Month: February 2018

Four High Court Benches For Maharashtra But Not A Single For West UP

First and foremost, let me express my profound condolences to all those in Kasganj area in Aligarh district whose relative has either been killed or their relatives injured or their shops burnt or their vehicles burnt or their house ransacked etc and that too on the occasion of Republic Day! This is not happening in West UP for the first time nor will happen for the last time. People here are used to facing all this!
Let me be direct in saying: West UP is notorious for riots breaking out at the drop of a hat like we saw during Muzaffarnagar riots, Meerut riots, Agra riots, Saharanpur riots, Bareilly riots etc! Every district of West UP comprising of about 26 districts is volatile still no high court bench here. The litigants are compelled to travel and so are the victims required to travel about 700 to 800 km whole night some times without reservation to Allahabad as there is no high court bench in West UP and have to face all sorts of inconveniences in doing so! 
It is most distressing to learn that this NDA government in Centre led by PM Narendra Modi has decided to create one more high court bench in Kolhapur in Maharashtra to be a circuit bench which later is usually made permanent as we saw in Karnataka where 2 circuit benches were created for 4 and 8 districts at Dharwad and Gulbarga in Karnataka even though there was already a bench in Hubli! Similarly Maharashtra already had benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and in Goa but for West UP with more than 9 crore population there is not even a single bench and for whole of UP there is just one bench just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow leaving the rest of UP high and dry!
It is most shocking to learn that for just 6 districts of Kolhapur, Solapur, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, the Centre has approved a high court bench at Kolhapur which shall start functioning soon but for 26 districts of West UP, the Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench of high court in any of these districts! It is even more shocking to learn that as if this is not enough even Pune will soon get a high court bench. Maharashtra’s Food and Civil Supplies minister Girish Bapat had also said that the city of Pune will also get a circuit bench! Thus when a high court bench will be created at Pune, Maharashtra will have five high court benches and UP would have just one and West UP none! It was in the October 25, 2015 issue of ‘The Indian Express’ newspaper that it was published as headlines that, “Bombay High Court urged to set up bench in Pune, Kolhapur: CM Devendra Fadnavis”. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had conceded while addressing a conference of the Bar Councils of Maharashtra and Goa that, “The demand of lawyers seeking a bench in Pune and Kolhapur is justified. The Cabinet has decided to approve this demand and has sent a request to the Bombay High Court to set up these benches.” 
The population of Maharashtra is just half of UP still Maharashtra has now 4 benches and one more will be added soon taking the tally to 5 and UP has just one bench at Lucknow and worse still West UP which owes for more than half of UP’s total pending cases, has not even a single bench of high court! Maharashtra has less than 2 lakh pending cases and UP has more than 10 lakh pending cases still UP has just one bench and West IUP which accounts for more than half of the pending cases has no bench! Is this fair? This is atrocious! BJP got so many seats from West UP in Lok Sabha elections and yet see what reward it has got? No bench till now!
To put things in perspective, the elected representatives of West UP like Rajinder Aggarwal who is MP from Meerut demands 3 high court benches at Meerut, Agra and Gorakhpur in Parliament, Satyapal Singh who is MP from Baghpat and also Union Minister demanded 5 high court benches and so also Gen VK Singh who is also Union Minister and MP from Ghaziabad and but their own government is not prepared to set up even a single bench of high court in any hook and corner of not just West UP but entire UP for reasons known best to them! The more than 9 crore people of West UP always live in an atmosphere of getting killed or looted or raped or gangraped or being subjected to any other kind of crime as criminals here fear just no one. Still no bench!
Just recently, a 100 year old woman was raped in Meerut and she died within no time! A young girl of 7 to 8 years was gang raped in Muzaffarnagar and then killed and this keeps happening every now and then but inspite of being so close to Delhi, it never attracts the kind of attention that Nirbhaya gang rape case attracted! In Hapur a young girl of about 8 years was similarly raped and people protested strongly because no one was arrested! No one is safe in West UP and criminals know that because of huge pending cases it will take decades before the case is finally decided and by the time they are decided they would die a natural death! Gang rape on national highway as happened at Bulandshahr and that too when her whole family accompanied her is nothing new!
Chief Justice of UP – Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale rightly pointed out that in Maharashtra woman are so safe that they can go anywhere even in the night but in UP no one is safe even with their family and even on the national highways! Yet see the irony that Maharashtra has now 4 high court benches, shall soon have 5 and UP only one as Justice Jaswant Commission were implemented in Maharashtra to set up a bench at Aurangabad but not in Agra and West UP where maximum crime incidents occur has none as both a single bench at Lucknow and high court at Allahabad are in Eastern UP!
Criminals are ruling the roost and Centre yet firmly reiterates that no bench for West UP! Who is gaining most by Centre’s inaction in setting up a bench here? Criminals and only criminals! Who is suffering most by this inaction? Girls, women and the common people who don’t have police protection with them unlike Ministers who are fully guarded always! 
Truth be told, the latest violence in Kasjang near to Aligarh and the killing of a person and the subsequent huge burning of buses, trucks, buildings etc and fight breaking out on streets clearly indicates that how things are deteriorating from worse to worst in West UP and is the worst reminder that if most strong steps are not taken well in time, things will spiral completely out of control! In 2013 after the Muzaffarnagar riots in which again huge violence broke out and many were injured and killed and many displaced! Still we see no bench here! 
Ban ki Moon who was earlier UN Secretary General had slammed UP and not Karnataka or Maharashtra or Assam as “rape and crime capital of India” still we see that UP has just one high court bench and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow and these 3 states have 3 to 4 benches each! Isn’t it shameful? Why different parameters for different capital cities? Why no high court or bench for Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Dehradun, Thiruvananthapuram and others? Why have they been singled out?
It is most disgraceful that more than half of pending cases are from West UP and still not a single bench of high court exists here. This despite the fact that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended 3 benches for West UP and hilly areas which now constitute a separate state named Uttarakhand but Centre for undisclosed reasons decided not to allow even a single bench anywhere in UP even though on its recommendations benches were created at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal! This is plain ridiculous!
It is so shocking that Jawaharlal Nehru had the guts to set up a single high court bench for UP so close to Allahabad at Lucknow way back on July 1, 1948 but 70 years down the lane, no PM has shown the guts to create even a single high court bench anywhere else in West UP or in Bundelkhand or in Gorakhpur from where present CM Yogi Adityanath himself hails and who has been getting elected as MP since 1998 and had even raised the demand for a high court bench there inside Parliament but now even after coming close to completing one year in office, it seems he has chosen to just forget everything! Satyapal Singh who is former Mumbai Police Commissioner and represents BJP as MP from Baghpat and recently was sworn in as Union Minister had demanded right inside Parliament the setting up of 5 high court benches for UP at Meerut, Agra, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Varanasi but what a pity that Centre is not ready to set up even a single bench anywhere in UP even as PM Narendra Modi is all set to complete 4 years in power after few months! This is the real tragedy!
Just recently a woman committed suicide in one of the district of West UP as she was being threatened by those who committed gang rape. Woman are being murdered, raped and gangraped! This has been happening time and again. West UP has become the epicenter of all crime, rape, dacoities, gangrapes, murders and still Centre is not prepared to set up even a single Bench of High Court for any of the 26 districts of West UP!
Why high court and benches of 8 states and even Lahore high court in Pakistan is nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad still no bench is being created here? Why West UP inspite of emerging as epicenter of murders, rapes, gangrapes and communal clashes still has no high court bench which only punishes victims especially woman who has been raped or gangraped to travel all the way about 700-800 km away to Allahabad to get delayed justice after few decades as Allahabad High Court is already overburdened with more than 10 lakh cases whereas no other state in India has more than 2 lakh pending cases and still some of them have 3 high court benches but UP has just one at Lucknow which is very close to Allahabad? How can all this be justified?
Why no steps are being taken to create a bench here even though it has been promised by many governments in Centre and by many Union Ministers? What stops Centre? Why Centre is ignoring that Soli J Sorabjee who is former Attorney General of India and one of the most reputed lawyer of Supreme Court had himself said that, “A high court bench in West UP can be created by Centre without the recommendation of the Chief Justice or State Government in this behalf”.
BN Krishnamani who is former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association had himself said that, “Only by the creation of a high court bench in West UP can the people get justice here”! He was amazed that Lucknow has high court bench since 1948 but West UP not even seventy years later!
Why the population of West UP at more than 9 crore is more than all States except UP of which it is itself a part, Maharashtra and Bihar and here too the area of West UP at 98,000 square km is more than Bihar at 94,000 square km and still it has not been made a separate state? Why West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases of UP and still no attempt is being made to create it as a separate state or at least create a bench here? Why Karnataka with just 6 crore population which is 3 crore less than West UP has not just high court but 3 benches also but West UP with more than 9 crore population has not even a single bench leave alone a high court by making it a separate state?
Why Karnataka has not more than 2 lakh pending cases and West UP has more than 5 lakh pending cases still West UP has not even a single bench compelling litigants from West UP to travel whole night more than 700 km away often without reservation all the way to Allahabad and suffer untold miseries and Karnataka has a high court and 3 benches at Hubli, Dharwad and Gulbarga? Why the 230th report of Law Commission was selectively implemented only in a peaceful state like Karnataka and not in a state like UP which former UN Secretary General Ban ki moon slammed as the “rape and crime capital of India” and which has maximum population more than Pakistan and many other countries, maximum MPs, maximum MLAs, maximum Mayors, maximum villages more than 1 lakh, maximum towns, maximum tehsils, maximum pending cases more than 10 lakh, maximum pending cases in lower courts, maximum Judges, maximum crime, maximum dowry deaths, maximum rapes, maximum gangrapes, maximum custodial deaths, maximum PM since independence including the incumbent PM Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi, maximum delay in deciding of cases and what not and yet still has least high court benches in India? Why is West UP being accorded such a shabby and third rated treatment that the high courts and benches of 8 states and above all even Lahore High Court in Pakistan is nearer to West UP than Allahabad still it has not even a single high court bench here?
The latest shocking Kasganj violence which witnessed naked dance of destruction, death, vandalism, loot and violence underscores the “complete jungleraj” prevailing in West UP yet no serious attempt is being made to create a high court bench here! Is there any logic in it? Why when Centre can create one more bench for Maharashtra which already has 3 benches then why can’t it create one bench at least in West UP?
The lawyers of West UP stopped working on February 15 after learning about it that a circuit bench of high court has been approved at Kolhapur in Maharashtra and resumed working from February 27 only after Gen VK Singh who is a Union Minister assured the lawyers that he would get a meeting of lawyers and PM to convince Modi of the dire need to set up a bench here! For how long will lawyers of West UP keep striking? Already the lawyers of West UP have been struggling since last more than 50 years for a bench and have gone on strike for 6 months also as in 2001, 3 to 4 months as in 2014-15 apart from the everySaturday since May 1981! Centre must relent at least now and create a bench here as it has done in Maharashtra so that the litigants are not compelled to travel whole night about 700 km on an average many times without reservation also all the way to attend court hearings at Allahabad! No more excuses! When Maharashtra can have 4 to 5 benches then why can’t UP have at least 3 to 4 or at least 2 benches? Why West UP has no high court bench even in 2018 when Lucknow can have bench since 1948 even though it was so close to Allaahabad? Centre must act impartially now! 
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

What Wrong Has Army Chief Said?

