of war were beaten mercilessly and their shriek in pain could be heard continuously! Who was responsible for it? The political leadership of that time! Why politicians care a damn for our soldiers and believe only in paying lip service to them? Why politicians believe strongly that Pakistan is more important than our soldiers? Why can’t Pakistan be declared a terror state?
                                               Truth be told, there are innumerable such reported and unreported incidents. During Kargil war we all saw how Captain Saurav Kalia and 5 soldiers of 4 Jat Regiment were mercilessly tortured not for 2 days or 5 days or 10 days or 15 days or 20 days but for full 22 days! They were blinded and their eyes were gouged out by hot iron rods similarly their ears, nose and other parts too were similarly mutilated. Not stopping here their whole body bore signs of cigarette torture and even their private parts were not spared and were cut and put in their mouth. Finally they were shot in the head after more than 20 days of most horrifying torture!
                                                 But for our political leadership, relations with Pakistan were more important and it was decided to not rake up this issue not just in any international forum but also in any bilateral forum even though the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Defence Minister Jaswant Singh promised to Captain Kalia’s parents that they would raise this in every forum available with full force! As if this was not enough, a head of an Indian soldier – Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar was beheaded on 27 February 2000 and the dreaded Al Qaeda terrorist Iliyas Kashmiri who beheaded him presented the severed head to the Pakistani invader Gen Pervez Musharraf who was quick to immediately hand over Rs 1 lakh to him as cash prize and vowed to keep it as trophy with him and this was reported widely in all English dailies! Pakistani media published the photographs of Iliyas Kashmiri carrying the severed head of Kalekar!
                                              Truly speaking, even now matters don’t end! Our political leadership decided to accord a red carpet royal reception to Pakistani invader Gen Pervez Musharraf on whose instructions Talekar was beheaded by Kashmiri and who masterminded Kargil war in which we lost more than 600 soldiers as per official figures even though unofficially the figure is quite higher! All major political parties were united in treating Gen Musharraf like a royal emperor and they felt truly honoured in shaking hands with him, having photo-ops with him, hosting parties for him and what not! They felt honoured to be with this Pakistani invader who mercilessly ordered Kargil war and massacred our soldiers!  Is this the way human rights of soldiers are respected in India?
                                             We all also know fully well how the Pakistani soldiers in 2013 entered Indian territory and beheaded our brave soldier Hemraj Singh and took away his severed head as trophy and also mutilated the body of another soldier  Sudhakar Singh! We also saw how the children and wife and parents of Hemraj kept pleading for the head of Hemraj to see him one last time! Above all, the political leadership yet again decided that relations with Pakistan are more important than soldiers and that would continue uninterrupted!
                                                It is known to all that Pakistan trains, arms and fires at Indian troops to ensure that terrorists safely land inside Indian territory to cause maximum death and destruction all around! We all saw how during Uri attack the terrorists specifically targeted Indian soldiers and killed about 20 of them! Still the political leadership decided that relations with Pakistan would flourish!
                                               We all also saw how after the Pathankot terror attack which took place about two years back in which we lost many of our brave soldiers including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, yet Centre decided to again not nuke any kind of relations with Pakistan! Instead, they went ahead and decided to invite the officials of notorious Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to visit the site where terror attack took place so that they could inspect and help in solving the dastardly terror attack! No prizes for guessing that the net result was a big zero and Pakistan refused to honour its commitment to invite Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials to Pakistan to interrogate the key suspects!
                                                        I pity the security adviser to Centre who advised them to invite ISI officials! It was our national image that again took the worst beating! But our political establishment is least bothered! Why our political leaders inspite of being betrayed by Pakistan time and again keep trusting them blindly?
                                                 We have seen so many times that India keeps on submitting proofs and dossiers of Pakistan Army’s involvement to Pakistan in fomenting terrorists only to get no reply! For how long will our political establishment keep fooling the people? For more than 2 decades Punjab bore the brunt of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan yet our politicians refuse to see the clear writing on the wall!
                                                 Why inspite of India losing more than a lakh soldiers to terrorism sponsored directly by Pakistan has the political establishment decided to not let it affect bilateral ties in any manner? Why are the human rights of soldiers not respected in India? Why the Prime Minister of India has time to visit Kedarnath shrine but has just no time to visit the family of those soldiers who had been beheaded and mutilated? Why PM feels below his dignity to visit them?
                                             Why inspite of Shashi Tharoor, Subramanium Swamy and many others from different political parties repeatedly pleading to end Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan is our political establishment ruling at Centre not prepared? Why only India is bound by WTO rules and not Pakistan who too is a member? Why we have conferred MFN status to Pakistan since 1996 but Pakistan has still not conferred it upon us? For sponsoring proxy war on us because of which we have lost so many innocent lives and so many brave soldiers? Shameful!
