Supreme Court Caste Bias

 Dalit-Online 

Weekly e news paper 

Editor: Nagaraja.M.R.. Vol.16.....Issue.68.............23/08//2020 

 

 India turned a blind eye to Justice Karnan, an ‘outsider’. Prashant Bhushan is different

Hailing the Supreme Court judgment against Justice Karnan in 2017, Bhushan had tweeted, ‘Glad SC finally jailed Karnan for gross contempt of court’.

By Dilip Mandal

The Supreme Court’s contempt of court ruling against Prashant Bhushan has stirred India’s soul. Liberal anger has poured out. Several judges even spoke in his support. But not too long ago, many of them watched silently when Justice C.S. Karnan was sent to jail for six months for calling out corrupt judges. In fact, some, including Bhushan had welcomed the imprisonment of the outspoken Dalit judge, a first in India’s judicial history.

That the outrage is selective is obvious, and doesn’t need belabouring. I am not even saying the outrage is because of the caste difference, that would be simplistic and reductionist. But Prashant Bhushan is a product of Delhi’s power elite. Justice Karnan was an outsider to this cosy circle. And that says more about how Indians perceive the ‘rule of law and dissenters’ than last week’s Supreme Court verdict.

Nobody knows Justice Karnan’s side of the story

Justice Karnan had to serve the entire sentence and his appeal for pardon and review at various fora, including Parliament and to then President of India Pranab Mukherjee, was ignored.

Both the cases are related to the violation of Contempt of Courts Act that has a maximum punishment of six months jail term and/or fine of Rs 2,000. In that sense, Justice Karnan was awarded the maximum punishment under the Act and sentenced without even initiating the proceeding for his impeachment.

In a brief summary of the case, BBC World wrote: “The stand-off dates from January (2017), when Justice Karnan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging up the names of 20 judges he alleged were corrupt.” The summary also stated that “The top court has barred the media from publishing and broadcasting Justice Karnan’s statements.” So, we don’t know his side of the story or the entire story.

Many journalists had opposed the Supreme Court’s gag order on the case reporting. Ashok Malik, presently Policy Advisor in the Ministry of External Affairs had tweeted saying, “So what if a newspaper reports Justice Karnan’s statements? Does the Supreme Court send the editor and reporter to prison? Under which law?”

India’s love for the contempt law

The Contempt of Courts Act is an archaic legislation, first enacted in 1926. It has its origins in the British law. The legislation was amended later on and the present law was enacted in 1971. While the UK did away with the offence in the contempt law long ago, India continues to hold on to this. The Law Commission in its report on the Contempt Act 1971, has argued that India has a large number of cases (almost one lakh at the time of submission of the report in 2018) whereas the UK had its last such case in 1931. Hence, the Commission observed that “the high number of cases (in India) justify the continuing relevance of the Act.”

Ironically, in 2017, Bhushan had hailed the Supreme Court judgment against Justice Karnan and tweeted how he was “Glad SC finally jailed Karnan for gross contempt of court.” One cannot fail to observe that in his tweet Bhushan did not address the sitting judge of the Kolkata High Court as ‘justice’.

Bhushan’s tweet also implies that he is not against the Contempt of Courts Act per se but rather supports the archaic legislation.

Media’s silence

If we glance through the editorials and op-eds written at that time, we will find that every editor or writer was united in supporting the judgment. Same was the case with the prime time debates.

Pained by the coverage of his case, Justice Karnan had written an open letter to the media: “I have often mentioned in my communications that I am a victim of caste discrimination…It is most unfortunate and perhaps a national disaster that such critical issues never figured in most of the national publications.” He wanted the media to act in a fair and unbiased manner.

Outrage vs silence

There is a stark difference between the cases of Justice Karnan and Prashant Bhushan. Justice Karnan had not made any public allegation of corruption against any judge. Rather, he had sent his complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office in a sealed envelope. Bhushan made the allegations on social media and were thus in the public domain.

So, how does one understand the outrage in Prashant Bhushan’s case but silence when Justice Karnan was convicted?

One way to understand this is through the simplistic and reductionist reading: since Justice Karnan is a Dalit, the media acted with bias and failed to present his case in totality. Similarly, it can be said that since Prashant Bhushan belongs to the upper caste and the ruling elite, and his father Shanti Bhushan was the law minister in the Morarji Desai Cabinet (the father-son duo were the 75th Most Powerful Indians, according to a list published by The Indian Express in 2009), his case is generating so much heat.

I am not endorsing or ruling out any of these possibilities. At least not at this juncture. But the reason for the intelligentsia not supporting Justice Karnan has more to do with their association or disassociation with the ruling structure as well as with the nature of Karnan and Bhushan’s allegations.

‘Dalit gaze’ on the power elites

Justice Karnan was not just challenging the higher judiciary, but also putting the whole power structure under scrutiny. The gaze of a Dalit judge towards the upper caste-dominated judiciary, as stated by the Kariya Munda Committee of Parliament, was unnerving for the power elites. The panel, in its report, had said, “The Committee were surprised to note that out of 481 High Court judges only 15 were from Scheduled Castes and 5 from Scheduled Tribes in position as on 1-5-1998 and none was in the judgeship of the Supreme Court in spite of the fact that some suitable, eligible and well-qualified SC/ST candidates were available in the consideration zone.”

The situation in India’s judiciary hasn’t changed much. Justice Karnan was underlining the caste domination and hegemonic structure of the higher judiciary. This is almost blasphemy in the eyes of the power elites.

Justice Karnan’s allegations of corruption in the judiciary were also quite unsettling for the power elites. We do not know what would have happened had Prime Minister Modi decided to set up a commission of enquiry or a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the allegations of Justice Karnan.

Compared to Justice Karnan’s allegations, Prashant Bhushan was not raising any fundamental issue. His tweet was aimed at an individual: Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde sitting on a superbike. Bhushan was only raising a question related to the personal conduct of the CJI, which has more to do with individual morality.

Bhushan finds many friends among the ruling elites after the Supreme Court verdict. Not only because he is one of them, but also because he is a man of the system. Justice Karnan is an outsider and it’s natural that he found no friends among the elites and opinion makers.

 

Legal Notice to Honourable Chief Justice of India , 

Honourable  Chairman  National Human  Rights commission  New Delhi. 

 

To, 

Honourable Chief Justice of India, 

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA, New Delhi. 

 

Honourable Sir , 

 

Subject : Legal Notice to Chief Justice of India 

Ref : SUO MOTU CONTEMPT PETITION (CRL.) NO.1 OF 2020 

 

Are not Judge's  liable for Contempt of  Citizens of India ? 

Are Judges , Police PERFECT ? Satya Harishchandra ? 

 

Few  Corrupt Judges in fact deserve utter contempt and must be ousted from their office. 

In the above mentioned case , SCI  is trying  to silence the voice of advocate Prashanth Bhushan seeking justice , accountability of judges. In the past SCI has silenced voices seeking justice , accountability of judges in various ways -  silenced voices of Advocate Nedumpara , Justice Karnan , Justice Rakesh Kumar , Justice Jayant Patel , Justice Prabhakar Gwal and others. 