Why do some parties immediately pounce on Army Chief Bipin Rawat as soon as he says something? Why is he being mocked every now and then by few bunch of politicians from different parties? Why is he not being accorded the due respect which he so richly deserves?
                                        Why politicians have an allergy towards him? Why some politicians like Sandeep Dikshit dare call him as “Sadak ka Gunda” without realizing the dangerous consequences of what they say so rashly and later very quickly apologise when confronted repeatedly by media? Why politicians don’t realize the amount of damage they inflict on the sacred institution of Army as a whole when time and again they start levelling baseless allegations against him who is the topmost in hierarchy as we saw just recently?
                                           Why politicians get nervous the moment he starts saying anything that suits our national interests? Why politicians don’t accept the irrefutable fact that he has enough ground experience and being an Army Chief if he says something it has to be treated with full seriousness and not just dismissed straightaway without even examining what he has said? Why politicians don’t accept that what Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has said that Pakistan with support from China is pushing illegal migrants from Bangladesh into India’s northeastern states where the “population dynamics can no longer be changed” carries lot of weightage and must be looked into seriously?
                                          Why some politicians are always on the look for finding some reason or the other to attack our Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on one pretext or the other? Why some politicians can’t accept that General Bipin Rawat is our Army Chief and not some Captain or Major whose views can be ignored easily? Why some politicians fail to even accept that General Bipin Rawat has vast amount of experience and he fully understands the intricacies of whatever he speaks on and as the head of the Army he has every right to speak what he wants to speak?
                                            Why some politicians fail to appreciate and accept that General Bipin Rawat has risen to the top position by virtue of his merit and not because of favour by some political party or politician? Why some politicians don’t even bother to think of the immense damage that they are doing to the fabric of our Army by repeatedly condemning our Army Chief Bipin Rawat and making a mockery of our impeccable Army in front of the whole world? Why some politicians fail to appreciate and accept that when they deride our Army Chief, it is the morale of our soldiers which gets worst affected by it? Is this is what they aim at when they keep attacking our Army Chief on one pretext or the other?
                                               Why some politicians who attack Army Chief behave themselves as proxy of Pakistan and China by going and meeting their staff again and again? Why some politicians raise serious questions on our Army Chief when he says that, “They (Pakistan) will always try and ensure that this area is taken over…playing the proxy dimension of warfare where they do not have to confront a stronger nation through conventional operations”? Why some politicians go out of the way and invite Pakistani invaders like General Musharraf and that too just 2 to 3 months after Kargil war in which we officially lost more than 600 soldiers and give him a red carpet welcome instead of arresting him and trying him for war crimes?
                                   Why some politicians feel that Gen Rawat’s statement that, “This proxy game is being well played by our western neighbor and supported also by the northern neighbour” is politically motivated? Why some politicians always think that there is politics in what ever Army Chief does? Why some politicians have already become Jyotish Guru and have started predicting that Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat will join politics after retirement and he has started working also in this direction? Do they have some secret intelligence network which is supplying them this news which does not surface anywhere else?
                                         Why is the Army Chief not entitled to view his own opinion on any political issue as long as he himself does not dabble in politics? Why politicians immediately start attaching political colour to anything what General Bipin Rawat says, as for instance when he said that, “I think the government is looking at the Northeast with correct perspective…With development will come control of the people residing in this area. I don’t think now you can change the population dynamics of this region…there is a party called AIUDF. It has grown at a faster rate than the BJP over the years…AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam.” Why politicians never see merit in what the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat says after a lot of introspection and deliberation?    
                              What wrong has General Bipin Rawat said when he says that, “India needed to identify problems in the northeast and address them holistically with a focus on development and on ways to integrate the region with the rest of the country”? Why can’t his suggestions be taken in a constructive manner? Why is he singled out for speaking something which he feels it is necessary for him to speak?
                                 Why some politicians want our Army Chief to be absolutely squeamish and not speak anything which he wants to speak? Why some politicians don’t admit even what in November 2016, junior Home Minister Kiren Rijju told Parliament that government estimates put the number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in India at “around 20 million”? What wrong has Gen Rawat said when he said that, “We have to keep our eyes and ears open and keep a watch on this area called the northeast”?
                                     Why some politicians fail to appreciate the importance of northeastern states? Why some politicians fail to appreciate that these illegal Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who were given a separate country by partitioning India can yet again be the single biggest security threat to India and Rohingyas many of whom are in touch with Lashkar and who have been accommodated in Jammu and Kashmir also are likely to work as agents of Pakistan and Lashkar as is suspected also during the recent terror attack in which many soldiers lost their life when terrorists attacked an Army base in Sunjuwan in Jammu and even children and women were not spared? Why are politicians making a mockery of our national security inspite of repeatedly facing terror attacks sponsored directly by Pakistan?
                                      Which rule stops Army Chief General Bipin Rawat from speaking what is the chilling, unpalatable truth that, “Its (All India United Democratic Front) sudden popularity was due to a population inversion in Northeast India. When we talk of the Jana Sangh with two MPs and where they have reached, the AIUDF is moving at a much faster pace in the state of Assam”? Why politicians get angry when he speaks nothing but the truth and calls a spade a spade? What wrong has Gen Rawat said while talking of the population dynamics of the Northeast when he said that inversion has taken place and it could not be changed?  
                                       Why some politicians lash out at Gern Rawat instead of being grateful to him when he shows them the true mirror by pointing out that, “Migration from Bangladesh is due to two reasons. One is they are running out of space. Large areas get flooded during the monsoon, and they have constricted area to stay. The other issue is planned immigration, which is taking place because of our western neighbor. They will always try and ensure that this area is taken over. It is the proxy dimension of warfare”? What wrong has he said? What he has said is absolutely right and this whole nation should be grateful to him for speaking nothing but the blunt truth!
                                       Why some politicians start shivering in anger when he speaks the truth and demand ban on Army Generals joining politicians for five years? Why such politicians never demand similar ban on bureaucrats for five years as also ban on repeated extension of term to bureaucrats who favour them and also never demand similar ban on bureaucrats from becoming UPSC members, Governors, CVC etc? Why politicians forget what Benjamin Netanyahu who is Prime Minister of Israel said about bureaucracy that, “This talent has been existing in Israel for long, but we couldn’t get anywhere. Why couldn’t we get anywhere? We were limited by bureaucracy”? I will not go that far to deride bureaucracy but certainly I will also not like if repeatedly our Army Chief is denigrated by certain politicians of certain parties repeatedly!
                                          Before winding up, let me leave my esteemed readers with what advice a three-Judge Bench of Supreme Court led by CJI Dipak Misra had for those politicians who get sensitive on write-ups and run to courts to file defamation suits. It said that, “You must develop some tolerance for write-ups. Just read it and laugh it off”. CJI also said that, “In fact, filing a case may actually harm the man by attracting more publicity”. What wrong has a three-Judge Bench of Apex Court led by CJI Dipak Misra said?
                                            Will some of our politicians and some parties question this also? Why can’t they stop commenting everytime whenever Gen Rawat says something? Why do they tend to always overreact?   
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

EC: Amend Law And Bar Criminals From Contesting Polls

Coming straight to the crux of the core issue, let me begin by first and foremost stating explicitly that the Election Commission of India has very rightly and commendably told the Supreme Court that it has proposed to the Centre to amend the law and bar people accused of an offence punishable with at least five years from contesting elections after charges were framed against them by a court. Why when criminals are barred from getting any government job are they eligible to become the makers of the law itself? Why such an open mockery of our law makers?
                                   It is because of all this that we are now seeing right before our eyes that the Chief Secretary of Delhi is being assaulted brutally by AAP MLAs and that too right in the house of the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without any fear! We are also seeing how MPs immediately start slapping anyone at the drop of a hat! This can never be condoned or overlooked under any circumstances! We have just no option before us but to bar criminals permanently from politics for once and all!
                                            Truth be told, if any one wants to get any government job, there should not be even a single case pending and even if someone maliciously lodges FIR then that itself is sufficient to bar that candidate from acquiring any government job! When there are so strict parameters for acquiring any government job then why for becoming MPs and MLAs there are no such similar strict rules? Why no amendments have been made till now in the last 70 years in this regard?
                                          To put things in perspective, in an affidavit filed in the top court, the Election Commission of India said that it has actively taken steps to decriminalize politics and also made recommendations, but “any further steps to effectively decriminalize politics would require legislative amendments, which is beyond the scope” of the poll panel. So, without a doubt, it is the legislature that must step into the gas and do the requisite groundwork in this direction so that criminals are permanently barred from contesting polls. Why can’t the legislature do it immediately just like it acts promptly when it wants to hike its own pay?
                                                      As it turned out, in its affidavit the Election Commission of India said people against whom charges have been framed by a court for offences punishable with at least five years should be barred from contesting polls if the cases were registered against them at least six months prior to the election. The matter is listed for hearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The affidavit said that the Election Commission of India should be given the power to de-register political parties and be authorized to issue necessary orders regulating registration and deregistration of parties.
                                           Simply put, the affidavit said the poll body has been raising the issue of criminalization of politics since 1998 and had sent proposals to the Centre in this regard on July 15, 1998 which were reiterated by it in the recommended electoral reforms of July 2004 and December 2016. Yet nothing happened. The answer is quite implicit. Politicians always treat themselves as above all laws of the land!
                                        Permit me to say: This alone explains why till now even after more than 70 years of independence we see criminals entering politics and becoming MPs and MLAs without any legal hassle of any kind! Criminals are ruling the roost in politics! How can we expect them to change the law and bar criminals from contesting polls?
                                               Needless to say, the Election Commission while referring to one of the proposals said that, “The Commission had proposed that the law should be amended to provide that any person who is accused of an offence punishable by imprisonment for five years or more should be disqualified from contesting election even when trial is pending, provided charges have been framed against him by the competent court”. What wrong has Election Commission said? In fact, this should have happened long time back!
                                             Going forward, the Election Commission of India in its affidavit also said that, “The Commission reiterates that such a step would go a long way in cleansing the political establishment from the influence of criminal elements and protecting the sanctity of the legislative houses.” Again who can deny or dispute this? But what we are seeing on the ground is that a large number of MPs and MLAs have criminal background and have serious charges of crime cases pending against them in various courts!
                                             While citing its proposals, the Election Commission of India said that people with criminal background and accused of serious offences by contesting elections send very negative signals about the electoral process. A mockery is made of our whole democratic system by allowing historysheeters to become MPs and MLAs and contesting elections even from jails for having committed most heinous offences! How can any good democratic country permit this to happen?
                                           It cannot be lost on us that the affidavit was filed on a plea by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay who sought that convicted people should be barred from forming political parties and becoming their office-bearers for the period they were disqualified under the election law. What wrong has Ashwini said? There is a lot of merit in what he has said so candidly!
                                               Let me tell you: The poll panel, while referring to the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, said that the law did not expressly confer any power on the Election Commission of India regarding deregistration of political parties. This job is of the legislature. But it has been lacklustre and has evinced no real interest in this regard which alone explains that why till now we have no law to bar criminals from contesting polls.
                                          It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that all this has only served to increase further the percentage of politicians with criminal background to enter politics. As per an analysis of the electoral college by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), of the total number of MPs and MLAs, 33 percent members have declared criminal cases against themselves in a self-sworn affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India before their most recent elections. The statement of ADR also read that, “34% of Lok Sabha MPs, 19% of Rajya Sabha MPs and 33% of MLAs (all state assemblies/UTs) analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.”
                                      No wonder that the analysis by ADR further also brings out that 20 percent members have serious criminal cases against themselves. The popular names under this category are RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, AITC MP Becharam Manna and RJD MP Mohammed Iliyas Hussain.This is certainly most concerning!
                                If we go by statistics, we would find that the general election of 2014 has seen the highest number of politicians with criminal records being elected to the Indian Parliament. As per records, every third newly elected MP in the Indian Parliament has a criminal record.  186 (about 34 percent) of the newly elected MPs have confessed in their election affidavits that they have criminal charges against them. In the 2009 Lok Sabha, the figure was 158 (about 30 percent) of the elected members of Parliament.
                                       Among the newly elected MPs, 112 have declared that they have serious criminal cases, including the ones related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping and crimes against women lodged against them. The ADR report reveals that nine leaders in Parliament have murder cases while another 17 have attempt to murder against them. Similarly, there are two MPs who have cases related to crimes against women.
                                    It is noteworthy that the report also notes that among the elected leaders in the Parliament, there are 16 with cases related to communal disharmony registered against them. There are 10 MPs who have been charged for robbery and dacoity and seven have cases related to kidnapping. Do they really deserve to become an MP or even an MLA?
                                 How can all this be condoned? Should they not be barred from contesting polls and if they are not barred, what will happen? The percentage of criminals entering politics will steadily increase as we are seeing right now before us. Can we allow this to happen under any circumstances?
                                     On a concluding note, it is still not too late. No time should be wasted in immediately implementing what the Election Commission of India has so explicitly suggested: Bar all criminals who have serious criminal charges pending against them which are punishable with at least five years from contesting elections after charges are framed against them by a court.
                                All in all, Parliament must be honest enough to appreciate what the Election Commission has suggested and should waste no time in implementing it swiftly and sternly so that no criminal is ever able to take advantage of the loopholes that are prevailing in our legal system and thus making a complete mockery of it! Here lies the real tragedy! We never see Parliament doing its job well in time and it is criminals with serious criminal charges who are really enjoying the last laugh because of this for which those in Parliament are squarely responsible for not doing enough to address this serious malaise that is afflicting and corroding our democratic system from within!   
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Lawyers Of West UP In Toll Plazas Not In Courts

