Image with courtesy from TOI
Honorable Justice Katju does it again. Justice Katju has divine power in creating “wrong noise at wrong time for right cause” He has been champion of free speech & had devoted himself for this cause after retirement. Though I can understand his limitation in supporting free speech during his service time. But it is very hard to understand his sudden enlightenments after lapse of considerable time. This time he has exposed appointment of “An Honorable Justice of TN High Court” after lapse of 10 years that too after his death.
Justice Katju’s article triggered an avalanche of debates, walkouts and adjournments in Parliament, conspiracy theories and condemnation of its timing. If Justice Katju’s plan was to spark a debate on the opaque procedures for appointment of judges and corruption in the higher judiciary, he was bang on the target.
No one can deny that India is badly infected by “corruption virus”. This virus has gone in the root of all systems. Are our courts also affected by this virus? Yes, up to some extend. You need to go in a court to see corruption flies roaming everywhere. It is very difficult to find a order copy or some other legitimate orders without some ”Chai-Paani.” But can we say that our “Honorable Judges” are also affected by corruption virus? No, not in general. There may be some rogue elements but whole system is not as corrupt as other government departments are where you can walk to most of the top official’s house with “Doli” in one hand & a stuffed envelop in other to get your work done. Thanks God, you can’t do this with a Judge. We listen about lots of story about Judge’s “social relations” with some of the advocates. Who tells us these stories? Our own advocates, some court employees claim “closeness” with Judges & assure us to win the case with some extra fee. Has somebody ever verified this fact? Answer is “No”. I have some real time experience in the courts when I appeared & Judges heard me very carefully & decided the cases in my favor, much to astonishment to the court clerks.
Dear Readers! My explanation does not mean that there is no corruption in our justice system. Yes it is there & it is rampant but only at the lower level. Thanks God our most of the Honorable Judges are free from this virus. There may be some black sheep there too. We need to find these rogue elements & kick their ass. But while doing so, we need not to paint every Judge with the same color. We need not to cry “Oh! Our whole justice system is totally corrupt & we can’t get justice at all.”
Time again, actions has been taken when some skeletons tumbled out of the judiciary’s closets. But people still want more transparency in all such cases, so that common people faith remains intact in our judiciary system.
In this context, Justice Katju article is very relevant. But his exposer after lapse of 10 years can’t be justified because the judge in question was appointed as additional judge of Madras HC in 2003 and was made a permanent judge four years later and transferred to Andhra Pradesh HC. He retired in July 2009 and passed away on October 25, 2009. Moreover, it is unfair for retired Justice Sh. Katju to make allegations against the Supreme Court and its retired judges and CJIs, especially when the he, himself, was the Chief Justice of Madras HC at the relevant time. If he was so concerned and was privy to those facts, he should have spoken then. Question is “was he concerned with his own promotion as SC judge”? The retired judges and the CJIs mentioned in the article cannot now be expected to respond and have a slinging match. Noted jurist Sh. Sorabjee rightly observed; “Strange that a judge who himself was a beneficiary of collegium system under CJI Y K Sabharwal should now bitterly complain against it.”
What so ever be the propose of Justice Katju in this discloser, he has steered a controversy about the appointment of Judges which is sometime comes under pressure from politicians, as in this case. Till now such appointments are done through the collegium. There is lots of scope to improve upon this system. UPA Government introduced Judicial Appointments Commission Bill-2013 in Rajya Sabha in August-2013. It was studied by a standing committee and it is still pending with new government. The NDA Government should take up the bill urgently & get is passed in the parliament to end the hotch-potch, if any, in the appointment of higher judiciary.
However, India expects more timely & rational discloser from prominent personalities like Justice Katju. Such personalities should control themselves and should not do such discloser just to be in limelight.