We  legally,  rightfully stand  with  Advocate Prashanth  bhushan  and fully  support the issues of JUDICIAL  ACCOUNTABILITY  raised by him since years. 

 

         Hereby , I challenge Chief Justice of India in the exercise of my FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES as a citizen of india , that subject to conditions I will legally prove the crimes of few judges , police , public servants within the government service and other criminals. Is the CJI ready to book those criminals , traitors , anti nationals ? 

 

Since 25 years I am appealing to apex court for justice concerning various public issues , no justice in sight but injustices meted out one after another. 

But the same judges are SHAMELESSLY taking huge pay perks for years. Parasites feeding on Indian Public. Whenever questions of accountability are asked judges level contempt charges against the questioner or police fix him in fake cases or he is silenced by threats , murders , denial of jobs , etc. Since 25 years in many ways they are trying to silence me. Just take the recent example of Justice Karnan who leveled  corruption charges against specific judges with CJI. Instead of conducting a fair investigation into the matter , CJI tried to silence him by serving him contempt notice. 

Take very recent example of   complaint by woman staff  of 

Supreme  Court  of  India    against  CJI  Ranjan Gogoi  involving  sexual harassment  charges. Instead of  registering complaint 

against  CJI  and  conducting fair transparent investigations,  trial ,  everything was covered up in a super fast manner. Complainant and her family were victimized. Delhi police who exhibit their strength before commoners , innocents became weak , meek , big zeroes before gogoi. Shame shame. 

 

 Our Judges , Police are NOT Perfect Not Satya Harischandras . There are criminals as well as honest people side by side in judiciary & police. We whole heartedly respect honest few in judiciary , police & public service. But we detest corrupt judges , corrupt police. Honest Judges & Police are not coming into open to prosecute their corrupt colleagues, why ? silenced ? 

 

Criminalization of all wings of government has taken place , unfit people are in the positions of power. Corruption in judiciary , police , CBI , CVC , Public service is rampant. Now MAFIA is at work. Only few scandals , scams become public , many are buried. If one criminal public servant is caught other public servant who is also a criminal conducts name sake investigation , gives report , clean chit. Law courts rely on the government reports as evidences , courts are not bothered about credibility of reports or investigations. It is quid pro quo. Therefore technically criminal public servants are never proved for their crimes & convicted , as investigation itself is not fair. 

 

A Crime may happen without the knowledge of police but cann’t continue for years without the connivance of police. A Crime reported to court cann’t continue for years without connivance of judges. 

 

At the bottom of the paper , I have given web sites about few ACB raids on government officials and unearthing of crores worth property. How they have earned it , by misusing their official positions. Therefore government reports , records prepared by these officials , investigations conducted by corrupt police are suspect. But Law courts in various cases , considers government reports , records , statements of government officials as sacrosanct . Therefore in many cases injustice is meted out by court , as they depend on reports of corrupt government officials , corrupt police. 

The public servants & the government must be role models in law abiding acts , for others to emulate & follow. if a student makes a mistake it is excusable & can be corrected by the teacher. if the teacher himself makes a mistake , all his students will do the same mistake. if a thief steals , he can be caught , legally punished & reformed . if a police himself commits crime , many thieves go scot-free under his patronage. even if a police , public servant commits a crime , he can be legally prosecuted & justice can be sought by the aggrieved. just think , if a judge himself that too of apex court of the land himself commits crime – violations of RTI Act , constitutional rights & human rights of public and obstructs the public from performing their constitutional fundamental duties , what happens ? 

 

“Power will go to the hands of rascals, , rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight among themselves for power and will be lost in political squabbles . A day would come when even air & water will be taxed.” Sir Winston made this statement in the House of Commons just before the independence of India & Pakistan. Sadly , the forewarning of Late Winston Churchill has been proved right by some of our criminal , corrupt people’s representatives , police , public servants & Judges. 

 

I don’t know whether secretariat staff of CJI office & DARPG / DPG officials are forwarding my appeals for justice , e-mails to you or not. They will be held accountable for their lapses if any. This notice is against the repeated failure of constitutional duties & indirect collusion with criminals by previous CHIEF JUSTICEs OF INDIA. Notice is served against them , to the office of CJI , NOT personally against you. 

 

Please refer my appeal for justice through DARPG ; 

DLGLA/E/2013/00292 

DEPOJ/E/2013/00679 

In india democracy is a farce , freedom a mirage. the most basic freedom RIGHT TO INFORMATION & EXPRESSION , is not honoured by the government,as the information opens up the crimes of V.V.I.Ps & leads to their ill-gotten wealth. The public servants are least bothered about the lives of people or justice to them. these type of fat cats , parasites are a drain on the public exchequer . these people want ,wish me to see dead , wish to see HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH closed . so that, a voice against injustices is silenced forever , the crimes of V.V.I.Ps closed , buried forever. 

To my numerous appeals , HRW’s appeals to you ,you have not yet replied. It clearly shows that you are least bothered about the lives of people or justice to them .it proves that you are hell bent to protect the criminals at any cost. you are just pressurising the police to enquire me ,to take my statement, to repeatedly call me to police station all with a view to silence me.all of you enjoy “legal immunity privileges” ,why don’t you have given powers to the police / investigating officer to summon all of you for enquiry ?or else why don’t all of you are not appearing before the police voluntarily for enquiry ?at the least why don’t all of you are not sending your statement about the case to the police either through legal counsel or through post? you are aiding criminals ,by denying me job oppurtunities in R.B.I CURRENCY NOTE PRESS mysore , city civil court ,bangalore , distict court , mysore ,etc & by illegally closing my newspaper. Even Press accreditation to me as a web journalist is denied till date. there is a gross, total mismatch between your actions and your oath of office. this amounts to public cheating & moral turpitude on your part. 

1.you are making contempt of the very august office you hold. 

2.you are making contempt of the constitution of india. 

3.you are making contempt of citizens of india. 

4.you are sponsoring & aiding terorrism & organized crime. 

5.you are violating the fundamental & human rights of the citizens of india and of neighbouring countries. 

6.you are violating & making contempt of the U.N HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER to which india is a signatory. 

7.you are obstructing me from performing my fundamental duties as a citizen of india. 

8. As a result of your gross negligence of constitutional duties you have caused me damages / losses to the tune of RUPEES TWO CRORE ONLY. 

9. You are responsible for crime cover ups mentioned in my RTI Appeals , PILs and continuation of those crimes unabated. 

10. You are responsible for denial of information, which vindicates the crimes of powers that be. 

11. You are responsible for physical assaults , murder attempts on me. 

12. You are responsible for job denials to me at NIE , PES Engineering college , RBI Press , Mysore , Bangalore Courts. 

13. You are responsible for my illegal retrenchment from RPG Cables , denial of medical care to me towards occupational health problems. 

14. You are responsible for denying me legal aid. 

15. You are responsible for illegal closure of my news paper. 

16. You are responsible for denial of press accreditation to me as a web journalist till date. 

17. You are responsible for repeatedly passing on my appeals to police. So that they can take statements , close the file under the threat of police power. 

18. You have violated my Human Rights & Fundamental Rights. 

19. In terms of Integrity , Honesty You & other public servants are nowhere near Baba Saheb B R Ambedkar , Mahatma Gandhi & Satya Harishchandra . Many Public servants are UNFIT to be in their posts. 