How can this happen? But it has happened in the past also and is happening time and again in the 26 districts of West UP. Now again on 23 February 2018 the lawyers of 26 districts of West UP are on toll plazas to make them toll free.
                                             Once again the lawyers of West UP have intensified their agitation for setting up a high court bench in West UP. The demand for a high court bench in West UP is not new. It was way back in 1955 that Dr Sampoornanand had for the first time very strongly recommended for the creation of a high court bench in Meerut.
                                          This landmark recommendation by Dr Sampoornanand was not however entertained by Jawaharlal Nehru who very strongly believed that in the whole of UP there should be just one bench just about 200 to 250 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow which he created way back on July 1, 1948 and not anywhere else. All Prime Ministers afterwards right from Lal Bahadur Shastri were unanimous in feeling that UP should not have any bench anywhere else other than the one that Nehru approved in 1948. The incumbent PM Narendra Modi too feels the same way which alone explains that why inspite of his completing nearly 4 years in office, he too has ensured that a high court bench is not set up anywhere else!
                                             This is nothing! The real record was broken by former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi. It was Indira who decided to appoint the Justice Jaswant Singh Commission in late 1970s to look into the places where high court benches should be set up.
                                            Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended that a high court bench be set up at Aurangabad in Maharashtra which was promptly accepted, Madurai in Tamil Nadu which was again accepted and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal which was again accepted. So far so good. But what came as a bolt from the blue was Centre’s most shocking decision to not implement what Justice Jaswant Commission recommended regarding Uttar Pradesh.
                                           Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended that 3 high court benches should be created for UP at Agra, Dehradun and Nainital. But it was most perplexing to note that Indira Gandhi did not allow even a single bench of high court to be created anywhere in whole of UP! Not a single Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi too could ever dare to summon the requisite courage to implement what Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended to create 3 benches in UP. Not just this, not even a single bench was allowed to come up in any hook and corner of UP.   
                                            To protest this worst kind of injustice, the lawyers of all the districts of West UP set up a Central Action Committee to pursue the agitation for a separate bench for a high court in West UP. It was decided to go on strike every Saturday to protest this worst kind of discrimination meted out to more than 9 crore people of West UP by denying them even a single high court bench. Since May 1981 to February 2018 this Saturday strike has been continuing relentlessly!
                                           Not just this, the lawyers of West UP even went on strike for 6 months from July to December 2001 demanding the creation of a high court bench in West UP! Apart from this, there was strike for many weeks in 2009, then again in 2010 there was one month strike, then again in 2011-12 the strike ranged for several weeks and then in 2014-15 the strike ranged from 3 to 4 months and ended only after Arun Jaitley assured to look into it! In 2017 also the strike continued for a week in October when lawyers protested against the visit of Kesarinath Tripathi to Meerut as he had earlier opposed the creation of a demand for high court bench in West UP when he was Speaker of UP State Assembly in 1995-96.
                                        The lawyers of West UP time and again march to toll plazas to set them free. This is done so that the Centre is finally constrained to set up a high court bench in West UP. The lawyers very strongly believe and rightly so that the people of more than 26 districts of West UP are compelled to unnecessarily travel to Allahabad to attend court hearings which is about 700-800 km away. The people many times are compelled to travel without reservation whole night to Allahabad to attend court hearings!
                                                      Why can’t a high court bench be set up in West UP for 26 districts for more than 9 crore people living here? Why did Atal Bihari Vajpayee demand the creation of a high court bench in West UP right inside Parliament way back in 1986? Why Satyapal Singh who is former Mumbai Police Commissioner and is now MP from Baghpat and Union Minister had earlier demanded the creation of 5 high court benches at Meerut, Agra, Varanasi, Jhansi and Gorakhpur?
                                            Why is it ignored that the population of West UP is more than any other state except Maharashtra and Bihar and here too the area of West UP with 98,000 square km is more than that of Bihar with 94,000 square km? Why is it ignored that West UP accounts for more than half of the pending cases of UP that is more than five lakh cases and UP has 10 lakh cases which implies that no state in India other than UP of which it is a part has more pending cases than West UP still it has not even a single bench of high court? Why is it ignored that Karnataka has just about 6 crore population and about less than 2 lakh cases pending cases still it has not just a high court but also 3 high court benches at Hubli, Dharwad and Gulbarga. The benches at Dharwad and Gulbarga were created for just 4 and 8 districts in 2012. But West UP with more than 9 crore population, 26 districts and more than five lakh cases pending has not even a  single bench of high court!
                                              Time and again, the lawyers of West UP go on strike demanding the creation of a high court bench in West UP but Centre never listens! Time and again, the lawyers set toll plaza free as they are doing now on February 23 still Centre does not listen. Time and again, they even go on strike as they did on February 15 and then on February 17 and then from February 19 to February 26!
                                                Not just this they even hold relay strikes as they have been doing since last few days, also take out bike rallies demanding bench and even hold Press Club conference as they will be doing on February 26 to make the media aware of the dire need of setting up a high court bench in West UP! The lawyers of West UP time and again plead that the high court and benches of 8 states and above all even Lahore High Court is nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad still it has no bench! Valid point!
                                             It is most hurting to see that the lawyers of 26 districts of West UP instead of being in courts and fighting legal cases for their clients are on streets to ensure that toll plazas are set free! But who is responsible for it? Centre which can create a circuit bench for 6 districts of Kolhapur in Maharashtra which already has 3 benches of high court at Aurangabad, Nagpur and Panaji but not a single bench for West UP! Most hurting!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.  

Why No Death Or Life Term For Corruption?

It is most shocking to see that inspite of so many scams being unearthed one after the other and all parties repeatedly asserting their firm determination to fight against it with full courage yet no effort has been made of any kind since the last more than 70 years to insert mandatory death or life term for corruption which has been ruining our nation beyond repair! The latest PNB scam involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi in which more than Rs 11,400 crore have been siphoned off only demonstrates that to what extent corruption has permeated deep inside our society. It took place with the full complicity of several top bank officials.
                                   Earlier also we saw how Vijay Mallya made a complete mockery of our legal system and after siphoning off more than Rs 9000 crore escaped easily to England and has been enjoying life there since then! Now Centre has employed best lawyers after paying them heavily to fight the case in a protracted legal battle to bring him back! Why was he allowed to escape so easily?
                                 Why was he not arrested immediately after his involvement was noticed in siphoning off the Rs 9000 crore of money? Why are looters and corrupt allowed to so easily escape from India along with their entire family to stay in luxurious five star hotels abroad? Why no effort is made to stop them from fleeing India? Does this not indicate complicity of the worst order in which politicians play the key role especially those holding key positions in the Centre?  
                                            Why no change has been effected in our corruption laws which actually encourage corruption by displaying extraordinary softness in dealing with them? Why all parties are firmly united that as long as democracy exists in India there will be no changes made in our corruption laws? Should we be proud of it?
                                         It is most shocking and most hurting to see that this so-called Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 displays so much of extraordinary, senseless and unwarranted leniency in sentencing towards those corrupt who siphon off crores and crores of rupees and yet are not punished with mandatory death sentence. As if this is not enough, those corrupt are not even punished with mandatory life term! As if still this is not enough, those corrupt are not even punishable with mandatory thirty or forty years!
                                       Even now this is not enough! Those corrupt are not even punishable with mandatory twenty or twenty five years! Even now this is not enough! Those corrupt are not even punishable with mandatory fourteen years! 
                                         The leniency saga still does not end! Those corrupt who commit for the first time any corrupt act are not punishable even with mandatory ten years! They can be punishable maximum up to seven years as specified in Section 12 which covers Section 7 and Section 11! Here also the Judge has the discretion bomb to use anytime where he can prefer to give him not seven years in jail but to a term of not less than three years as is the statutory requirement as provided in Section 7! Section 11 is even more lenient and under it the maximum punishment that can be awarded to a public servant for obtaining valuable thing without consideration from person concerned in proceeding or business transacted by such public servant is just five years and as if this is not enough the minimum can be reduced up to six months again by the Judge using the “discretion bomb”!
                                       It is only when a person habitually commits an offence under Sections 8, 9 and 12 that a person can be convicted up to 10 years in jail along with fine but here again the Judge by using the same “discretion bomb” can again reduce the jail term to not less than five years! As if this is not enough, Section 13 which punishes a public servant for indulging in criminal misconduct again makes sure that “discretion bomb” is available with Judge and punishment  maximum can be awarded only up to ten years but minimum can be reduced up to four years! What is this?
                                 Should it be called “The Prevention of Corruption Act” or should it be called “The Abetment of Corruption Act”?  I really fail to understand that why so much of leniency in sentencing corrupt is displayed in this so called “The Prevention of Corruption Act”! It makes a complete mockery of our country! Time and again we see how valuable lives are lost by either building collapsing or fire in a building and no safety norms being followed but just because the palms of few corrupt public officials are greased properly, no action is taken on the ground against those who violate laws with impunity! Even if they get caught, still they escape with just few years punishment after being directly responsible for the killing of many innocent people! How can this be termed as fair? How can  this be allowed to continue?   
                                     Why under Section 19 of this Act has previous sanction been made mandatory for prosecution? Why should the accused be given the benefit to be out in the open for a long period till the time sanction is given? Will the accused not use the extended time to manipulate evidence in his own favour and destroy evidence that incriminates him strongly in any scam? Why should those public servant accused of corruption not be immediately taken to task?
                                    How can corruption be ever prevented by treating corrupt so leniently?  We all saw how Lalu Yadav was jailed for just 3.5 years for his role in the fodder scam! He has the option now to appeal in the High Court and then in the Supreme Court. It take many years for the court to be decided at the lower level. This scam happened about 20 years back and decision is coming now! Now it will be fought in higher courts! Then many years get consumed in the higher courts! Finally by the time the case is decided completely in Supreme Court by that time the accused will either die a natural death or by that time would have spent his prime years enjoying life!
                                           All this has to end if India is really serious to control corruption. Only death or life or minimum 20 years in prison must be awarded to all those who indulge in corrupt practice of any kind! What the law currently prescribes is just nothing! It must be enhanced drastically if India really wants to march ahead!
                                      There is no other Act in our country of which I am so ashamed! It is this “The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988” which really makes me hang my head in shame! What was the intention of the lawmakers when they enacted this Act? Didn’t they realize that it will simply fail to deter potential offenders from indulging in it because of so much of leniency? Didn’t they realize that it will further encourage potential offenders to make tones and tones of money and even if they are caught they will come out in jail in just few years and would be required to pay a sum of just few lakhs as we see repeatedly in various judgments as we saw in Lalu’s case also!
                                        It is precisely because of this that corruption is increasing manifold in our country since last few decades and we are steadily rising high in the corruption index! Even smaller and lesser developed countries rank better than us! What is most worst is that no party ever demands the radical changes that are so badly needed in this so called “The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988”! Can on earth there be anything more shameful than this?    
                                   I feel very happy when I time and again hear our PM Narendra Modi reiterating his government’s firm resolve in fighting corruption! But when will this translate into action? When will Centre step on the gas to initiate tremendous changes in this ‘The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988’ by which any public servant indulging in corruption would have to either face gallows or at least life imprisonment or at least 20 years in prison?
                                        It is all up to the Centre to take the bull by the horns and initiate radical changes so that corruption can be brought under firm check in our country! Let us hope that Centre acts soon in this regard! The earlier this is done, the better it shall be in controlling corruption and in the so called “war against corruption” proclaimed by PM Modi before riding to power in 2014 in Centre!
                                       But if Centre itself wants the status quo to continue then we shall certainly see no changes forthcoming in this badly drafted “The Prevention of Corruption Act”! For repeated offenders the punishment must be either death or life term! The ball is in Centre’s court!
                                         Centre must now display political will to make radical changes in this Act which is continuing in more or less the same form in which it was enacted 30 years back! Centre must stop coughing lame excuses to not do anything in this regard! Why has Centre led by PM Narendra Modi not acted decisively on this front even after being in power for nearly 4 years? Does it not want that corruption which is hindering our country from progressing ahead in many ways be swiftly checkmated by taking the most strictest action against those who indulge in corruption?
                                         It must act strongly if it really wants to stand vindicated in the eyes of the public of being really serious enough to wage war against corruption and of making sure that corrupt are not able to make a mockery of our law by coming out of the jail in just a few years time at the most! Corruption is worse than terrorism because without firing a single round of bullet and without getting training from any hostile country like Pakistan, the corrupt is able to kill many innocents by caring a damn for the quality of material used in constructing roads, highways, food etc and mint thousands of crores of rupees and still escape with just a few years in jail and a few lakh as fine as compared to a terrorist who is shot dead by our security forces sooner or later! Thanks to this ‘The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988’!
                                     Still even after 30 years of being enacted we see no major changes being made in it except some cosmetic changes! What does this imply? That all parties want status quo to continue!
                                    All said and done, no political party wants that corruption should be ever checked to any extent in our country no matter how much public posturing they may do on this! This alone explains that why we see no changes being made in our corruption laws which displays unwarranted leniency which only encourages corrupt to further commit corruption because even the repeater offender is punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 with just 10 years in prison ! Most ridiculous and depressing! Not surprising that we figure among the most corrupt countries in the world! Yet no attempt is made of any kind to address it once and for all by making the necessary changes in our corruption laws and making it mandatory to punish those indulging in corruption with either death or life term!  How shameful!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate

Assault On Chief Secretary Is An Assault On Democracy

To begin with, it is most shocking and disgusting to learn that none other than the Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash has himself charged Aam Aadmi Party MLAs with staging a “premeditated attack” on him during a late night meeting at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on February 19. This has to be condemned in the strongest possible parliamentary language! No reason whatsoever can justify physical assault on a Chief Secretary or any other officer!
                                    We all know fully well how Deepali Sharma who was in Uttarakhand Judicial Services as Civil Judge Senior Division was dismissed on charges of beating a young girl who was working at her house! When indiscipline is not tolerated of Judges then why should politicians be an exception? Why should politicians be allowed to get away by just tendering an apology?
                                           Just because they are elected does not mean that they acquire the unfettered licnece to beat anybody!  The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and 11 other MLAs based on Prakash’s complaint. What has happened right in the capital of India and that too in the official residence of the Delhi Chief Minister has shamed all Indians in front of the world! It will take some time for the news to actually sink in my mind!
                                     I have just no hesitation in concluding that, “An assault on Chief Secretary is nothing but an assault directly on our democracy which can never be pardoned under any circumstances”. The Chief Secretary is the highest ranked officer of the Indian Administrative Services and assaulting an officer who is a State’s seniormost officer of IAS cadre is most shocking. It cannot be condoned under any circumstances.
                                      Tendering an apology is just not enough. If someone talks with us even loudly, we immediately get angry. But here is the highest ranked officer being assaulted badly by MLAs in front of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal! This as is being reported by media has been confirmed even by medical report! How can this be condoned by just the Chief Minister tendering an apology! This is just not done!  
                                               Simply put, those who are guilty of assaulting Chief Secretary must be immediately arrested and sent to the jail forthwith. The AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal must resign taking high moral ground as all this dastardly act happened right in Kejriwal’s house and in front of him but still he could do nothing to prevent this from happening! If he does not resign even now, Centre must dismiss him immediately!
                                        Let me be forthright in saying that he has lost the right to govern! Who can deny or dispute this? If this is allowed to go unpunished, it will become an unhealthy precedent and politicians will start believing that they can get away by doing anything! How can this be condoned or allowed to go unpunished under any circumstances?
                                         Needless to say, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Ministry had sought a report on the incident from the Lieutenant-Governor. Responding to the incident on Twitter, Rajnath Singh said he was pained. Very rightly so!
                                                  It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that no good citizen will be happy by this horrifying event which has never been heard of since 1947 in India! I am still to come to terms with this irrefutable fact that such a dastardly attack on none other than the Chief Secretary has actually happened! No matter what anyone may say of Indian democracy but one has to concede that such an attack on the top civil servant has never been heard of since independence! At least I have never heard of such an attack!
                                          It is noteworthy that Rajnath tweeted that, “Civil servants should be allowed to work with dignity and without fear. Justice will be done. A delegation of IAS DANICS [Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service] & Subordinate Services of Delhi Government met me today and apprised me of the prevailing situation.” All three Delhi government staff associations have said that they will henceforth engage in only written communication with the AAP administration. Very rightly so!
                               Truth be told, an IAS officer, who did not wish to be named, said that, “There was a heated exchange at the meeting on Mondaynight. During the argument, two-three AAP MLAs manhandled him…The CS’s spectacles also got broken.” If this can happen with a Chief Secretary then what can happen with a common man? How can these AAP MLAs get so emboldened that they did not hesitate to manhandle the Chief Secretary in the presence of Kejriwal himself and yet he said nothing? Why is Centre not taking any tough action on this?
                                             As it turned out, in a late night development, the Delhi Police arrested AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal who is one of the legislators against whom Anshu Prakash had levelled allegations of assault. But what about others? Why have they been spared? Why have they also not been arrested immediately?
                                          Be it noted, in his police complaint, Prakash said that he was summoned to Kejriwal’s residence at midnight to discuss the difficulty in releasing advertisements to mark the AAP’s three years in power. The assault happened in the presence of the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 11  other MLAs, with the intention to criminally intimidate and deter him from discharging his lawful duty. Anshu Prakash said in his complaint that there was one MLA who issued life threats to him. He also disclosed that, “Amanatullah Khan, MLA, and the person/MLA (sitting) on my left side, whom I can identify without any provocation, started assaulting me and hit several blows on my head and temple.” Terrible!
                                              Going forward, the bureaucrats also clarified that the midnight meeting was only about advertisements and not ration supplies as alleged. Earlier, Chief Minister Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia had asked Jayadev Sarangi, DIP Secretary to send out advertisements in TV, radio, etc, regarding the achievements of the AAP government. The first line of this advertisement had Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying: “Humne teen saal mein corruption kam kar diya.” Sarangi and directorate of information and publicity department said they could not go ahead with the advertisement as there was no data or certification to authenticate the claim.
                                          DTTDC Secretary Shurbir Singh was also asked to do the same. However, Singh said DTTDC’s job was to create ads. Publishing/ broadcast on media was the task of DIP. After this, Singh went on leave. At 8:45 pm on Monday, advisor to Chief Minister VK Jain made a phone call to Prakash asking him to be present at CM’s residence at midnight to discuss releasing TV ads related to AAP government’s three years.   
                                   CM Kejriwal told the MLAs had come to ask questions about government’s publicity programme. One of the MLAs shut the door of the meeting room. Prakash was made to sit between MLA Amanatullah Khan and another MLA on a three-seater sofa. Kejriwal asked Prakash to explain to the MLAs the reasons for the delay in the release of the TV campaign.
                                    As Prakash was explaining that the officers were bound by the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, the  MLAs started shouting, abusing and blamed Prakash for not doing enough to publicise the government’s works! Is the Chief Secretary a salesman of the government? Are the MLAs having an unfettered right to beat Chief Secretary if he does not listen to their whims and fancies like a salesman? Is MLAs diktat more important than the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court?
                                         Not stopping here, MLAs issued threats for implicating him in false cases including those under SC/ST Act if the issue of releasing TV advertisements about the AAP governments achievements was not resolved. Prakash further alleged that one of the MLAs threatened him saying that he (Prakash) would be confined to the room for the entire night if he did not agree to releasing the TV campaign. Most shocking!
                                           As if this was not enough, two MLAs started raining several blows with fists on Prakash’s head. Anshu Prakash leaves the CM’s residence after being beaten and goes to L-G’s house to complain. Prakash explained it by saying that, “CM directed me to answer the MLAs and explain the reasons for the delay in the release of the TV campaign. I explained to them that officers were bound by guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court”.
                                      Prakash further alleged that, “Khan and the other MLA on my left side whom I can identify without any provocation from my side, started hitting and assaulting me and hit several blows with fists on my head and temple.” He added that his spectacles fell to the ground. He also added that, “I was in a state of shock. With difficulty, I was able to leave the room and get into my official car and leave the CM’s residence.”
                                             The inevitable question that crops up here is: Can this be ever condoned by just the Chief Minister tendering an apology as the IAS officers are demanding? Certainly not! Such a heinous crime can never be condoned under any circumstances!    
                                            Bluntly put, Prakash concluded the written complaint by saying that, “I request you (North DCP) to take action as per the law as the assault was premeditated and a conspiracy of all (those) present with the intention to criminally intimidate, cause hurt with the motive to deter me from the discharge of my lawful duty and compel me to follow unlawful directions. None of the persons present in the room made any effort to save me.” This clearly implies that not even the CM Kejriwal and Deputy CM Sisodia did anything to save him while he was being roughed up in their presence! Do they still have the right to continue as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi?
                           No doubt, this gory incident has cast the whole AAP government in Delhi in a very bad light and it will not be easy for them to now just shrug it off by terming all the charges as ludicrous! Delhi Police’s chief spokesperson Dependra Pathak said that the police have applied nine Indian Penal Code sections in the FIR including criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt and assault to deter a public servant from discharging his duty. How can all this be dismissed lightly by just terming it as “bizarre”?
                                            To be sure, Manisha Saxena who is Secretary of IAS Officers Association said that the Delhi government officers strongly condemned the “false, fabricated and malicious misinformation campaign to cover up the incident of assault of the Chief Secretary”. She questioned that, “It is being spread that the meeting was called to discuss the issue of the ration cards for citizens of Delhi. If that was the case, why was the food and supplies minister and secretary not there in the meeting?” She has a valid point!
                                 Not to be left behind, the association of IAS and DANICS and Delhi Subordinate Services of Delhi government in its statement said that, “The incident which has happened at the official residence of the chief minister clearly appears to be pre-planned, pre-meditated and absolutely without any provocation on part of the chief secretary in view of the fact that the meeting was called at midnight. The meeting had been called to put pressure on him to release publicity material regarding achievements of the government.”
                                       The statement further read that, “The appalling and shocking physical assault meted out to the head of the administration of Delhi, in form of blows to the head, amounting to threat to life and physical safety, is deplorable.” Till now one could not even dream that such a ghastly attack could ever take place on the highest ranking IAS officer right in our national capital itself! But now it has become an unpalatable truth from which we cannot run away!   
                                                 In sum, there can be no two opinions about the irrefutable fact that a high level judicial probe headed by a Judge of the Supreme Court of India must be constituted along with some distinguished citizens as members to probe into the allegations and to get to the bottom of it! Truth must come out now in the open and the guilty must not be spared under any circumstances! If the guilty are allowed to get away just by the Chief Minister tendering an apology as is being demanded also by the IAS Association, then be rest assured that this will certainly set a very unhealthy precedent for politicians will start believing that they can get away even after assaulting anyone whom they like, whenever they like, wherever they like and as they like! How can civil servants work with dignity and without fear under such hostile and dangerous atmosphere? They cannot!  
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkehra,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Why Lawyers Of Calcutta High Court On Five Day Strike?

Let me begin at the very beginning by pointing out that lawyers don’t enjoy going on strike. It is only when they feel that it should be used as a last resort do they finally take the unpalatable decision of going on strike. Why does Centre allow the situation to drift to such an abysmal level that the lawyers are left with just no option but to go on strike?
                                        It merits no reiteration that Kolkata High Court is the oldest High Court in India and commands world wide respect for its members conducting themselves always with elegance which has few parallels! But now Calcutta High Court is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Nearly 10,000 lawyers of three lawyers association at the Calcutta High Court will go on a five-day-long cease work from Monday in protest against the severe shortage of Judges at the court.
                                           Who is responsible for this deadlock? Centre! Whoi is ensuring that Judges vacancies are not filled up in Calcutta High Court? Centre! Who is ensuring that even if lawyers of Calcutta High Court go on strike, it has to be ensured that vacancies don’t get filled up? Again it is none other than the Centre itself!
                                            It is most disconcerting to note that instead of its strength at 72 Judges, the Calcutta High Court has currently has only 29 Judges. Should we all be proud of it? Should Centre feel proud that it has ensured that more than half the vacancies about 43 are just lying vacant? Should all Indians feel excited about it?
                                    Why Centre is not just prepared to create more benches even though the 230th report of Law Commission made nearly 10 years ago in 2009 had strongly recommended the creation of more high court benches all over India? Why since last 4 years when NDA came to power has it ensured that not a single bench of High Court is set up in any hook and corner of India? Should we be proud of it?
                                      Of course, just one bench till now and that too circuit bench has been approved in Kolhapur in Maharashtra for just 6 districts but again for that the credit goes not to Centre but to State CM Devendra Fadnavis who in 2015 itself had assured the lawyers of Bar of Bombay and Goa that two benches would be created at Kolhapur and Pune!
                                  What has Centre done till now of its own initiative? Just nothing! The lawyers of West UP have been on strike on February 15, then again on February 17, then again on February 19, then again on February 20, then again on February 20, then again on February 21, then again on February 22 and shall be on strike on February 23, then again on February 24 and this will continue till February 26! Why is Centre not doing anything to address this long pending issue once and for all? Why Nehru created a high court bench in Lucknow which is so close to Allahabad on July 1 in 1948 but till 2018 not a single bench has been set up in West UP due to which people accounting for half of the UP population are compelled to travel whole night about 700 km all the way to Allahabad?
                                           Why when Atal Bihari Vajpayee who is the tallest leader of the present NDA government in Centre himself demanded in 1986 right inside Parliament that West UP must have its own high court bench still more than 32 years later why Centre has taken no action on it? Why lawyers of West UP had gone on strike for 3 months even in 2014-15 when this NDA government had assured to look into it has nothing been done to address it? Why lawyers of West UP went on strike for 6 months in 2001 from July to December but again Centre did just nothing? Why lawyers of West UP since last more than 36 years from May 1981 till now have been on strike every Saturday and many times even on Wednesday still why no high court bench has been created here? Why UP has highest number of pending cases, highest population, maximum MPs, maximum MLAs etc yet has least benches in India and West UP which accounts for more than half of the pending cases has none even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had in 1980s recommended a high court bench to be created here? Centre must answer!
                                      Centre will say as it does say that creation of a high court bench is a complex procedure which must involve recommendation of the concerned Chief Justice and then approval from State Government and then Centre can do something! Centre can also cite that Allahabad High Court Bar does not favour more benches but what about appointing more Judges? Why more than half of the seats in Allahabad High Court are lying vacant?
                                         Definitely it is not Allahabad Bar which says that don’t fill up the vacancies! Centre itself does not want to fill these vacancies for reasons known best to it which only contributes to further piling up of the pending cases! This is what is exactly happening even in Calcutta High Court!
                                 Three Judges have retired in Calcutta High Court in February. But Centre is just not keen at all in appointing more Judges here and more than 2 lakh cases are pending before the High Court! What is Centre’s real intention? It must specify! It cannot keep quiet!
                                             Why no news channel ever discusses it? Instead the senseless debates on Karni Sena etc occupy prime time shows! Shameful!
                                             It is with a very heavy heart that Uttam Majumdar who is President of Bar Association of Calcutta High Court lamented that, “We are left with no choice but to go on a five-day long cease work from Monday. The Centre has failed to take any action to fill up the vacancies of Judges at the Calcutta High Court.” Centre is wholly responsible for this deadlock which was certainly avoidable! Centre cannot just keep on waxing eloquent and keep citing one excuse or the other for not appointing Judges in different High Courts all across the country!
                                        Why talk just about Calcutta High Court alone? Things in Odisha High Court are also pretty much the same! Even the lawyers here are also on strike since February 12 in protest against the shortage of Judges! Satyabrata Mohanty who is Secretary of Odisha High Court Bar Association said that, “Along with hunger strike, the ceasework agitation will also continue. Lawyers will boycott court proceedings till February 23.” The Bar Association said that on February 23 a special meeting will be convened in which further course of action will be decided. The Odisha High Court Bar Association has alleged that since 2015, there has been no appointment of Judges in Odisha High Court. There are only 16 Judges as against the sanctioned strength of 27 Judges!
                                   Why is Centre making a mockery of our legal system? Why are Judges not being appointed in all the High Courts where vacancies are pending and lying vacant? Why are lawyers of Calcutta High Court and Odisha High Court compelled to go on strike to ensure that Centre pays some attention on this pivotal issue also?
                                        Why is Centre still so lackadaisical in its approach? Should we be proud of it? Why did Centre allow so many vacancies to be not filled up in time?
                                          Why is Centre not speaking up on such a serious issue? Why Centre is so casual in its approach? Centre has just no option but to act now and make its stand known to the people who are fed up by the Centre’s inaction on such a vital issue involving Judges who decide the fate of millions of litigants but whose posts are not being filled up by Centre!
                                                I am shocked, disgusted and appalled to see how Centre is treating such a sensitive issue with such a complete sense of insensitivity! Centre must act now and address the legitimate grievances of the lawyers of Calcutta High Court and Odisha High Court as also of all those High Courts where vacancies similarly are lying vacant in large numbers! This must be done immediately on a war footing!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Supreme Court Now Finally Settles The Cauvery Dispute