Related articles
- बोया पेड़ नवजोत सिंह सिद्दू का तो जीत कहाँ से होय - January 23, 2017
- Modi government Concedes to Win - January 19, 2017
- नरेन्द्र मोदी का राजनैतिक बनवास कमरा तक छिना - January 19, 2017
अपने देश में उच्चपदस्थ हर व्यक्ति जब काम पर जाने के लिए घर से निकलता है तो अपनी आत्मा साथ नहीं ले जा सकता . यही सच्चाई है . काटजू साहब को अगर समय पर सच्चाई के साथ जीने की आदत होती तो उनका हाल श्री खेमका जैसा होता .
यहाँ अपने न्याय-तंत्र का एक सूत्र है के “न्याय मिलना चाहिए और मिलता हुआ दिखाना चाहिए ” यही इसका बुनियादी “दिखावा” भी उजागर करता है …
आम तौर पर ऐसा माना जाता है की “कानून” समाज व्यवस्था चलाने के लिए होते है और उसे सरकारे संचालित करती है पर यह दुर्भाग्य है मेरे देश का के यहाँ १८६० से जो करीब साढ़े पैतीस हजार कानून और नियम बनाये गए है वे समाज सञ्चालन के लिए नहीं बल्कि सरकार सञ्चालन के लिए बने है . आप देखिये कोई भी बड़े अधिकारी की नियुक्ति यहाँ होती है तो अंतिम फैसला सत्ताधारी नेतओंका होता है .नियुक्ति की कार्यप्रणाली बाहर से कितनी भी पारदर्शक दिखे पर अंतिमतः निर्णय सरकार लेती है …
काटजू साहब की बात तो केवल खुदको साफ़ दिखाने की है ,वे बोलकर होनेवाले तमाशे का भरपूर आनंद ले रहे है ,उनको मालूम है कुछ नहीं हानेवाला … अभिषेक मनु सिंगवी का कुछ नहीं हुआ , शांतिभूषण साहब ने लिखित शपथ-पत्र दिया उसका कुछ नहीं हुआ … तो इसका क्या होने वाला है …
हम तब तक सुखी है जबतक हमें आसपास की सच्चाई मालूम नहीं ..!!
Your comments are candid.
SB is another classic case of ‘साै चूहे खाकर निकला हज काे !’…all sycophants and evil ones such as the Devil’s advocates assumed these offices in every rung of the system. Varies in degrees. Honest, principled, hard working, learned, able ones starve or are dubbed ‘mad’ by in the ‘uncle judges yuga’!
Running the Government ( read- administration ) using judiciary as a crutch rather than upholding it’s independent status as the pillar for Social empowerment and governance of Societal mores has become the order. A sad tale .
We should re think the role & relevance of every such revelation made and goad upon the ‘spiller of beans’ to open up fully in order to filter bias, prejudice,grudges of all the warring parties ,apparently sailing in the same rocking boat!
Nation suffering ,at what cost?
Think,act. Rightly .
In national interest.
It is not new for aspirants of gubernatorial or other positions of Pelf,security or fame to indulge in ‘semi-leaks’ or ostentatitious statements bordering on being pretentitious. Being incumbent Chairman,Press Council, the retired maverick judge has an onerous duty to ban obnoxious adverts in the print media ,to start with . Before term lapses.
Corruption is rampant in every sphere of society we live in today. I learnt of ‘bribe’ first time in life on day of enrolment at the Bar when the office Secretary demanded money to clear my ‘university gold medalist with all India distinction in all subjects,all years’ papers and I was to take the Hippocrates oath in Chief Judtice’s presence a few minutes thereafter . The fellow had castigated he for not grasping his open demand for a bribe to initial and scolded me as to why I came to ‘do vakalat’ if I couldn’t understand the basic facts of life!’.
Then,years later on, few weeks ago, one is privy to acts of social beings in Golf club on eve of crucial judgments being pronounced.
All is NOT well despite contrary false beliefs being spread by abettors to crime of corruption in administration and dispensation of ‘justice’ and innocents . Rest are innocent .
More on the topic in my books on the subjects relevant to our times.
Jai hind!