You are hereby called upon to Pay damages to me and SHOW-CAUSE within 30 days , why you cann’t be legally prosecuted for the above mentioned crimes . If you don’t answer it will be admission of the charges by you. It will amount to confession of crimes on your own. 

If i am repeatedly called to police station or else where for the sake of investigations , the losses i do incurr as a result like loss of wages , transportation , job , etc must be borne by the government. prevoiusly the police / IB personnel repeatedly called me the complainant (sufferer of injustices) to police station for questioning , but never called the guilty culprits even once to police station for questioning , as the culprits are high & mighty . this type of one sided questioning must not be done by police or investigating agencies . if anything untoward happens to me or to my family members like loss of job , meeting with hit & run accidents , loss of lives , etc , the jurisdictional police together with above mentioned accussed public servants , Chief Justice of India & Jurisdictional District Magistrate will be responsible for it. Even if criminal nexus levels fake charges , police file fake cases against me or my dependents to silence me , this complaint is & will be effective. 

if anything untoward happens to me or my dependents , the government of india is liable to pay Rs. TWO crore as compensation to survivors of my family. if my whole family is eliminated by the criminal nexus ,then that compensation money must be donated to Indian Army Welfare Fund. afterwards , the money must be recovered by GOI as land arrears from the salary , pension , property , etc of guilty judges , police officials , public servants & Constitutional fuctionaries. 

 

Thanking you. Jai Hind , Vande Mataram. 

 

Send reply to : 

Nagaraja Mysuru Raghupathi 

Editor ,  DALIT  ONLINE , 

LIG 2 , NO 761 , HUDCO First Stage, 

Laxmikantanagar , Hebbal , Mysuru – 570017. 

 

 

Date : 16.08.2020……………..your’s sincerely, 

Place : Mysuru , India ……….Nagaraja Mysuru Raghupathi 

 

 

Judges & Sex Crimes  

https://dalit-online.blogspot.com/2019/11/judges-sexualharassment.html?m=1 , 

 

Rogue Police  and Judges  

https://dalit-online.blogspot.com/2020/04/rogue-police-judges.html?m=1 , 

 

Notice to Chief Justice of India 

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/notice-to-chief-justice , 

 

Crimes by Khaki 

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/crimes-by-khaki ,  

 

FIRST Answer Judges Police 

https://www.scribd.com/document/336585411/FIRST-Answer-Judges-Police  , 

  

Notice  To  Chief  Justice  of  India

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/notice-to-chief-justice

 

 

 

Editorial :  Are all Judges Honest ? Satya Harishchandra ?

Why no action against judges who committed sex crimes against women , who swindled employees provident fund money , etc , While Judges belonging to powerful castes , having influence , who have done grave crimes are let off , their cases buried. Justice karnan is tortured as he is a dalit without any influence for exposing crimes. So called learned advocates are defying gentleman's boundaries and personally calling a judge as lunatic. Are those learned advocates cultured , gentleman , what they have done to safeguard justice. Read JUSTICE KARNAN VICTIMIZED in web news paper SOS E CLARION OF DALIT. Judge's Mafia. Overall in this saga certain people want to bury the corruption allegations made by Justice Karnan, by diversion from core issue of corruption by judges. In the same way dalit judges Justice Gwal & Justice Ramakrishna were tortured by High ranking judges , where is the justice to these persecuted dalit judges ? Why not their tormentors high court & supreme court judges legally prosecuted under Prevention of Atrocities Act against SC /ST ?

 

Judges  SEX  crimes

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/judges-sex-crimes

 

A – Z   of   Manipulation  of  Indian  Legal  System

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/187575206/A-Z-of-Manipulation-of-India-Legal-System   ,

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/173854541/Chief-Justice-of-India-A-Criminal   ,

 

 

50% of higher judiciary corrupt, says ex-SC judge Markandey Katju

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/50-of-higher-judiciary-corrupt-says-ex-sc-judge-markandey-katju/story-Hfu8Ru8o9YfoGOjloboytN.html

 

Eight chief justices were corrupt: Ex-law minister

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eight-chief-justices-were-corrupt-Ex-law-minister/articleshow/6568723.cms

 

In suicide note, Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul alleges graft by SC judges, Congress

http://www.sify.com/news/in-suicide-note-arunachal-cm-kalikho-pul-alleges-graft-by-sc-judges-congress-news-national-rcruamjjfdhhc.html ,

 

Calcutta HC Justice Karnan calls judiciary corrupt, brings up old allegations against HC judges

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/calcutta-hc-justice-karnan-calls-judiciary-corrupt-brings-up-old-allegations-against-hc-judges/story-k0WRYaBWRPYaUI6HgzPDHP.html

 

Traitors  in  Judiciary &  Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/329980170/Traitors-in-Judiciary-Police  ,

 

Crimes  by  Khaki

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/crimes-by-khaki 

 

FIRST  Answer  Judges  Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/336585411/FIRST-Answer-Judges-Police 

 

 

     The  mafia  of corrupt  has never allowed for transparent , impartial   investigation into criminal cases  involving higher judges & public servants. Justice Karnan  is in  the position of  high court judge due to his merit , talent , education  not  on the basis of reservation or anybody’s mercy. Justice Karnan is a whistle blower , he has exposed corruption in the higher judiciary , he has not done any crimes. Now , powers that be instead of ordering for a fair investigation into   his charges,  is trying  all out to silence him. Some  people  are  even making personal  attacks , by calling him lunatic. Those persons may be beneficiaries   of the existing corrupt judicial system and they  want to continue  with this present  corrupt system.

   In a Mental Hospital ward , say there  are number of  mentally challenged patients  playing inside the ward. A doctor & his assistant enters  the ward to  check , give  routine medicines , injections to patients and then all those  patients call  the  doctor himself as  mad. It is the same situation now.

     Are  not  the so called learned , aged advocate ( @ god’s airport )  and  learned   judges   see the  crimes by judges in the past. See  sample cases mentioned above & below.  What  action taken by those  learned judges &   learned advocate , to safe guard law  in the above / below  mentioned cases? Our  judicial  system is  being  weakened  by  corrupt  judges &  few  , greedy   advocates  ( learned  ? ) , NOT by  whistle blowers  who  have sacrificed  to protect the  nation from corrupt people.

    In the past  few judges  belonging to powerful castes  facing  charges of  gravest crimes , got a smooth sailing , their  cases white washed. But Justice  Karnan  belonging to oppressed  Dalit  class  is being  tortured  for standing up against corruption. He has done no crimes. This is the very reason few honest judges  & honest  advocates  keep  silent  fearing  victimization.

   Hereby , we  demand Honourable Supreme Court of India :

1.       To  order  transparent , impartial   investigation into all the above mentioned corruption cases involving high ranking judges.

2.       To  order for filing  charges  under SC / ST Atrocities Prevention Act  against  high ranking judges  who  tortured  Dalit Judges – Justice Karnan , Justice Gawl & Justice Ramakrishna.

