Commoners denied justice on complaints against judges of higher courts
Bitter fact in the judicial system is that commoners cannot get their complaints against judges of higher courts resolved even if these are supported by fool-proof documents. I filed a documented complaint dated 03.01.2005 addressed to the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) followed by similar complaint dated 10.02.2005 addressed to the then President of India with several reminders to subsequent CJIs and Presidents of India.
Point-number 7 of Restatement of Values of Judicial Life as passed by all Supreme Court judges on 07.05.1997 clearly states that a judge shall not hear and decide a matter in which a member of his family, a close relation or a friend is concerned. But a judge in Division Bench of Delhi High Court did not recuse from the case to dismiss our appeal even though the petitioner in the case performed the marriage of his grand-daughter as an invitee from the official residence of the judge. Influences on other judges including the then CJI was there only because son-in-law of the petitioner was a judge in Supreme Court before being a judge in Delhi High Court. A judge at Delhi High Court postponed first 66 cases listed for 25.04.2003 on the prior evening just to bring our case listed at number 67 just to supersonically decide against us.
The then CJI in an RTI reply observed as Neither Supreme Court nor Chief justice of India is the appointing or disciplinary authority in respect of Judges of Superior Courts, including judges of high courts. Be that as it may, I have also examined the complaints made by Shri Subhash Chandra Agrawal and find no merit in them. But these observations were in contradiction to In-House Procedure as adopted by all the judges of Supreme Court on 15.12.1999 which spells out clear steps to be taken by CJI or Supreme Court in case complaint is filed against any judge of Supreme Court or High Court. A Home Ministry communication dated 15.03.2010 revealed that the said CJI is not fit for being NHRC Chairperson.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
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The coastal road project will adversely affect the environment
The coastal road project was halted by the High Court interim order after environmentalists raised objections on the adverse effect on climate and marine life but one is really surprised that Supreme Court has modified the order to let infrastructure companies start the work again. Mumbai has already been turned into a concrete jungle and now even the sea is being trespassed which speaks poorly of the concerns we have towards the environment amidst we live in.
Supreme Court should not have intervened till the High Court had given its final judgement. The courts should not just look at commercial interests but also be concerned about future generations and the damage we are causing to the environment in the name of infrastructure and development. Ecology needs to be saved and preserved by taking whatever measures possible for healthy living!
S.N. Kabra
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Congress compares Modi with Aurangzeb
Congress leaders during poll-campaign for Lok Sabha tried to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi with notorious Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. If Congress considers Aurangzeb as notorious and a bad man, then the big question is why it named a prime road of New Delhi after him, a mistake rectified by present BJP regime at the Centre supported in the move by Aam Admi Party government in Delhi to rename the road as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
What more Congress regime in October 1988 tried to name then newly-acquired Boeing-747-337M (VT-EPX) plane by Air India after Aurangzeb. But due to stiff resistance, the then Congress reign could not do so and had to name the plane after Hindu Pallava king Narasimha Vamana.
Madhu Agrawal
Civic body’s tall claim about monsoon preparedness
The Civic Authorities have tall claims about monsoon preparedness but the preparations are not adequate enough to meet the challenges faced during a monsoon season. The limited capacity of drains and poor desilting add to the woes and at this rate water logging in low lying areas is a certainty. It is time to provide more workforce and pay heed to the desilting process before the first monsoon rains. The spadework done by BMC, in the beginning, will definitely provide a better back up at the time of heavy rains and keep the wastewater flowing without blockage.
M.R. Jayanthi
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