                                Why our political establishment is adopting such a pusillaminous approach towards Pakistan? Why has Pakistan declared proxy war against India since last more than four decades due to which we have lost many of our brave soldiers and still for our politicians relations with Pakistan are more important than our brave soldiers who are ready to sacrifice their invaluable lives for the nation? Why politicians never send their children to army or any other fighting force while exhorting others to join them? Why this dubious double standards?
                                                     It is most shocking to see that Indian politicians consider Pakistani diplomats more important than our soldiers! They cannot be killed and they have to be honourably treated as we are bound by the Vienna Convention but certainly they can be ordered to leave India and not come back as long as undeclared proxy war is continuing against India! Why should we allow an army of diplomats on our soil whose only job is to meet Hurriyat leaders and foment instability in India? Why politicians don’t value the life of soldiers who sacrifice their everything for us and why politicians are hell bent that relations with Pakistan cannot be broken under any circumstances?
                                               It is most disgusting to note that a small Muslim country in the Gulf region named Kuwait has the guts and daring to blacklist and  ban Pakistani nationals from entering the country over fears of political unrest which could prove a risk to the Gulf state’s security. The blacklist includes trade, tourism and visit visas as well as visas sponsored by spouses. But shameless Indian politicians are so shameless that they are just not prepared to do anything against Pakistan and inspite of losing lakhs of lives to terror industry sponsored directly from Pakistan are not prepared at all to act in any manner against Pakistan! Why?
                                               Pakistan has made terrorism a cottage industry which is mushrooming in nearly all parts of the country. Our soldiers are dying everyday while fighting with Pakistani soldiers and terrorists trained by Pakistani Army and ISI yet we see shameless politicians gifting shawl to leaders of Pakistan and attending their various functions. Why are our politicians so shameless? It is because they never pick up guns and fight on the borders nor do they ever send their children to the borders to die for our nation! So it is but natural that how can they feel the pain that is suffered only by our soldiers who are posted on the borders?
                                              Why shameless politicians never send their own children to army to die as soldier? Why shameless politicians don’t feel the pinch even after India has lost more than 1 lakh soldiers to terror sponsored by Pakistan? Why shameless politicians don’t hold talks and dialogues with rapists or dacoits or any other ordinary criminal but only holds talks and dialogues with terrorists trained in Pakistan or any other foreign nation and similarly why ceasefire too is declared only for terrorists who re-arm, re-group and re-kill with more fury after being aided, assisted and abetted by Pakistan? Why interlocutors are appointed for terrorists trained in foreign rogue countries like Pakistan?
                                                     Why shameless politicians never change the law to send Pakistanis living in India to Pakistan? Why shameless politicians allow Pakistani flags and flags of dreaded terror groups like ISIS to be waved openly in India? Why shameless politicians defend those Pakistanis who shout “Meri Jaan Pakistan, Mera Kaleja Pakistan, Meri Chhati Pakistan, Meri Dhadkaan Pakistan and never send them to Pakistan? Why they are granted Indian citizenship when they swear by Pakistan?
                                                   Why Gen GD Bakshi, Col RSN Singh and many other brave soldiers repeatedly say that they are ready to bear the expense of those Pakistanis who shout slogans in support of Pakistan to be sent to Pakistan and yet shameless politicians never listens to them and wants these Pakistanis to keep staying in India? Why are they not sent to Pakistan whom  they love so much? Why such Pakistanis don’t emulate the famous singer Adnan Sami who was a Pakistani but he liked India so he took Indian citizenship similarly why don’t they go to Pakistan and take Pakistani citizenship? Why shameless politicians make no law in this regard so that no Pakistani feels compelled to beat his breast and keep crying “Pakistan, Pakistan, Pakistan” rather immediately shift to Pakistan where their heart lies really?       
                                                     Why shameless Indian politicians learn no lesson from repeated terror attacks in which we lose so many precious lives? Why shameless politicians allow Pakistanis to enter India on one pretext or the other like watching cricket matches or some other reason and then manage to go absconding to carry out terror attacks indiscriminately against India? Why shameless politicians keep ranting against Pakistan during election rallies but are not ever prepared to declare it a terror state nor ever snap all ties with it?
                                India must first itself declare Pakistan a terror state before demanding the same from other nations. With what face do our leaders ask other nations to declare Pakistan a terror state? Why do they themselves not act by moving a Bill in Parliament in this regard and bringing to board all MPs so that Pakistan can be declared a terror state?