3.       To  order for filing  charges  under SC / ST Atrocities Prevention Act  against  learned advocate & others  who made personal attacks on Justice Karnan  by calling him as lunatic and  for  obstructing legal prosecution of the corrupt judges.

 

Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.

 

Your’s

Nagaraja Mysuru Raghupathi.

 

·  27 atrocities against Dalits every day 

·  13 Dalits murdered every week 

·  5 Dalits' homes or possessions burnt every week 

·  6 Dalits kidnapped or abducted every week 

·  3 Dalit women raped every day 

·  11 Dalits beaten every day 

·  A crime committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes· 

Indian   Match Fixing Corrupt  Judges 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/50-of-higher-judiciary-corrupt-says-ex-sc-judge-markandey-katju/story-Hfu8Ru8o9YfoGOjloboytN.html ,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eight-chief-justices-were-corrupt-Ex-law-minister/articleshow/6568723.cms ,

http://justicekatju.blogspot.in/2014/08/corrupt-judges.html ,

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-court-sends-senior-judge-to-jail-lawyer-husband-court-commissioner-to-police-custody-2260018 ,

http://www.indiancorruptjudges.com/  ,

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidV-CkS4vL4dAQVEzb5PnY1mNjbfLaLhPQL4UpdPG6r6t2AdDFeXrtLCHxdu3yi3ziJPwhWa3963QDxZzTwOpr0THFxGG6hArLObZhXa8-1SxmNcadWWzxG3Z0rhsH0l9b7uCQAIwWTbQR/s1600/Karnan%2527s+letter.jpg ,

http://wakeupindia-designer.blogspot.in/2017/01/mumbai-27-th-2017-justice-chinnasamy.html ,

 

 

Editorial :   Atrocities  on   Dalits by Judges  - SHAME SHAME

-          An Appeal to Honourable Supreme Court of India, National Human Rights Commission & National Commission  for  Scheduled  Castes  /  Scheduled  Tribes

 

        The track record of apex court is not clean. There is secrecy involved in selection , promotion , transfer of judges to high court & supreme court. Supreme court judges take huge pay , perks from public exchequer ( now on the verge of getting triple fold increase in pay ) but are not accountable to public. They don’t give information to public , concerning judges and national security , public welfare.

   Consider the case of Dalit judge of sukma , chattisgarh , he was removed for being honest , for upholding law ? Now, Justice Karnan a whistle blower is being victimized. Apex court is not looking seriously  at issues  raised by justice karnan but concentrating on silencing him.

  When other high ranking judges  ( having  influence  & belonging to upper castes )  were accused of more grave crimes like  involvement  in sex racket , sex crimes against women , national security crimes  , etc , they were treated with kid gloves , cases hush hushed , white washed.  Inspite of  fervent  appeals  even  apex court didn’t bother to  conduct a public , transparent enquiry. Now apex court  has  initiated  suo motto  “contempt proceedings “ against  Justice Karnan as he  is a  DALIT  , without influence of powers that be.

  When  a  poor  dalit person  or  person  belonging to  weaker section , SC / ST  builds  a temporary hutment  on government land  , officials  , police take suo motto  action , evicts that person & razes down that hutment immediately.  Where as when a rich person belonging to upper caste , having influence of powers that be   builds  huge buildings usurping government land , lake bed , etc no suo motto action by police . Officials , police don’t  take action  inspite of repeated appeals by concerned public.  The courts of justice instead of upholding public cause , gives stay orders  protecting rich land grabbers but in the same fashion  judges don’t come to the rescue of poor  dalit  hut dwellers.  Even  when  land grabbings were brought to the notice  of apex court at the very early stage  itself,  apex court  instead of preventing  the land grabbing  silently allowed  the grabbers to continue  with their land crimes.  The enactments of laws by various state governments  including   government of Karnataka  regularizing illegal land constructions  is solely to benefit  greedy , rich land grabbers belonging  to upper castes. Inspite of repeated appeals the apex court has not annulled those  illegal laws of various state governments.

 

Just  consider the prison population in  india ,  80% of prisoners are under trials and  majority of them are dalits, tribals  , belongs to weaker sections , SC / ST. Most of  them cann’t afford lawyers , most of them are implicated by their  upper caste masters , land lords .  Even within the prison  , their rights are not respected by authorities , are treated worse than animals.  Where as   deadly criminals   convicted of gravest crimes ( but  rich , belongs to upper castes)  enjoys many luxuries within the prison.  It proves the vulnerability of the  dalits , weakers sections in india.

  So many dalits , weaker section people   were  cheated  of  their job oppurtunities in mysuru university , KSOU , Various Government  Medical  colleges , Government aided  ITIs , Polytechnics in Karnataka state  by scheming  upper caste officials.  Inspite of repeated appeals , why apex court has not taken legal prosecution to logical end and ensured justice to  aggrieved dalits ?  What action supreme court has taken against  KPSC , VYAPAM members who denied  job oppurtunities to merited candidates , dalit & weaker section candidates ?  ? let alone take  suo motto action . No action to logical end. 

Day in day out  there are rampant atrocities against dalits , weaker sections of people  by public servants , judges are not doing their duties properly. Supreme court judges are enjoying lakhs of rupees pay , perks , 5 star bungalows  , foreign trips , weeks long summer / winter  paid  vacations  , proposed triple  fold salary hike  all at tax payer’s expense.  These judges must be first booked for “Atrocities against Dalits , Weaker sections”  under SC / ST Atrocities Prevention Act.

   If at all , Supreme Court of India is impartial , without bias , let it come out clean :

1.                   To immediately  stay contempt proceedings against Justice Karnan and Order impartial enquiry against  judges accused of corruption , impropriety by Justice Karnan and all other issues raised by him. Take the help of Justice Karnan in collecting evidences.

2.                   Order impartial enquiry against almost half of former chief justices of india accused of corruption by NGOs.

3.                   Immediately give justice to past Sukma Dalit Judge who was unjustly removed.

4.                   Immediately  give truthful , full  information , answers  to RTI questions sent to Supreme Court of India by our publication years ago. Inspite of several appeals , majority of questions are unanswered & for few questions got ambiguous answers.

5.                   Immediately take action  to protect fundamental rights , human rights of whistle blowers , RTI Activists & Human Rights Activists.

6. Immediately  take action against  KPSC , VYAPAM   members responsible for illegal recruitments , cancel  all those illegal recruitments and   conduct recruitments afresh  with old candidates.

7.  Immediately  take action against  KSOU , Mysuru University , Government Medical Colleges , Government Aided Polytechnics , ITI officials  responsible for illegal recruitments , cancel  all those illegal recruitments and   conduct recruitments afresh  with old candidates.

8. Immediately  annul laws  enacted  by various state governments in  india  regularizing illegal constructions by  land grabbers .

9. Make public the  names  of  all land grabbers , majority of them belongs to upper castes and  are rich , greedy.

10.  Protect  the rights of prisoners in india  irrespective of their caste affiliations.

11. Ensure speedy justice ,  legal aid  to  under trials  belonging to weaker sections , SC & ST.

12.  Fix lower amount  for bail surety or create a corpus to  give bail  amount  to under trials belonging to SC , ST , Weaker sections , Dalits.  Many  dalits who are poor  are unable to pay bail amount  and suffer in jail for years much more than  the legally stipulated punishment even if convicted.