Coming straight to the nub of the matter, let me start at the very beginning by first and foremost pointing out that the Supreme Court on February 16, 2018 delivered a much-awaited 465-page landmark judgment in Civil Appeal No 2453 of 2007 The State of Karnataka by its Chief Secretary versus State of Tamil Nadu by its Chief Secretary and Ors with Civil Appeal No. 2454 of 2007 State of Kerala through the Chief Secretary to Government versus State of Tamil Nadu through the Chief Secretary to Government and others Civil Appeal No 2456 of 2007 State of Tamil Nadu through the Secretary Public Works Department versus State of Karnataka by its Chief Secretary Government of India & Ors. It marginally increased the share of Karnataka of Cauvery water. It also ordered a reduction of the allocation share for Tamil Nadu thus dashing their hopes of getting more water from Cauvery. There can be no denying that Karnataka has every reason to feel happy about it. 
While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that a three-Judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said Karnataka will be required to release 177.25 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water from its Billigundlu site to Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu. This is a huge development with far reaching consequences! All parties must sincerely abide by what the top court has directed so unambiguously.
It is noteworthy that the earlier requirement under a February 2007 award by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), was 192tmcft. But now that has been changed. The Apex Court also allocated an additional 4.75 tmcft to Bengaluru to meet the drinking water and domestic requirements of the “global city”. As a consequence, Karnataka will now get 284.75tmcft as against the 270tmcft it gets at present.
Be it noted, the allocation to Tamil Nadu stands at 414.25 tmcft annually, which includes 10tmcft on account of availability of groundwater. The state of Kerala and Puducherry would continue to receive 30tmcft and 7tmcft respectively. The Apex Court also directed the central government to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Boardwithin six weeks to supervise implementation of the order.
For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that the Supreme Court by this landmark judgment sent out a loud and unmistakable message that, “Waters of an inter-state river passing through corridors of the riparian states constitute a national asset and no single state can claim exclusive ownership of its water”. Very rightly said! Who can question this?
Simply put, a three-Judge Bench of the Apex Court headed by CJI Dipak Misra said that, “The matter deserved to be adjudicated on a bedrock of equal status of states and doctrine of equability.” The Cauvery water dispute is more than 150 years old and has its origins in the 1894 and 1924 agreements for water sharing between then Presidency states of Madras and Mysore. The order stated that these agreements will remain in force despite the fact that the Reorganization Act, 1956 has taken effect. 
To put things in perspective, the top court largely upheld the 2007 tribunal decision and said the water allocation arrangement will exist for 15 years. It added that the tribunal’s order is binding. The allocation of water for Kerala and Puducherry remained unchanged.
Needless to say, this dispute over sharing of Cauvery water has been festering for an inexorably long period since the last 150 years. The 802-km long Cauvery river is also called the “Ganga of the South”. It originates in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. It flows mainly through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with its basin covering parts of Kerala and Puducherry. Of its total catchment area of 81,155 square kilometers, 34,273 sq. km is in Karnataka, 44,016 square km in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and 2,866 square km in Kerala.
Before proceeding ahead, it would be instructive to go though the history of this complex water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Only then will we be able to have a better understanding of this entire Cauvery water dispute. It runs as follows: –
1894: Water sharing agreement between the then Presidency states of Madras and Mysore.
1924: The British managed to finalise an agreement which was to function effectively for 50 years. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry would get 75% of the surplus water while Karnataka would get 23%. The remaining would go to Kerala. There were also restrictions imposed on how much land could be irrigated.
1970: The Cauvery Fact Finding Committee found that Tamil Nadu’s irrigated lands had grown from 1,440,000 acres to 2,580,000 acres while Karnataka’s irrigated area stood at 680,000 acres, resulting in an increased need of water for Tamil Nadu. Karnataka opposed this proposal.
2007: The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal holds that the two British era agreements valid but all states filed clarificatory petitions in the Supreme Court.
2013: Tamil Nadu files contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka. Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah refuses to implement the decision to release additional water.
Sept 2016: Supreme Court directs Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs a day till Sept 15. Protests break out in Karnataka which releases water and files a plea to the Supreme Court order.
July 14, 2017: Karnataka seeks a reduction in the quantum of water it should release to Tamil Nadu.
Sept 20, 2017: The Supreme Court reserved its judgment.
Feb 16, 2018: The Supreme Court reduces Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery river water to 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft), down from 192tmcft allocated by a tribunal in 2007.
To be sure, the 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of CJI Dipak Misra, Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar held categorically that, “In totality, we deem it appropriate to award the state of Karnataka an additional 14.75 TMC of water, i.e., 10 TMC (on account of availability of ground water in Tamil Nadu + 4.75 TMC (for drinking and domestic purposes including such need for the whole city of Bengaluru).” This is certainly a shot in the arm for Karnataka! Of course, Tamil Nadu is not very happy with this judgment.
Let me now jog my esteemed readers memory a little back. It was in February 2017 that the CWDT had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740tmcft. In a unanimous award, the tribunal allocated 419tmcft of water for Tamil Nadu, 270tmcft for Karnataka, 30tmcft for Kerala and seventmcft for Puducherry. It reserved 10tmcft for environment protection and fourtmcft for natural outlets into sea.
Truth be told, all the states had challenged the tribunal award before the Supreme Court which had reserved its judgment four months ago. After February 16 verdict, Karnataka has gained an upper hand as its share goes up to 284.75tmcft and Tamil Nadu’s share will now be down at 404.25tmcft. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while apparently appearing delighted said that he was happy as the state got “some relief” while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami appearing quite dejected from this Supreme Court’s judgment lamented that it was unfair to take into account the state’s groundwater levels.
As it turned out, in its landmark verdict, the Supreme Court placed drinking water requirements on a higher pedestal. It set aside the tribunal’s decision to “drastically reduce” Karnataka’s share of water, based on the argument that only a third of Bengaluru fell in the river basin and 50% of drinking water requirement would be met by groundwater. The Apex Court very rightly allocated 4.75tmcft for Bengaluru’s drinking water requirements, keeping in mind the “global status” of the city. Who can deny or dispute this?
It also cannot be lost on us that the tribunal had not taken into account the availability of 20 tmcft of underground water in Tamil Nadu and had rejected it as a conjecture. But the Supreme Court took into account the use of 10tmcft of this groundwater and deducted it from Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water. Very rightly so! In conclusion, all the parties to the dispute must completely adhere to what the Supreme Court which is the highest court of the land has laid down in this landmark judgment! 
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.
x

Will Electoral Bonds Usher In Transparency?

Let me begin right at the very beginning by first and foremost pointing out very explicitly that secrecy and non-disclosure of names of donors can never usher in transparency no matter how tall claims the government may make repeatedly through its eminent and senior leaders. Why should there be any secrecy at all? Why can’t there be full and fair disclosure of names of all donors who donate to political parties?
                                    Bluntly put: Why political parties are not required to maintain records of the donors? Why the donor is not required to disclose the name of the political party while purchasing the electoral bonds? Why there is no cap on the amount of donations made through such bonds? Why is it ignored deliberately that such relaxation on the amount of donations will open the door for unmonitored funding of political parties by corporate which will have a disastrous impact on our economy as rampant corruption and favouritism will increase immensely?
                                    Let me also be direct in asking: Why this hush-hush secrecy of not disclosing names of donors on one pretext or the other? Why is Centre not making any serious effort to make sure that nothing is hidden by politicians and that everything is disclosed by them relating to payment which they receive from different sources? Why is Centre offering just lame excuses for not disclosing the names of all the donors who donate generously to political parties?    
                                    What is also baffling is this: Why under this electoral bond scheme the donor’s identity won’t be revealed to the beneficiaries? What is there for politicians to hide? Why Centre wants full transparency from people but not from politicians? Why can’t politicians too reveal every money which they get from different sources for fighting elections just like any other common person? Why special exemptions for political parties and politicians? Do they deserve this?      
                                 What is also incomprehensible is this: Why government is trying to project this electoral bond as most viable method on cleaning up poll funding without making the names of donors public? Why on one hand Arun Jaitley claims that the present system ensures unclean money coming from unidentifiable sources and most political groups seem fairly satisfied with the arrangement and would not mind this status-quo to continue but on the other hand makes sure that even under the electoral bonding method the names of donors are not made public? What sort of transparency is this?
                               Why on one hand Arun Jaitley claims that the effort, therefore, is to run down any alternative system which is devised to cleanse up the political funding mechanism but on the other hand throws up another opaque system which protects the identity of the donors from being made public? How can any sane person support another opaque system with just few minor changes? Why can’t there be full transparency with nothing hidden from the public?      
                                   Why the maximum limit of 7.5% has been lifted on the proportion of the profits a company can donate to any political party of its choice? Will this not directly open the floodgates for shell companies being set up to specifically to fund parties? Why political parties have been allowed to take foreign funding by amending the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)? Will this not increase the clout of foreign powers directly in influencing the functioning of our government? Should we be proud of this?
                                    Agreed that reducing cash contributions from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2000 is a positive step but its overall impact could be deleterious as this will prompt parties to take smaller cash donations and thus not declare their source. Why this secrecy? Why not full transparency? Why is a common man deprived from knowing which corporate has funded which political party? Why even after disclosure of so many scams involving politicians just like the latest one involving several banks primarily the Punjab National Bank has resulted in looting of money worth more than Rs 20,000 crore as per the initial estimation? What purpose the electoral bonds would serve when the name of the donor is not disclosed as was pointed out even by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge?
                            It is noteworthy that the government on January 2 had notified electoral bonds as a new instrument for donations to political parties. But it was on February 1, 2017 that Jaitley had first announced the idea of electoral funds in his Budget 2017-18 speech to make political fundings more transparent. Jaitley while underlining the basic contours of the electoral bonds scheme announced during the 2017 Budget, including their denominations, validity and eligibility of the purchasers said that, “Electoral bonds would be a bearer instrument in the nature of a promissory note and an interest-free banking instrument.”
                                    Arun Jaitley has himself said that, “The government is willing to consider all suggestions to further strengthen the cleansing of political funding in India. It has to be borne in mind that impractical suggestions will not improve the cash-dominated system.” Who can be better equipped than Arun Jaitley himself who has been a senior lawyer of Supreme Court and also Union Law Minister to understand best that not disclosing the names of donors will only make sure that even those involved in wrong activities too can donate money without their name being made in public? How can this be justified under any circumstances?
                                  Truth be told, under the new system the prospective donors will be required to buy interest-free electoral bonds of designated denominations which they will forward to the parties of their choice. These bonds can be purchased for any value, which are in multiples of Rs 1000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1,00,000, Rs 10,00,000 and Rs 1,00,00,000 from the specified branches of the State Bank of India. The validity of the bonds would be 15 day to ensure that it does not culminate in parallel currency or safe haven for black money!
                                  Truly speaking, the donors’ identity won’t be revealed to beneficiaries. Jaitley says this is needed to discourage cash donations. He does not say why and how. In any case, it’s far from certain why the present system of cash donations will cease with the advent of electoral bonds as the role of cash in the electoral battle will continue to remain as dominant as before if not more! Who can dispute or deny this?
                                       It must also be revealed here that the life of the electoral bond would be only 15 days. Jaitley said that, “Electoral bonds would have a life of only 15 days during which it can be used for making donation only to the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one percent of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or a Legislative Assembly.” He also said that the bonds would bring in substantial and significant electoral funding when there is “nil transparency” as of now. These electoral bonds will be made available for purchase for 10 days each in January, April, July and October. It must also be mentioned here that the Government in a Lok Sabha election year can specify an additional period of 30 days.
                        Interestingly enough, only registered political parties which secured at least 1 percent votes in last election will be eligible for receiving donation through electoral bonds. Any Indian citizen or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond. Though the identity of the donors will not be made public, banks will have his details since the purchaser will have to fulfil the Know Your Customer (KYC) forms. The bonds will not carry interest.
                                   Simply put, a bond can only be encashed in a pre-declared account of a political party. Every political party in its returns will have to disclose the amount of donations it has received through electoral bonds to the Election Commission. The entire transactions would be through banking instruments. Jaitley reveals that as against a total non-transparency in the present system of cash donations where the donor, the done, the quantum of donations and the nature of expenditure are all undisclosed, some element of transparency would be introduced in as much as all donors declare in their accounts the amount of bonds that they have purchased and all parties declare the quantum of bonds that they have received.
                              To be sure, Jaitley also reveals that, “How much each donor has distributed to a political party would be known only to the donor. This is necessary because once this disclosure is made, past experience has shown, donors would not find the scheme attractive and would go back to the less desirable option of donating by cash. In fact the choice has now to be consciously made between the existing system of substantial cash donations which involves total unclean money and is non-transparent and the new scheme which gives the option to the donors to donate through entirely a transparent method of cheque, online transaction or through electoral bonds. While all three methods involve clean money, the first two are totally transparent and the electoral bonds scheme is a substantial improvement in transparency over the present system of no transparency.” Jaitley has a valid point. But even this method is not perfect.   
                                  I have absolutely no hesitation in concluding that a wrong is a wrong whether it is a smaller or a bigger wrong. The present  system of electoral bonds may be definitely a better alternative than the earlier one but even this too has many shortcomings. These shortcomings too needs to be removed and the system of electoral funding must be made totally transparent with no room for secrecy of any kind!
                                       To be sure, Jaitley has rightly said in a Face book post that India has not been able to evolve a transparent political funding system, despite being the largest democracy in the world. But now his government has been in power since the last four years. So he cannot offer any excuses for India not having been able to evolve a transparent political funding system. It is the bounden duty of his government to make sure that the system of poll funding is made totally transparent and there is no room for secrecy of any kind in any form which will only serve to further enhance the reputation of his government in the Centre!
                                 According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), almost 70 percent of the Rs 113 billion of party funding received over an 11-year period came from unknown sources. What makes matters even more worse is that the Centre in 2016 retrospectively amended the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) to redefine the status of London-headquartered multinational Vedants, which had contributed to the BJP and the Congress party after the Delhi High Court held that both parties – BJP and Congress were guilty of violating FCRA rules. Neither party has been made to penalize for this blatant violation of all rules!
                                      How can this be ever justified? Who can justify the decision to not disclose the names of donors under the electoral bonds scheme which will only serve to promote the dangerous trend of opacity in political funding? How can this be denied that most private donors prefer anonymity for fear of reprisals from political parties and they would still prefer to continue with cash donations under the Rs 2000 slab as is enumerated under Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act as also via electoral trusts as it is here that anonymity is better maintained?   
                                  Why Centre is just aiming to reduce the big role that unaccounted cash has in the electoral process of electing candidates? Why Centre does not care to do more to address the need to have public accountability of sources of political funding? Why Centre has drawn a Lakshman Rekha that this naming of donors can never be done?
                                   Why Centre is not ready to bring in more transparency rather is seen to be eschewing transparency in this new method of electoral bonding? Why all the great legal luminaries in the Cabinet of Centre have failed thoroughly to work out on this in a satisfactory manner? Why is Arun Jaitley expecting the people to do the homework on this score?
                                       He himself is such a great legal luminary! Why can’t he work out himself a fair and transparent system of electoral funding? Why can’t a roadmap be put forward by Centre with clear timelines and with the ultimate aim of ushering in complete transparency in the system of political funding?
                                Why Centre fails to appreciate that just introducing electoral bonds will not usher in transparency in the electoral system unless accompanied by other corollary measures? Why there is no clarity right now on how much a party or a candidate spends in an election and from where all they get funding for fighting  their elections? Why there is no mechanism to monitor the spending of money by parties and candidates during elections?
                                    Why parties are not asked to show their source of funding which are dubious in many cases? Why no strict penalty is imposed against any political party who is found to have acquired huge money from “unexplained sources”? Why political parties are exempted from disclosing the name of donors received from foreign countries? 
                               Unless this is done, all other steps will prove to be “an exercise in futility”! Also, foreign countries by donating lavishly can subjugate our country indirectly and remote control them through their representatives in Delhi! Who can deny this possibility can never happen under any circumstances?
                             Most importantly, what is the harm in displaying total transparency? Why politicians don’t learn even after massive scams are unearthed as we saw involving various banks primarily Punjab National Bank where we saw open loot of more than Rs 20,000 crore and this figure could further rise high and which started in 2011 when previous UPA government was in power and continued till 2018 four years after present NDA government came to power which could never have taken place without the active blessings of senior politicians occupying key posts in the Centre? Why they want to keep secret whatever they do while demanding total transparency from the public? With what face?
                                It is high time and if this nation is to be saved from being doomed, there should be total transparency in all dealings including those pertaining to politicians and those found indulging in corrupt practices must be punished with either death or life term and nothing else! They should never be allowed to flee India as we saw most unfortunately when Vijay Mallya fled and now when Nirav Modi and all close to him have fled without being stopped or detained by anyone! They must be made to pay for their misdeeds instead of first allowing them to flee and then fighting legal cases abroad and wasting huge money in it by hiring expensive lawyers etc and still seeing those fugitives laughing at us and making a complete mockery of our law and legal system! For this to happen, we need honest leaders and they can never come to power if this complete secrecy in unaccounted political funding continues unabated in one form or the other!     
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi HC Upholds Life Term To Seven Policemen

