Day: February 23, 2018

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.