13. Enforce uniform rules , uniform food , uniform health care , uniform   prison cell  to all prisoners  irrespective of  their caste , whether he is  an ex chief minister ,  ex managing director of a big company , ex religious guru  or  an ordinary person , a dalit , a tribal.    Ensure equality  , equal treatment in prisons , jails.

14.  Why  NOT criminal prosecution of guilty   judges   who commited atrocities on dalits  under SC / ST  Atrocities prevention act is  not taken , till it’s logical end ? are judges above law ? why such guilty judges are put behind bars for this non bailable offence ?  only transfer or resignation  of judges  will not serve the purpose , they must be put behind bars & legally prosecuted for their heinous crimes . Is the not the apex court is also practicing double standards & indirectly  aiding atrocities on dalits ? Read following sample cases of “Atrocities on Dalits committed by Judges”.

15.    Immediately admit PILs  presented before supreme court of india by our publication . Read full details at following web pages ;

Traitors  in  Judiciary &  Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/329980170/Traitors-in-Judiciary-Police  ,

 

Crimes  by  Khaki

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/crimes-by-khaki 

 

FIRST  Answer  Judges  Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/336585411/FIRST-Answer-Judges-Police 

 

“There is a higher court than the court of justice and that is the court of conscience It supercedes all other courts. ”

- Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Contempt  Proceedings”  should not be used as a weapon to silence voices seeking  justice , accountability of judiciary. Respect of judiciary doesn’t come out of fear rather spontaneously it comes out of a person’s heart  when  he sees a honest judge doing his duties honestly.

 

Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.

 

Your’s ,

Nagaraja Mysuru Raghupathi

 

Allegations of dalit atrocities and nepotism against CV Nagarjuna Reddy J. of Andhra Pradesh

 

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) has written to Chief Justice of India TS Thakur seeking initiation of in-house proceedings against Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy for alleged atrocities against members of Dalit community.

In a 9-page letter written on August 30 this year, the CJAR has detailed various allegations against the sitting judge including a detailed account of “criminal misconduct” against a dalit magistrate.

According to the letter, one Rama Krishna, a Principal Junior Civil judge in Kadappa District, was forced by Justice Nagarjuna Reddy to remove the name of Pavan Kumar Reddy from a dying declaration recorded by Rama Krishna when he was posted as a magistrate. Pavan Reddy  happens to be the brother of Justice Reddy.

As per the dying declaration given by the victim, Pavan Reddy had doused the victim with petrol and set him of fire when he refused to sign on a blank paper.

“Soon thereafter, on 30.11.2012, it is alleged by Mr. Rama Krishna that Justice Nagarjuna Reddy rang him up, and directed him to remove his brother’s name from the dying declaration. Mr. Rama Krishna also alleges that he was threatened and abused by the said judge when he refused to accede to his request.”

It has also been alleged that the Magistrate was later summoned to Justice Nagarjuna Reddy’s house where,

“….Pavan Reddy and Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy abused him and beat him up. He further alleges that Justice C. V. Nagarjuna Reddy kicked him with his shoes and abused his caste”.

It is Rama Krishna’s allegation that he was victimised following this incident by “unexplained” transfers and suspensions.

Another allegation against the judge is the abuse of power to get that very Pavan Reddy appointed as Additional Public Prosecutor.

“Mr. Pavan Kumar Reddy was appointed as Additional Public Prosecutor in the year 2006 for a period of three years in contravention of the law that mandates seven years of continuous practice as an advocate prior to appointment as an Additional Public Prosecutor.”

Based on the above, CJAR has not only sought an in-house enquiry but has also asked for the suspension of judicial work assigned to Justice Reddy. Chief Justice Thakur has not responded to CJAR’s representation yet.

This is the second such allegation against a sitting judge of High Court of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

In 2015, an Additional District judge from Andhra Pradesh had approached the Supreme Court under Article 32 alleging caste discrimination by a sitting High Court judge, Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy.

The Supreme Court had, however, refused to admit the matter with a Bench presided by then Chief Justice Dattu likening the case to a service matter and observing that the case was a grievance of an individual and cannot be considered as a case pertaining to Fundamental rights.

Impeachment Motion: Five Main Allegations Against Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy

December 9, 2016 8:45 pm

 

Sixty one Rajya Sabha members have moved a petition for impeachment proceedings against Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana High Court.

 

The following are the main allegations against the Judge

Misused his position as HC judge to ‘victimize’ a ‘Dalit’ Judge

The impeachment motion describes the allegation made by Mr. Rama Krishna, formerly Principal Junior Civil Judge, Rayachoty, Kadapa District, currently under suspension, that he was forced by Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy to remove the name of Mr. Pavan Kumar Reddy who happens to be the brother of Justice Reddy, from a dying declaration recorded by Mr. Rama Krishna when he was posted as Magistrate in Rayachoty. He alleged that Justice Reddy had summoned him to his home and when he refused to remove the name of his brother from the dying declaration, he kicked him with his shoes and abused his caste.

Charges of Dalit atrocity against spouse, daughter and brother

Another incident of alleged Dalit atrocity pertaining to the registration of an FIR by the ‘Dalit’ tenants against Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy’s wife and daughter, is also mentioned. There also allegations that Mr. Pavan Kumar Reddy commits these various atrocities against the Dalits community under the protective banner of his brother, Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy’s influence

Disproportionate income

The motion also alleges that Justice Reddy abused his position to amass several movable and immovable properties crores of rupees disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Non-Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities

Yet another allegation against Justice Reddy is that he has not disclosed his assets and liabilities in violation of the Code of Conduct that mandates declaration of assets of oneself and dependents by all the judges.

Misconduct when he was an Advocate

It is also mentioned in the impeachment motion that Justice Reddy committed misconduct while he was working as Standing Counsel, for the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.

 

 

India's courts 'condone' Dalit atrocities

 

Caste-blind judiciary fails Dalit victims as number of sex attacks are reported against former untouchables.

 Twenty two years ago, in Bhateri village in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Bhanwari Devi was gang-raped by five men. The reason was neither lust nor just patriarchy. Devi’s fault was that as a lower-caste woman, she had dared to transgress the age old strictures of caste - by protesting against the practice of child marriage, which was a staple among the upper-castes. Hence, he was meted out a "deserving punishment". 

When the matter finally reached the court, the judge acquitted all the five rapists, holding, among a host of other reasons, that since the upper castes practised strict untouchability, it was inconceivable that any of the five would touch a lower caste woman. Till today, Devi remains deprived of justice.

Now that there is a tidal wave of opprobrium and condemnation against the gang-rapes and murder at Badaun in northern Uttar Pradesh state and the gang-rapes in Bhagana, Haryana, the next question one is confronted with is - will justice be done? And if so, how?

While investigations are still on, and arrests have been made, it is only the first step. The final outcome in the courts is all that matters, and it is here that there is cause for much alarm and disappointment. For, India’s courts have consistently failed the Dalits (untouchables) by steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that sexual violence is perpetrated because of a woman's caste.