In a strong and stern message to all men in uniform who think that they can get away even after murdering any innocent person, the Delhi High Court on February 6 retained the life imprisonment that was awarded to seven Uttarakhand policemen for killing an innocent MBA student in a fake encounter in Dehradun in 2009. This open fake encounter had generated a lot of furore as the MBA student named Ranbir Singh had a complete impeccable track record with no past criminal record! This had left Ranbir’s parents, his relatives and friends and all those who were acquainted with him completely flabbergasted!
                                            To be sure, the Delhi High Court’s landmark ruling has made it clear: If you are a men in uniform and you kill someone without any valid cause then you are bound to pay the consequences! The Delhi High Court stated explicitly that , “Extra-judicial killing has no place in a system governed by the rule of law.” Absolutely right! Who can deny or dispute this?
                                          Let me add here in the same vein that the Delhi High Court, however, set aside the conviction and life term of 10 other cops who were held guilty for conspiring to kidnap and murder the MBA student. They got the benefit of doubt. These 10 were – constables Satbir Singh, Sunil Saini, Chander Pal, Saurabh Nautiyal, Nagender Rathi, Vikas Chander Baluni, Sanjay Rawat and Manoj Kumar and drivers Mohan Singh Rana and Inderbhan Singh.     
                                            To put things in perspective, the Delhi High Court after taking into account all the facts and circumstances of this high profile case concluded unambiguously that there was lack of evidence against them to sustain the charge. Besides the 17, the last accused Jaspal Singh Gosain who was the then head operator at the city control room who was sentenced to two years jail by the trial court for the offence of public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment was also absolved by the Delhi High Court. His complicity thus in this fake encounter was ruled out!
                                              While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me also inform them that Ranbir Singh who was aged 22 and a resident of Ghaziabad was gunned down by the police on July 3, 2009. The police had alleged that he was involved in an extortion racket. But the police could not back up their serious claims with substantial evidence in the court!   
                                            For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that the investigation was entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation and the case was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court. It was in June 2014 that a CBI court had convicted 18 Uttarakhand policemen in the case after holding them guilty of involvement in the conspiracy to kidnap and kill Ghaziabad resident Ranbir Singh who had gone to Dehradun to take up a job on July 3, 2009. No doubt, such fake encounters deserve no leniency!
                                      Bluntly put, a Bench of Justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta of Delhi High Court in its 105-page judgment said that, “Fake encounter is manifestation of the impunity with which armed forces, including the police, are prone to act in utter disregard of the rule of law”. The Bench also held that, “It is also symbolic of the cynicism with which the police themselves view the efficacy of the criminal justice system. The police, in this perception, are not just the accusers, but the prosecutor, the judge and the executioner.” Very rightly said!
                                         Going one step ahead, I would further go on to add while speaking for myself that fake encounters must be punished with only the most strictest punishment which means death as long as death penalty exists in our penal laws and at the most life imprisonment. Nothing less than this! Those who indulge in fake encounters are worse than terrorists who not just bring disrepute to themselves but also to the uniform which they wear and denigrate the whole institution of the police or the armed forces or any other organization of which the accused are a member!
                                         Needless to say, terrorists are brainwashed and trained by Pakistani Army, ISI and their handlers to kill and are armed for the same but what about the men in uniform? Who trains them to indulge in fake encounter killings? They indulge in worst kinds of crime not  after going to Pakistan and being brainwashed by their army or ISI but do it all by themselves only for lure of getting out-of-turn promotions or some medal or after getting angry over a small dispute etc which has to be punished with the most strictest punishment so that the right message goes all across that those who indulge in fake killings will meet their just desserts soon!               
                                           As it turned out, the Delhi High Court, which termed the incident a “tragic case” upheld the trial court verdict convicting and sentencing to life Sub-Inspectors Santosh Kumar Jaiswal, Gopal Dutt Bhatt (SHO), Rajesh Bisht, Neeraj Kumar, Nitin Chander Mohan Singh Rawat and constable Ajit Singh. All seven were suspended. Very rightly so!     
                                             Truth be told, the Bench pulled back no punches in lashing out at the growing incidents of fake encounter killings. The Bench of Justice S Muralidharar and Justice IS Mehta of Delhi High Court observed that, “A fake encounter is a form of extra judicial killing which has no place in a legal system governed by the rule of law. It is a manifestation of the impunity with which armed forces, including the police, are prone to act, in utter disregard of the rule of law.” The Bench went on to say that, “For the police, fake encounters symbolise the cynicism with which the police view the efficacy of the criminal justice system. In the court’s view, the police, in this perception, are not just the accusers but the prosecutor, the judge and the executioner.
                                   Simply put, the confirmation of punishment for the seven accused was a result of the lawlessness by the police force which is not a new phenomenon. Noting that a large number of prosecution witnesses turned hostile, the Delhi High Court Bench said this was “yet another case that underscores the urgent need for a robust scheme of protection to witnesses and victims”. It was observed that, “The accused in the present case were all policemen of Uttarakhand. Many of the witnesses were local residents of Dehradun.” The High Court stated that though the Law Commission of India gave its recommendations in that regard more than a decade ago, little had been done for implementation.
                                     It may be recalled here that following a public outcry and the media describing it as a “fake encounter” in addition to the deceased’s family not being satisfied with the progress in the case, the family approached the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Consequently, the Uttarakhand government on July 5, 2009 transferred the investigation of the Dehradun police station to the CB-CID. However, as agitations continued, the government handed over the investigation to the CBI on July 8, 2009. On the plea of the deceased’s father Ravinder Pal Singh, the Supreme Court transferred the case from the Dehradun court to a Special CBI court in Delhi.
                                               It is noteworthy that the most important witness in this case was a public servant who claimed to have gone to his house after witnessing a scuffle between two youngsters and a policeman on July 3, 2009. The witness retrieved his licensed revolver from his home and fired two shots in the air to break the scuffle. The firing resulted in a commotion with the youngsters trying to flee and merge in the crowd.
                                   Be it noted, the witness, however, noticed that more policemen reached the spot and they managed to catch hold of one of the youngsters. The Bench observed that, “This is perhaps the most important statement in the entire case.” This is what ultimately led to the conviction of these seven policemen to life imprisonment! Very rightly so!
                                               All said and done, this landmark ruling by the Delhi High Court has sent a very loud and clear warning to all the men in uniform that, “If you think that just because you have the uniform and power which they wield being a public servant does not mean that you can get away by doing anything whatever you want.”  It has sent a very loud and clear message to all the men in uniform that if you indulge in fake encounter killings, you have no option but to pay the price which means that you can be punished with either life or death! In this case they have been punished with life term which means that for the remainder of their life they will have to spend it in prison! It has also sent a loud and clear message that, “Be you ever so high, the law is above you”!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh. 