                                          Why can’t this unilateral MFN status to Pakistan be revoked even now? Let me say that our politicians must learn something from Kuwait on how to place our national interests above everything else! But they will never and they will continue with the charade of blindly reposing faith in Pakistan and maintaining cordial relations with Pakistan even as our soldiers keep dying, keep getting beheaded and mutilated because how does this affect our politicians?
                                                    Why politicians of nearly all political parties were united in according a red carpet welcome to Pakistani invader General Pervez Musharraf who masterminded Kargil war in which we lost more than 600 soldiers as per official figures even though unofficially the figure was quite high and were unanimous in saying that, “Paar baat jab aaygi Pervez ki nahin paar baat jab aaygi Musharraf ki humein to Musharraf chaiyein, humein to Pervez. Lagta hain bada pyaara dikhta hain bada pyaara.” This same Gen Musharraf hails dreaded terror leaders like Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salaluddin as “Yeh to hero hain ji hero! Hafiz Saeed to hero hain ji hero bilkul aasli hero aajme ke dekh lo. Syed Salaluddin bhi bilkul aasli hero hain ji.  India neh to dekh rakha hain aajma ke!” He even threatened to nuke India during Kargil war if Indian Army dared to step even one inch inside Pakistani territory as he is of the view that only Pakistani Army has the right to invade and not Indian Army whose job is to just defend!  Even though senior Supreme Court lawyer Aman Lekhi very strongly felt that Gen Musharraf who was responsible for Kargil war and the brutal killings of hundreds of our brave soldiers should have been arrested right when her landed in India and after being tried for war crimes should have been hanged but see how politicians tom-tommed in front of him even though politician like Sandeep Dixit have no qualm in equating our present Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat with “Sadak ka Gundaa”! Are politicians on pay role of Pakistan or Musharraf? If not then why so much of kowtowing in front of them and extra soft corner for them? Why repeatedly Pakistan sends its Border Action Team (BAT) to India with sharp weapons to behead our soldiers, mutilate their bodies and even their private parts are not spared and still politicians keeps tolerating it quietly?
                                     Just recently the Pakistani invader Gen Musharraf disclosed that Dawood Ibrahim who masterminded the 1993 bomb blast in Mumbai in which more than 300 people were killed and who has also been involved in many other bomb blasts is somewhere in Karachi and why should Pakistan hand over him to India? He also said that, “Dawood is killing Hindus just like India is killing Muslims”! He has been declared a “proclaimed offender” in Pakistan but he is given undue importance by politicians and some journalists who always like to advertise what he says against India! Shameful!
                        Terrorists trained in Pakistan have been carrying out most ghastly terror attacks on various parts of India since last more than four decades but still our politicians are just not prepared to nuke all relations with Pakistan leave alone declaring them as terror state! Why? We all saw how 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai claimed nearly 200 lives and earlier also in 2006 a whole train was blown off in which we lost more than 200 lives again but still our leaders are not ready to declare Pakistan terror state or even withdraw the unilateral MFN status conferred wrongly by India to them! Why?            
                                          Shame on such shameless politicians! They are more dangerous than Pakistan itself and this is voiced by people all across India but they really care two hoots about it! This alone explains why still India is continuing with MFN status to Pakistan and it has not been declared a terror state till now! Even RSS leaders and Sangh Pariwar leaders are helpless as those who are ruling in Centre are not listening to them and are not ready to break ties with Pakistan under any circumstances. Centre has vowed to hunt down those terrorists responsible for carrying out the most reprehensible terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims but is in no mood to punish Pakistan which is behind all terror attacks on Indian soil. This is just like applying a band aid where major surgery is required for the wound to be healed properly!
                                    Even attack on Indian Parliament, Red Fort and blowing off of trains, 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai and so many terror attacks has failed to convince leaders sitting as MPs in Parliament to at least act very strongly now and declare Pakistan a terror state right now! Our soldiers are daily battling cross border terrorism since last many decades but even this has failed to shake our MPs to put everything behind and unite in declaring Pakistan a terror state and nuking all relations with it! They are in no mood to even now revoke MFN status wrongly and most unfairly granted to Pakistan unilaterally way back in 1996 even as terrorists trained by them ensured that Hindus were made to flee Kashmir as also those Muslims who helped Hindus in any manner and were made refugees in their own country! They strongly feel that Pakistan cannot be boycotted or declared a terror state under any circumstances even though Kuwait a Muslim majority country in Gulf has openly declared them so and ordered all Pakistanis to leave Kuwait!  How can this be ever justified? India must behave like a sovereign country now!  
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.