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, commonly known as PoA Act, recognises rape and other forms of sexual violence as an "atrocity"- an aggravated offence, as opposed to the general crime of rape. The reason is that an atrocity, as philosopher Claudia Card defines it, is a "gross evil - the widespread toleration of wrongfully perpetrated intolerable harm to individuals".

Because Dalit women's bodies are stigmatised - they are considered expendable and justifiably available for recreational (pleasure-seeking) or punitive purposes of upper-caste men, the law seeks to bring in substantive equality by recognising the lived reality of the victims.

Therefore, it is imperative for courts to recognise that the sine qua non for the deeming rape as an atrocity under the law is that the violence was perpetrated on the ground that the victim hailed from a lower caste.

Tragically, it is here that the judicial record is one of abject failure. Not only have the judges refused to acknowledge the reality of caste, but have also attributed reasons such as "unrequited passion", "exploration of sexuality" and let off the accused. Even if there is a conviction for rape, an acquittal from the charges of atrocity renders justice not only incomplete, but also as a travesty.

Khairlanji village in western Maharashtra state stands out as the most infamous example in recent times. On September 26, 2006, four members of Suresh Bhotmange's (a Dalit) family were killed in the most gruesome manner. His wife and daughter were stripped, thrashed, and paraded naked through the village, before being subjected to a fiendish gang-rape.

Nothing was left....knives, iron rods, spikes of bullock cart wheels- everything was thrust in their private parts. Bhotmange's "crime" was the police complaint that he had lodged against the upper-caste Hindus grabbing the plot of land that was rightfully his.

The autopsy was done in the shoddiest manner - no efforts were made to test for rape, even though the naked bodies of the two women lay in the village for a considerable period of time. All the accused who were arrested were convicted by the trial court of murder and other offences, but not for rape.

Worse was in store in the Bombay High Court. In its 2010 judgement, the court put down the atrocities to reasons of personal rivalry and individual revenge. Shockingly, the court went to considerable lengths to hold that because there was no evidence, no rape had been committed - completely ignoring the harsh reality - that there would be no witnesses, and that the trial court had committed a glaring omission by ignoring evident facts. If the naked and badly mangled bodies of Dalit women did not stir the court to acknowledge sexual atrocity, perhaps nothing else could have. The appeal against the high court’s judgement remains undecided till this date.

The case of Hanamath was an appeal to the Karnataka High Court against the conviction of four men for gang-raping a 15-year-old Dalit girl. The court upheld the conviction of rape because it could have done little else - all the proof - eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence were stacked against the accused. But when it came to holding the culprits guilty under the PoA Act, the court not only demonstrated its blindness to caste, but took the "boys will be boys" line of reasoning, holding that the gang-rape was "a lustful act of misguided youth".

Leave aside convictions. How does one prove to the court that a rape was committed because the perpetrators wanted to exercise their upper caste power and pelf? There cannot be any rule of evidence, except that of social reality - that the caste system, in all its vicious manifestations, exists.

Hence, the Supreme Court's judgement in Ramdas (2006) rankles, and rankles hard. In the dead of night, three men dragged out a young woman of the low-ranking Pardhi caste and raped her. This was after she had refused to obey their summons, belonging to a landowning upper-caste, who wanted her to satisfy their carnal desires.

Of course, they wouldn’t have had the temerity to exercise the same obnoxious power on a woman of their own, or a higher caste, but then, Dalit women are fair game!

But the court was not inclined to accept this, and held - "The mere fact that the victim happened to be a girl belonging to a scheduled (lower) caste does not attract the provisions of the (PoA) Act."

When a judgement of the Supreme Court deals a body blow to the very foundations of the law which aims to protect, impunity will certainly continue, unabated.

 

Contempt notice shows Supreme Court's   Anti-dalit  bias, says Justice S C Karnan

 

In what might be a first, Calcutta high court's Justice S C Karnan, facing a notice from the Supreme Court in a contempt case, has lashed out at the apex court, accusing it of harbouring a caste bias against him.

In defiance of the SC's decision and sharply escalating the confrontation with the apex court, Karnan accused the CJI J S Khehar-led seven-judge bench of uppercaste bias in initiating proceedings as he belonged to the Dalit community.

Karnan virtually alleged that the court order amounts to an offence under the law to punish atrocities against Dalits and tribals and challenged the court to refer his case to Parliament.

He said: "The suo motu order against me, a Dalit judge, is unethical and goes against the SC and ST (Prevention of) Atrocities Act. It is certainly a national issue and a wise decision would be to refer the issue to the House of Parliament."

The judge argued that since the order against him was "harsh", the contempt case should be heard after CJI Khehar retired or placed before Parliament if this was not possible.

In his anxiety to respond to the SC's February 8 judicial order, Karnan addressed a four-page letter to the SC's registrar general, a post that no longer exists as it was redesignated years ago as secretary general.

Karnan, who has been at the centre of several controversies, was issued a notice and asked to present himself in the Supreme Court on February 13 to explain "scurrilous" allegations against sitting and former judges.

In response to the apex apex court's contempt proceedings, Justice Karnan said: "The suo motu petition is not maintainable against a sitting judge of the HC... I have sent representations to various government authorities regarding high irregularities and illegalities occurring at the judicial courts.

I am also a responsible judge to control such high irregularities, especially corruption and malpractice. I have furnished comprehensive proof of unethical practices happening with the respective courts.

'Upper caste judges taking law into hands'

He had earlier written to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, levelling charges of anti-Dalit bias against the chief justice of the Madras high court in 2014 when he was a member of the bench there.

Referring to the February 8 order that also stripped him of judicial and administrative work, Karnan said: "The characteristic of this order clearly shows that the upper caste judges are taking law into their hands and misusing their judicial power by operating the same against a SC/ST judge (Dalit) with mala fide intention to get rid of him."

Referring to the "harsh order" passed earlier by a bench headed by Khehar, Karnan said: "Therefore, my deep request is to hear the suo motu contempt after retirement of the Chief Justice of India. In the meanwhile, my administrative work and judicial assignment could be restored.

 

My main contention is only to uproot the corruption prevailing at the Madras high court, and not to spoil the sanctity and decorum of the court."

 

"I (had) issued a list of the corrupted judges wherein an inquiry is mandatory, as such the suo motu petition is not maintainable. The order of the apex court in the suo motu contempt petition is erroneous and has been wilfully and wantonly and with mala fide intention was passed.

 

Therefore, these proceedings may be referred to Parliament, wherein I will establish the high rate of corruption prevailing with the judiciary at the Madras high court."

 

Indicating that he might not present himself before the seven-judge bench of the SC on February 13, he said: "The Supreme Court had not granted stipulated time (for him to respond to the contempt notice), which is highly irregular."

 

DALIT Judge  dismissed for   being  HONEST ?

-       An  Appeal  to Honourable Chief Justice of India

 

       Chief Judicial Magistrate of Sukma District in Chhattisgarh state of India Mr. Prabhakar Gwal is a Dalit , from oppressed class. Being from an oppressed class  , he best  understood the sufferings  of oppressed sections of society , sufferings  of people  , tribals displaced from forests  to make way for  big industries , MNCs. He understood the  oppression of  common public by police , state  machinery  resulting  in common man’s  human rights , constitutional rights violations. He  understood  the machinations of state machinery  to favor big industrialists , also he understood the misuse of office by  public servants  all against the rule of LAW.