SC Restrains J&K Cops From Taking Coercive Steps Against Maj Aditya

Let me begin at the very beginning by expressing my vindication to note that the Supreme Court on February 12 has very rightly stopped the Mehbooba Mufti-led Jammu and Kashmir from initiating any coercive action against Major Aditya Kumar who has been named in the FIR registered by the state police in connection with the death of three youth – Suhail Lone, Javid Bhat and Rayees Ahmed in their 20s in Army firing in Shopian on January 27. The Supreme Court took less than a minute to stop Jammu and Kashmir police from taking any coercive action against Major Aditya Kumar. Prima facie, there seems to be no strong case for initiating action against Major Aditya!
                                             How can it be ignored that these three youth were a part of more than 300 strong mob who without any reason had started brutally attacking an Army convoy and were about to kill a JCO? How can it be ignored that to save the JCO who was brutally attacked by a mob which included these 3 youths and were about to lynch him even though he was talking with them politely and wanted to kill him when he tried to pacify them, the soldiers were compelled to fire as there was no other option to save him from those stone pelters and Maj Aditya Kumar was not even among those who had fired? Then how could FIR be lodged against Maj Aditya Kumar?
                                        How can it be ignored that soldiers are protected under AFSPA? How can it be ignored that soldiers did not fire on peaceful protesters but on a huge crowd who were doing stone pelting and who instead wanted to kill the soldiers? How can it be ignored that these stone pelters were not listening even after being repeatedly warned and did not spare even a JCO who was not armed and who was instead pacifying the stone pelters but still they attacked him and were about to lynch him?
                                        As it turned out, while the police FIR accuses the 10th Garhwal battalion of murder and attempt to murder among others, the Army has stated that it fired in self-defence. A three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir government and asked standing counsel M Shoeb Alam to file a response in two weeksto a petition by Major Aditya’s father, Lt Colonel Karamveer Singh, who sought quashing of the Shopian FIR that levels murder charges against his son. The murder charges leveled against Maj Aditya was preposterous!
                                         While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform here that issuing notice to the State and Centre, a three-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ordered that, “As an interim measure, it is directed that no coercive steps shall be taken on the basis of the First Information Report No. 26/2018 dated 27.1.2018 registered at P.S. (Police Station) Shopian under Sections 336, 307, 302 of Ranbir Penal Code against Major Aditya Kumar.” This is certainly a big relief for Maj Aditya and a huge setback for Mehbooba state government. This was what was being anticipated also.  
                                            For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that the Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Maj Aditya Kumar’s father – Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh who had bravely fought Pakistani forces in Kargil 19 years ago. Of course, Lt Colonel Karamveer was seeking the quashing of the FIR filed against his son! Taking a serious note of the plea by an army officer who had fought intruding Pakistani forces in Kargil 19 years ago and who narrated the catch 22 situation in which army personnel operate in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bench of the Supreme Court also sought the assistance of Attorney General KK Venugopal and asked him to “put forth” before the court the Centre’s stand on this incident and the FIR.
                                   To be sure, the Bench of the Supreme Court gave the Jammu and Kashmir state government two weeks time to file its reply. Thus we see that the Jammu and Kashmir State Government has been given enough time to prepare and file its reply in this high profile case! The Bench said that, “Let a copy of this petition be served on Mr Shoeb Alam, standing counsel for the State of Jammu and Kashmir, who shall file a reply within two weeks. A copy of the petition be served on the office of the learned Attorney General who shall represent the Union of India and put forth its stand.”  
                                          To put things in perspective, the Supreme Court also issued a notice on another petition which sought a direction to the Centre to set up a committee of experts for conducting a preliminary inquiry before a case is registered against Army personnel, and direction to the state government not to withdraw cases against stone-pelters. It is a matter of national disgrace that cases against 10,000 stone pelters were withdrawn by Mehbooba government and even in this case no FIR was lodged against stone pelters who were responsible for this entire unsavoury incident which left three stone pelters dead and many injured! Shameful!
                                               Why has Centre allowed this to happen at the first place? What precedent is being set? Will this not encourage others to follow suit?
                                           What impact will it have on soldiers morale who already are repeatedly facing terror attacks and suffering casualties? How can soldiers fight if they are made to fight court cases just for doing their duty? How can the protection to soldiers available under AFSPA be denied to them? How can we ignore that just recently even the children of soldiers have appealed to NHRC to save their fathers from being stone pelted?    
                                      Needless to say, while appearing for Lt Col Karamveer Singh, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said it was a “serious” matter and that “currently an operation was going on”. According to the police, two protesters were killed on the spot during the firing on January 27 and a third person succumbed to injuries later. Singh contended that the Army personnel were forced to fire at “a savage and violent mob engaged in a terrorist activity”, which had hurled stones at an Army convoy and was allegedly about to lynch a Junior Commissioned Officer. What else could the Army personnel do?
                                     Truth be told, the petition filed through advocate Aishwarya Bhati said that, “The petitioner is constrained to file the present writ petition for quashing of the FIR in view of the extremely hostile situation on the ground, whereby an FIR has been registered by the local police against the son of the petitioner, who is a service Army officer and was performing his bona fide duties.” How can this lodging of FIR be registered? What is worse is that no FIR lodged against stone pelters! Why were stone pelters given the long rope by the police? At whose behest? Mehbooba or some minister or someone else? This must be divulged! Why should they who protect stone pelters and encourage them from doing it repeatedly not be sacked but also put behind bars for abetting the crime? 
                                       Simply put, the petition which will be mentioned in the court on Friday stated that, “The manner in which the lodging of the FIR has been portrayed and projected by the political leadership and administrative higher-ups of the state reflects the extremely hostile atmosphere in the state.” Why did Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman do nothing to ensure that soldiers are not mired in controversies and FIR is not lodged against them as they were just doing their duty and had to fire to protect the life of a JCO who was on the verge of being set on fire just like earlier a DSP Mohammad Ayyub Pandith was beaten, stripped, bones broken and then burnt to death? Why did Home Minister Rajnath Singh also not intervene?
                                         No doubt, Lt Col Karamveer stated that he was filing the plea on behalf of his son “for protecting the morale of the soldiers of Indian Army, who are facing all odds in performance of their bona fide duties and laying their lives in the line of duty, to uphold the dignity of the Indian flag.” Which right minded person will question what Lt Col Karamveer has said? We are all seeing for ourselves how terrorists are regularly attacking our soldiers, how Pakistani soldiers are attacking our soldiers and worst of all even many locals are attacking our soldiers with stones and other sharp weapons without any provocation whatsoever!
                                        It is noteworthy that the petition said that the FIR relates to an Army convoy on bona fide military duty in an area under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) coming under heavy stone pelting. It also stated that the area was isolated by an unruly and deranged mob who were pelting the said vehicles with stones, causing damage to the military vehicles which are the property of the Government of India, as well as placing the lives of military personnel and military property within the vehicles in grave peril. It also mentioned that although the Army requested the mob to disperse, they did not do so and started hurling stones at the vehicles.
                                   Worst of all, Lt Col Singh said that, “The unruly behaviour of the unlawful assembly reached its peak when they got hold of a junior commissioned officer and was in the process of lynching him. It was at this moment that warning shots were fired at the unlawful assembly which, as per the said terms of engagement, is the last resort to be taken before opening fire. The unlawful assembly again refused to spare the life of the officer and, therefore, fire was lawfully opened with an aim to disperse the violent mob and protect government servants and property.” Is it not the duty of soldiers to protect government servants and property?   
                                    In essence, Lt Col Singh said Major Aditya was not present at the spot and could not have taken part in the action. He said the soldiers opened fire purely in “self-protection” to disburse a stone-pelting mob and save themselves from being lynched. He said that, “The manner in which the lodging of FIR has been portrayed and projected by political leadership and administrative higher-ups of the state reflects the hostile atmosphere in the state.”
                                    All said and done, it is an open and shut case. Police has no business to interfere in the working of the Army. The death of 3 stone pelters was caused due to those stone pelters themselves who came in large numbers and started attacking the Army convoy without any provocation and were on the verge of killing the JCO and to save him the soldiers had to fire! Here too Major Aditya was not the one who fired nor did he do anything that could warrant his arrest by the police! So, the FIR lodged by police was unsustainable and Major Aditya deserved the relief which he has been granted by Supreme Court! Sure enough, the final decision too will see him emerging unscathed because he has done nothing wrong for which he could be incarcerated in jail!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.  

Why Has Stone Pelting Been Legalised In Kashmir?

What is happening in Kashmir? Why are interlocutors being appointed for Kashmir?  Why are interlocutors appeasing the separatists and Hurriyat leaders who are directly funded from Pakistan? Why has stone pelting been legalised in Kashmir? Why stone pelters are freely attacking army vehicles? Why cases against more than 10,000 of them have been withdrawn?
                                      Why has Centre allowed Mehbooba to withdraw stone pelting cases against stone pelters who attack men in uniform? Why has Centre turned a blind eye to the deplorable plight of men in uniform who are expected to brave stones and yet not retaliate? Why has Centre legalised stone pelting in Kashmir?
                                       Why Centre is stooping so low that it does not even have the guts to take strictest possible action against Akbar Lone who is National Conference MLA and who shouted pro-Pakistani slogans right inside Jammu and Kashmir Assembly even when terrorists had killed many of our soldiers in Jammu and the father of one of the soldiers and wounded even women and children? Why is the membership of Akbar Lone not being terminated? Why is Akbar Lone staying in India if he dedicates himself to Pakistan which is a failed state which alone explains that why the likes of Akbar Lone and others never actually shift permanently to Pakistan?
                                         Why Centre is firm that it will not make any law to punish those who live in India yet chant pro-Pakistani slogans? Why Centre is firm that Article 370 of the Constitution which was not originally in the Constitution but inserted later by a ‘Presidential Order’ of 1954 would not be removed under any circumstances? Why Centre led by PM Modi feels proud that stone pelting has become an industry under Modi’s leadership and still he feels that no cases should be registered against stone pelters?      
                                       Why Centre is firm that it will not listen to the prayer of children of soldiers who have appealed to NHRC to save their fathers from being hit by stone pelters as Centre feels that soldiers must tolerate stone pelters quietly who are most important and whose heart can be won only by “healing touch” policy and if they retailiate then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman herself will give permission to lodge FIR against those soldiers as was done in case of Major Aditya Kumar even though he himself did not fire a shot and his father Lt Colonel Karamveer Singh who is a Kargil war veteran in this old age is compelled to take the trouble of approaching the Supreme Court to refrain the government from lodging FIR against his son who is protected by AFSPA and who did nothing wrong? Why has Centre gone so crazy? Why is Centre concerned only about stone pelters and not about soldiers?
                                               Why is Centre disregarding the soldiers and the families of soldiers who are compelled to approach the NHRC something which I have never heard of earlier not even in AB Vajpayee’s term as PM? Why Centre feels that soldiers must relax when they are pelted with stones by stone pelters and just not panic? Why Centre has reiterated that it stands with stone pelters by not allowing any FIR to be lodged against stone pelters while ensuring that FIR at the behest of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is lodged against soldiers?
                                       Why Centre feels that even if Kashmiris attack soldiers they must tolerate it and even if their helmet falls in dustbin or gutter they should tolerate it quietly just like had happened last year with some of them who were attacked by many miscreants yet no action was taken against them? Why Centre feels that what Justice JS Khehar had questioned that one country cannot have two laws, two Constitutions and two flags is right but Kashmiris have to be kept happy under all circumstances and so this provision of two laws, two Constitutions and two flags must continue unabated? Why Centre feels that stone pelters must be hugged and not kicked?
                                           Why Centre supports the line of Mehbooba that stone pelters even if they attack soldiers in huge numbers of 300 or so just like happened in Shopian and if soldiers fire in self defence then cases should be registered against those soldiers who fire as happened actually in Shopian when FIR under Section 302 (murder) and Section 307 (attempt to murder) was lodged against Major Aditya Kumar even though he had himself not fired and he was quite far away from the Army convoy in which soldiers opened fire after stone pelters most ruthlessly attacked soldiers and who then to save the life of a JCO fired in defence due to which 3 stone pelters died? Why is Centre and State Government not taking any strong action against stone pelters? Why no case was registered against stone pelters who without any grave and sudden provocation assembled in huge number and meticulously attacked a peaceful Army convoy?
                                          Why Centre feels that just like the DSP Mohammad Ayyub Pandith was brutally beaten by crowd of Kashmir and then made naked and then his bones broken and then was burnt alive who was deputed for security of Hurriyat leaders who openly rant against India yet nothing was done against those responsible similarly no FIR should be lodged against those who attacked Army convoy without any provocation? Why has Centre under leadership of PM Narendra Modi allowed stone pelting to be legalized on army soldiers and other forces? Why has Centre decided that even FIR should not be lodged against stone pelters as happened with the stone pelters when they stormed an Army convoy at Shopian which was peacefully going from one location to another without attacking anyone?
                                         Why Centre has decided that not only all cases will be withdrawn against stone pelters but in future also they will be given full freedom to do what they want? Why Centre feels that attack on Army soldiers by stone pelters is a very small thing and soldiers should just tolerate it quietly as Kashmiris are our own people? Why Centre feels that this is the only way in which the heart of Kashmiris can be won? Why Centre led by PM Narendra Modi is doing what even the most liberal leader and Modi’s ex-boss –  Atal Bihari Vajpayee had not done – encourage stone pelters by withdrawing all FIRs against stone pelters and not lodging FIR against those pelters who attacked Army convoy in Shopian?
                                      If soldiers are treated in this dastardly manner then Centre which is led by BJP will hundred percent lose elections and never again will any true Indian vote them again to power! They must wake up their ideas! India exists because of their brave soldiers and not because of third rated stone pelters or vested politicians who are only interested in saving their own vote bank! Any party which disregards soldiers will be voted out just like BJP in 2004 and Congress in 2014! What if all soldiers decide to launch their own party? Centre must act fast before it is too late!  
                                          Why so much of undue leniency for stone pelters? Why is Centre not sending extra force to Kashmir to deal with them with an iron hand if they dare to attack soldiers while they are operating to kill terrorists? Why is Centre not taking a clear stand on this?
                                              Why it is only in PM Narendra Modi’s term as PM that stone pelters have started raising their ugly head in the most dangerous manner so freely? Why stone pelters feel that there is Modi as PM to protect them and ensure that no FIR is lodged against them? Why has Modi allowed stone pelting to become a routine in Kashmir?
                                       Why FIR lodged against Army officers like Major Aditya Kumar but not against stone pelters? Why Modi is not thinking about the dangerous and disastrous consequences this all will have on the morale of our soldiers and their family as we saw how some children petitioning to NHRC something which never happened even in Vajpayee’s term as PM? Why Modi is taking all this so lightly?
                                            Why he is not taking any steps to ensure that stone pelters dare not attack Army convoys something never heard of earlier? Why Modi is not taking any steps to ensure that those who burn Indian flags, wave Pakistani flags, attack our soldiers and chant pro-Pakistani slogans be advised to just leave India and why should they not be denied Indian citizenship when they claim to be Pakistanis? Why is he blindly adhering to what Mehbooba is saying?
                                                   Why does he not realize that he is the PM of India and not Mehbooba who is just the CM of Jaqmmu and Kashmir and who is known for her soft approach against anti-India lobby as was witnessed just recently when she withdrew cases against 10,000 stone pelters unconditionally? Why is Mehbooba allowing to have the last laugh? Why has stone pelting been allowed to become the fundamental right of all Kashmiris and that too on soldiers who are quietly moving from one place to another or are fighting terrorists at any place? Why has stone pelting been legalised completely in Kashmir?
                                                    Only and only Modi can answer! But does he have the time? Right now, he is too busy with foreign trips even as Kashmir continues to burn! No country can survive long where soldiers are disregarded! If stone pelting is not checked in time, the consequences can be potentially disastrous for our whole nation and the situation can spiral completely out of control for which the whole responsibility would be of Modi who is our PM and is credited for everything good that happens nowadays in our country!
                                                 I have never in my life till now felt such chilling insult of our soldiers as I am feeling now which is worse than even what I felt during Kargil war but Modi is just not bothered! The stone pelters are doing openly what Gen Musharraf could not do publicly to our soldiers! How can Modi still continue to laugh and pretend as if nothing has happened? How can Modi still feel good under such circumstances which I have never experienced before when our soldiers are being ruthlessly killed by terrorists, Rohingyas welcomed in Jammu to facilitate attack on our soldiers who should never have been allowed to settle in the volatile Jammu and Kashmir and worst of all being ruthlessly attacked by stone pelters just like DSP Mohammad Ayuub was attacked, his clothes torn, his bones broken before being burnt to death? Still MFN status for Pakistan! Still normal diplomatic relations with Pakistan! Still Indus water for Pakistan! Still many Pakistani diplomats in India to fund terrorists as was disclosed also by NIA recently! Still VVIP status for Hurriyat leaders! Still no jail for Hurriyat! Still security for soldiers! I just fail to understand Modi’s mind set! Most perplexing!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.  