       Sukma CJM  Mr. Gwal  sincerely did his  constitutional duty , to uphold rule of law and earned the wrath of powers that be , Criminal Nexus , he was repeatedly interfered in his judicial  duties , repeatedly transferred and now unjustly dismissed from service without  ANY ENQUIRY  giving a chance for Mr.Gwal to make out his case. Whereas  some other  selfish  judges turned their blind eyes  to the sufferings of public ,  violations of law by public servants , intentionally failed to uphold  the law  and got smooth sailing for their  own  career.

       Hereby , We  urge  the Honourable Chief Justice of India  to  order  the Chhattisgarh  State  Government :

1.    To immediately reinstate Mr.Gwal into judicial service.

2.    To make posting at the same place , same court of Sukma , so that he can  complete the cases concerning the  powers that be to the logical end.

3.    To initiate  criminal legal prosecution  against  district collector , police officials , public servants  who directly & indirectly interfered  in the judicial duties performed by Mr. GWAL.

4.    To initiate criminal legal  prosecution against  Chhattisgarh  High Court Judges  who instead of upholding rule of law , supporting Mr. Gwal in his duties  took sides with criminal nexus , powers that be and repeatedly transferred him and now dismissed him from service without  enquiry.

5.    To reopen all the  buried cases which were dealt by Mr. Gwal and buried by transfer of  judge  Mr. Gwal. To take action against ministers , public servants  involved in those cases.

6.    To initiate  criminal action against  sukma district collector , police officials  and Chhattisgarh  High Court  Judges  on  charges of Atrocities against  DALIT  Mr. Gwal  who  was repeatedly  harassed  by  them.

7.    To initiate  criminal  prosecution under anti terror laws ,  against  present  and past  chattisgarh state government ministers , central government  ministers ,  police officials , public servants who  were and are  responsible for creation  of terror outfit SALWA JUDUM  , it’s recent  terror child salwa judum – 2. These public servants   have indulged in terror acts of salwa judum , by aiding & sponsoring it , which is against law.

Date : 30.04.2016…………………………..Your’s sincerely

Place : Mysuru………………………………Nagaraja.M.R.

 

Chief Judicial Magistrate- Sukma district dismissed by Chhattisgarh Government

 

The Raman Singh government has dismissed Sukma district’s Chief Judicial Magistrate Prabhakar Gwal from service in “public interest”, following the recommendation of the Chhattisgarh High Court. Mr. Gwal, a Dalit Magistrate was dismissed on the basis of “available material” (not in public domain) without a internal/departmental inquiry.

On April 4 afternoon, Mr Gwal had updated the news of his termination via his Facebook account-

“DISTRICT COURT DANTEWADA (918982620495):- //ORDER//

F.No.3335/987/XXI-B/C.G./16

Raipur, dated 01.04.2016

“Government of Chhattisgarh state hereby, dismisses Shri prabhakar gwal, Member of lower Judicial Services, Civil judge class-I and Chief judicial magistrate, Sukma, from service in public interest with immediate effect.

District and sessions Judge

South Baster dantewada C.G.”

Earlier, Gwal had hit the headlines for alleging that a BJP legislator, Ramlal Chouhan, had threatened him after he convicted five people in connection with the leak of PMT question papers in 2011. His wife too had written to the President alleging harassment, claiming that Gwal was transferred to Sukma as a result of his judgment. Mr Prabhakar had accused a ruling BJP MLA of threatening him over the judgment.

Mr. Gwal has had a history of exposing corrupt officials and politicians. While Gwal was posted in Bilaspur, he had ordered an inquiry against government officials and Police officers, for the infamous ‘Bhadaura Land-Scam’. The land scam is known for involvement of a senior minister of BJP (Amar Agrawal). Similarly, he had ordered for inquiry of Bilaspur RTO officials. He was then transferred to Raipur, where he rejected to accept Closure Report in the case of IPS Rahul Sharma’s suicide. After that he was transferred to Dantewada. Recently his phone conversation with Dantewada Collector had gone viral, in which Collector had asked Gwal to consult him before ordering to file any case.

He is known for taking strong actions against the executive arm of the government and enjoys a public image of being an upright man. His dismissal comes after his wife filed a civil case against 19 people including judicial officers for harassing her husband. HC stayed that case, meanwhile his dismissal was recommended.

A Dalit officer being dismissed in such a one-sided, clouded, swift manner raises larger questions on the system itself. Was he an inconvenient man who didn’t understand the system and it’s ‘norms’? Did his voice against BJP MLA (Ramla Chauhan), Mr Amar Agarwal and Mr Neeraj Bhansod (for interfering in judicial work) made higher ups uncomfortable? These questions are being raised after his dismissal. The ball is in the judiciary and government court to clear and come out clean. A dismissal order by merely stating, that ‘it is in public interest’ doesn’t fit the democratic norms in 2016.

 

 

 

Protests greet Chhattisgarh government’s dismissal of Sukma’s Chief Judicial Magistrate

 

On 14 April, the Chhattisgarh government dismissed Sukma’s Chief Judicial Magistrate Prabhakar Gwal. A 2006 batch judicial officer, Gwal, belongs to the Dalit community and has questioned the manner in which the police have been indiscriminately arresting tribals in the conflict zones of Chhattisgarh.

 

 On 8 February, the Sukma Superintendent of Police complained to the District Judiciary against Gwal stating that among other things he has been granting bail to naxal accused and such decisions have “adversely affected the morale of the security forces” and “weakens the judicial process”. It is based on such complaints that Chhattisgarh government dismissed Gwal on the grounds of “public interest” following the recommendation of the Chhattisgarh High Court. The Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), in a press release, has protested

against the dismissal of Gwal, calling it unjustified. It said: “Police high-handedness and harassment of those involved in the administration of justice is nothing new to the conflict zones of Chhattisgarh. Recently  advocates of the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group (JagLAG) have been forcefully evicted from Jagdalpur and pressure is being mounted on them by the police administration and police backed vigilante groups to cease their  legal practice. JagLAG has been providing legal Aid to many tribals incarcerated in Jagdalpur and Dantewada. Similarly Social activists such as Soni Sori and Bela Bhatia and journalists like Malini Subramaniam,

 

Prabhat Singh, Santosh Yadav and Somaru Nag who have been raising issues of Human rights violations by the police administration have been threatened, attacked or even arrested. “ The IAPL has alleged that under the pretext of “Mission 2016”, i.e., the present offensive launched by the government to wipe out the Maoist movement in Chhattisgarh, the police in these areas have been taking steps to see that no alternate voice emanates from these areas. The IAPL has raised the larger issue of keeping the judiciary away from police interference , following this dismissal. “Chhattisgarh jails are filled with tribals who have been arrested,

 

several false and fabricated criminal cases are foisted upon them and they remain incarcerated for several years. Anyone who supports such tribals and questions the policies of the state are branded as “terrorists” or  “anti-national”. In such a situation, the judicial system is their last hope. Hence, it is vital that the judiciary be allowed to carry on its functions in accordance with law and without any interference from the police”, it has said. That the dismissal coincides the recent briefing by the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval for the Supreme Court Judges at a retreat at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, has led to concern among the observers. If police excesses in the name of security concerns in conflict zones are to be tolerated by the judiciary, and the judiciary meekly accepts such advice from the Government, then the signs are ominous,  according to an activist lawyer, who has been fighting cases involving civil liberties. The IAPL has alleged that executive interference in judiciary in this manner militates against the basic structure of the Constitution  which emphasises separation of powers and independence of judiciary. Lawyers point out that if the Executive is unhappy wih Gwal’s decisions, it has the option to appeal against them in the higher courts. Dismissing  a Judge, soley on the ground of his decisions which were in favour of citizens, is inconsistent with the concept of independence of judiciary, they suggest. IAPL has called upon all, especially those from the legal  fraternity to resist these moves to prejudice the judiciary and also demanded the immediate reinstatement of Prabhakar Gwal as the Sukma CJM. The press statement has been signed for IAPL, among others, by wellknown  advocate from Raipur, Sudha Bharadwaj.