Worst Crisis Engulfs Maldives With Forces All Over

In an unpalatable turn of events, the security forces of the island nation Maldives have stormed their Supreme Court and arrested Maldives Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed over alleged corruption charges. In another related development to consolidate his power, the embattled President Abdulla Yameen on February 6 forced the Supreme Court to revoke an order to release nine high profile political prisoners. The remaining three Judges of the Supreme Court said in a statement that they were rescinding the order to release the prisoners “in light of the concerns raised by the President”. This clearly implies that the President Abdulla Yameen is imposing his will on the Judges of the Supreme Court and is not allowing them to function as per their own will and conscience!
                                             As things stand, the situation in Maldives is turning from worse to worst! Meanwhile, as a first precautionary step to deal with the crisis in the neighbourhood, New Delhi may make a diplomatic intervention by sending a special envoy to Male to protect its own strategic interest in the region. India has so far decided to remain a mute spectator by keeping itself totally aloof to the alarming development in Male and merely issued a couple of statements even though the Opposition parties in Maldives are making distress calls to New Delhi for diplomatic intervention and military aid!   
                                      Not surprising that Maldives President Abdullah Yameen on 8 February approached three ‘friendly countries’ – China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and announced envoys will be sent to these nations. India does not figure in this list though. This clearly conveys that Abdullah gives no importance to India which alone explains why India is keeping itself aloof! An official announcement from Yameen’s office said that the envoys will visit the friendly nations and provide updates on the current situation.
                        Simply put, this development came soon after China warned against military intervention in the Maldives saying that it would complicate the situation further. The warning was palpably directed against India after former President Mohamed Nasheed appealed to New Delhi to send envoys and the government had the military on standby in case of emergency or requirement. India already  before China’s warning had made it clear that it would not involve itself in the internal quagmire of Maldives and very rightly so!
                      Amid a spiralling political crisis in the island nation, the Maldives government on February 5 declared a state of emergency for 15 days following a Supreme Court order recently to release Opposition leaders from prison. A statement from President Abdulla Yameen’s office said that, “During this time, though certain rights will be restricted, general movements, services and businesses will not be affected. The Government of Maldives also wishes to assure all Maldivians and the international community that the safety of all Maldivians and foreigners living in and visiting the Maldives will be ensured.” No doubt, he has denigrated his international image by behaving so imperiously!
                                 Needless to say, sources revealed that the state of emergency that has been imposed by Abdulla arms the security officials with extra powers to arrest suspects. The development comes five days after the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine Opposition leaders, including the exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed. It also ordered that12 MPs expelled earlier be reinstated.
                            It is noteworthy that Eva Abdulla who is an MP and also a member of the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said that, “The declaration of state of emergency is an indication of Mr Yameen’s desperation. It only serves to show an isolated man who no longer has the confidence of the people and independent institutions.” The Opposition lawmakers appealed to international actors to put pressure on his government to comply with the Supreme Court order by releasing nine jailed Opposition leaders and restoring 12 expelled parliamentarians to the body. While adopting a resolution, the Opposition Parliamentarians requested the international community “to do everything in their power” to consider diplomatic, economic, and legal measures “to defend democracy, rule of law and human rights in the Maldives”.
                                   It may be recalled here that when the former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was made to step down in 2012 due to a series of political events in the country, he got refuge at the Indian High Commission. The bilateral relations between India and the Maldives have been very friendly since last many years. But in the last four years, the relations have plummetted to a new low due to Yameen’s policies for which he has to blame his ownself!
                             Who does not know that Yameen is known to harbor anti-India sentiments since he first became a minister in early 1990s? But for the sake of public consumption and to remain in India’s good books, Yameen has given credit to the Indian government for various aids and interventions in the islands and in doing so has done no big favour to  India who deserves it because India has always been generous in its dealings with Maldives! Who can deny that India has a naval presence in the Maldives since 2009 on the island state’s request? India-Maldives-Sri Lanka also hold trilateral NSA level dialogue.
                                 It is only now that the ties with Maldives has further deteriorated when Yameen ordered the removal of the Chief Justice, police chiefs and Vice-President to boost his administration. India along with many other countries like US have pulled back no punches in condemning the act calling it undemocratic. It may also be recalled that President Yameen had paid a two day visit to India in 2016 and counter-terrorism cooperation had been discussed by the two leaders.
                                   It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that the major reason for the strained ties between India and Maldives is attributed to Maldives closeness to China under Yameen and special treatment accorded to Beijing and its infra structure projects, including island development which will have serious security implications for India. How can India ignore all this? This is the reason why India has now maintained a safe distance from Maldives. Even though US President Donald Trump just recently after calling PM Modi expressed his utmost concern over the turmoil in Maldives, India too expressed similar sentiments and preferred to not dabble in it!
                                  As it turned out, the turbulent situation in Maldives has prompted some countries, including India, to issue travel advisories to citizens. India has advised nationals to cancel all “non-essential” travels to the Maldives. The Ministry of External Affairs said in the advisory that, “The prevailing political developments in Maldives are a matter of concern for India. Indian nationals are, therefore, advised to defer all non essential travels to Male and other atolls until further notice. Indian expatriates in Maldives are also alerted to the need for heightened security awareness, and urged to exercise due caution in public and avoid public gatherings.” China too has issued travel advisories asking citizens to avoid travelling to Maldives till theongoing tension there subside.    
                              Be it noted, former President Mohammed Nasheed on February 6 sought India’s direct and swift intervention. Nasheed tweeted that, “On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: 1) India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and political detainees, including President Gayoom. We request a physical presence.
2) The US to stop all financial transactions with the Maldives regime leaders in US banks.” It is with great expectations that he requested India. But India has its own compulsions.
                                 Truth be told, hours later, India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded by saying that, “We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in the Maldives following the refusal of the Government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 February and also by the suspension of Constitutional rights of the people of the Maldives. The arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures are also reasons for concern. The Government continues to carefully monitor the situation.” India has thus made its stand clear. While India wants that the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court be implemented but it will itself refrain from directly dabbling in their internal affairs!   
                              To recapitulate, India has been traditionally the first port of call for any distress situation in the country, be it political, military or humanitarian. India had in 1988 intervened through “Operation Cactus” to save the then President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from a coup attempt carried out by Sri Lankan Tamil militants on behalf of the Maldivian businessman Abdulla Luthufi. In 2013 Nasheed took refuge in the Indian High Commission in Male after he was ousted in a coup and Yameen’s police tried to execute an arrest warrant against him in a false case. Nasheed later stepped out of the embassy after an agreement was reached between him and the Yameen Government following intense negotiations involving India. In December 2014, India sent water to the Maldives after its water treatment plant caught fire.     
                          To put things in perspective, while expectations are certainly building up for India’s military action in the archipelago, the Government is hesitant to go for this extreme measure till diplomatic options remain open. India has deep strategic interests both in Indian Ocean and in the Maldives and pressure is building up on the Government to act swiftly before China or any other country seizes the opportunity. It is for Centre to take the final call on this!
                        To be sure, while the Maldives media on February 6 played up unconfirmed reports about Indian Special Forces being kept in readiness for a possible military intervention, officials said certain units of the Army, including Special Forces and Parachute Regiment, the Navy and the Indian Air Force, routinely train for out of area contingencies.  The officials added that certain transport planes, including C-130Js meant for special commando operations, are always deployed along with these units. The Indian Navy routinely patrols the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Maldives besides its P-8I long range reconnaissance aircraft and medium range Dornier aircraft also carry out sorties due to Indian Ocean having strategic importance for India.     
                             Moreover, it also cannot be overlooked that two to three coastal radars were installed by India some years back to help Maldives security forces to monitor maritime activities in its region of interest. These radars are linked with the Indian coastal radar chain. This clearly demonstrates that India has always closely assisted Maldives security forces so that they could be able to better check maritime activities in their region of interest.                
                         To tell the truth, the UN, the US, the UK, Australia and almost all major countries have urged President Abdulla Yameen Gayoom to obey Supreme Court orders and respect democratic institutions. The US openly said that, “The world is watching”. Heather Nauert who is US State Department spokesperson said that, “The US is troubled and disappointed by reports that Maldivian President Yameen has declared a State of Emergency, which gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects, bans public gatherings, imposes travel restrictions and suspends parts of the Maldivian Constitution…The US calls on President Yameen, the army, and police to comply with the rule of law, implement the Supreme Court’s ruling and the rulings of the Criminal Court, ensure the full and proper functioning of Parliament and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions of the Maldives.”       
                          Going forward, France also added its voice to the international criticism of Yameen’s actions. In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry said, “France is concerned by the suspension of public freedoms and by the arrests that took place following the declaration of the state of emergency in the Maldives. We call for a swift return to the normal functioning of the institutions and for respect for the rule of law.” The UK where Nasheed has taken political asylum to has urged Yameen to end emergency. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said categorically that, “…The damage being done to democratic institutions in Maldives and the sustained misuse f process in Parliament is deeply worrying. I call on President Yameen and the Government of Maldives to peacefully end the state of emergency, restore all articles of the Constitution, take immediate steps to implement in full the order of the Supreme Court and to permit and support the full, free and proper functioning of Parliament.”
                                Stephane Dujarric who is spokesperson for the UN SG said that, “The SG urges the Government of the Maldives to uphold the constitution and rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary.” China played safe and asked both sides to sort out their differences through a dialogue. Yameen has imposed emergency and placed former President Gayoom under house arrest. Yameen said he declared an emergency to investigate “a coup” against him.
                                  All said and done, all countries including India are most troubled and disappointed to see that Maldives President Yameen has declared a state of emergency! What is worse is that he has completely disregarded to what the Supreme Court has held and wants to impose his own will! What is worst is Yameen has systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political parties figure who disagreed with him since his election in 2013 and has blatantly disregarded even the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court and even got the Chief Justice arrested along with former President Gayoom and other political leaders!
                                 It is high time and Yameen must bow to international pressure and amend his authoritarian and undemocratic ways as soon as possible! This will only serve to enhance his image which has taken the worst beating following the sudden imposition of unwanted emergency and arrest of Maldives Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed along with others which cannot be justified under any circumstances! Now the choice to act or not to act wisely is entirely his! His actions will decide his ultimate fate!      
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

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Audi’s Sochi Ad Is Great. Too Bad It’s Probably Fake.

In other words, enabling the new Mobile setting (Chrome Management needs to be turned on first) means that all supported policies (check the lightbulb beside each policy to see if it will on Android and iOS) will apply to Chrome on mobile devices. All users who are signed in to Chrome for mobile with their organization’s account will receive whatever user settings the administrator has set.

Eric Piermont/Getty Images
Image credit: Picjumbo.com

It’s important to note that Google warns this is an “experimental feature.” As a result, admins are told to inform their users before flipping the switch, as well as to report any issues via In other words, enabling the new Mobile setting (Chrome Management needs to be turned on first) means that all supported policies (check the lightbulb beside each policy to see if it will on Android and iOS) will apply to Chrome on mobile devices.

All users who are signed in to Chrome for mobile with their organization’s account will receive whatever user settings the administrator has set.

PayPal today announced partnerships with three leading Bitcoin payment processors: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin. The eBay-owned company wants to help digital goods merchants accept Bitcoin payments, although it is starting with those located in the US and Canada first (“We are considering expanding to other markets,” a PayPal spokesperson told TNW. “Stay tuned.”)

Image credit: Picjumbo Free Images
Image credit: Picjumbo Free Images

PayPal says it chose to integrate the third-party functionality directly in the PayPal Payments Hub because the aformentioned trio already offers its customers protections when dealing with the virtual currency. The company envisions anything that can be obtained digitally, such as video games and music, being sold in Bitcoin.

Image credit: Picjumbo Free Images
Image credit: Picjumbo Free Images

This is important to emphasize, because PayPal isn’t adding Bitcoin as a currency to its own digital wallet. It also won’t be processing Bitcoing payments on its secure payments platform: everything is being handled by one of the three third-parties.

Merchants who pre-sell products, meaning asking for money up-front for a product or service that will be delivered in the future, will also not be supported. This is, according to PayPal, to safeguard customers from businesses that can’t give refunds if they fold before the product is shipped and after buyer protection expires.

In other words, the company is starting to accept Bitcoin, but very slowly and very cautiously. PayPal Senior Director of Corporate Strategy Scott Ellison explains.