Stop targeting whistleblower Justice Karnan. Clean up the judicial system

 By  Mathews J Nedumpara 

 

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani recently wrote a scathing letter to the Calcutta High Court’s Justice CS Karnan, advising him to take back every word he has said about two Madras High Court judges and pray for pardon. Jethmalani has termed Justice Karnan’s actions as lunatic. Neither me nor the National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms (NLC), of which I am the president, supports Justice Karnan nor justifies his “tantrums”. However, the NLC supports Justice Karnan because corruption has spread its tentacles in the justice delivery system.

Justice Karnan’s anger might be out of feelings of discrimination, isolation and, or, humiliation. His attack on his brother Judges of the Madras HC, sitting and retired, is perhaps vindictive. He accuses them of having indulged in corruption, nepotism and malpractice. Though many accused of corruption and malpractices by him could be innocent or could have indulged in venial and not venal act of corruption or malpractice, the allegation against at least a few of them may not be unfounded.

But the question to be answered is whether alleging corruption against sitting or retired Judges of the high court or the Supreme Court amounts to contempt of court as defined in Section 2(1)(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 or will it attract the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Art.138, r/w. Arts. 140 and 142 of the Constitution to punish a person for contempt of court.

 

The concept of contempt of court is a cathartic jurisprudence, which has its origin in the Canon Law and, in particular, the Canon Law of the Dark Ages, a jurisprudence of a time when the offence of heresy, nay, contempt of the Church, where the contemnor is burnt alive at a stake.

The in terrorem (a legal threat, usually one given in hope of compelling someone to act without resorting to a lawsuit or criminal prosecution) jurisprudence of contempt of Court militates against all canons of justice and fair play; it flourished in the Middle Ages when Inquisition was the mode of justice administration, where contemnor was tortured to extract guilt. The foundation of The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 on the jurisprudence of the Dark Ages is classically exemplified in Sub-Section (5) of Section 17 of the Act.

Our constitutional and criminal laws are founded on the principle that the guilt against a person accused of an offence ought not to be wrung out of him, but has to be proved against him by other men and means.

Sub-Section (5) of Section 17, supra, places the burden to prove his innocence upon the contemnor; it requires him to file an affidavit in support of his defence and empowers the Court to determine the matter on the affidavit of the contemnor. Section 17(5) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, therefore, is in violation of Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which states that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself; so too Arts. 21, 14 and 19 thereof, which are required to be read together.

 

The power of contempt, as is presently exercised by the judges of the higher judiciary is, with much respect, more susceptible to be abused than used.

I have witnessed such misuse often against the voiceless, the outspoken and persons who are upright. The power of contempt has often been misused against the voices of truth, even though truth is an undeniable defence against contempt proceedings.

Resorting to the power of contempt without application of judicial mind has ramifications. It creates fear, a terror, and worst, hatred, in the minds of citizen. As pointed out, the fear has led to not venturing to write anything about the functioning of the judiciary, except eulogising and flattery.

Undoubtedly, in the suo motu contempt of court proceeding against Justice Karnan, the prosecutor and the judge, both at once, are the judges themselves. The contempt of court law is undemocratic and, assuming it to be otherwise, the question is, could any action lie against Justice Karnan?

It certainly will not, as:

Even assuming that Justice Karnan has made allegations of corruption and malpractices against his judges, he has not committed any contempt of court.

The concept of equality before law and equal protection of law is at the core of the Constitution.

For the judges against whom Justice CS Karnan has made the allegations of corruption, the law provides for remedy, both civil and criminal.

It is enough to refer to the suit filed by Justice PB Sawant, former judge of the Supreme Court, against Times Now claiming Rs 100 crore as damages to support my contention that law provides for adequate remedy if Justice Karnan has made false or scurrilous allegations against his brethren.

Is it then right for me to expect the vilified judges to institute civil and criminal cases like ordinary citizens? Yes, because in the eyes of the law, all are equal; the immunity which judges enjoy is for what they do from the seats of justice.

I am made to understand that some of the allegations made by Justice Karnan are against the chief justice of the Madras High Court on the administrative side about the construction of court complexes, appointment of judges. It must be said that a situation where judges are accused of corruption and they are forced to institute civil and criminal cases is against their prestige and honour and is no way an ideal situation.

Corruption is undoubtedly spreading its tentacles in the corpus of the justice delivery system, which does not merely mean judges alone.

There ought to be a remedy. The remedy is not in silencing the whisleblowers with the guillotine of contempt of court. There’s a need to bring into existence a credible mechanism by which allegations of corruption, nepotism and malpractices against judges are investigated and those who are guilty are brought to book without impinging their independence and the sanctity of the justice delivery system.

The judicial function has been considered to be sacrosanct; courts are temples of justice; its majesty and credibility and the confidence of the public has to be zealously guarded, but not by silencing whisleblowers and upright men and women who dare to point out instances of corruption, nepotism and malpractices, risking their professional prospects, nay, even their freedom and liberty.

 

 

 

Mrs. Pul’s letter to the Secretary General, Supreme Court of India

 

 

To,

The Secretary General,

Supreme Court of India

28th February 2017

Dear Sir,

I had addressed a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India on 17.02.2017 in connection with the suicide committed by my husband Mr. Kalikho Pul, former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on August 9, 2016 leaving behind a detailed suicide note of 8th August, 2016. In the said letter permission was sought from the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for filing an F.I.R on the basis of the said suicide note against many including two senior most Judges of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. It was stated in that letter as under:

“I understand that in the judgment of K Veeraswami v Union of India a Constitution Bench of this court had directed that though judges of the higher judiciary are amenable for corruption investigation under the prevention of corruption act, but to safeguard their independence and to save them from harassment at the hands of the executive, any FIR and investigation of a judge at the higher judiciary would require prior permission of the Chief of India.

The judgment further says that if the allegations are against the Chief Justice then the permission required would be of other judges, which would obviously meant he next senior most judge available.

… I am sure that you will have the matter place before the appropriate judge in accordance with the judgment in Veeraswami case for consideration of my request.”

Although I did not receive any written communication in that regard, a newspaper report had appeared in the Indian Express on 22.02.2017 to the effect that the Hon’ble Chief Justice had declined to grant necessary permission on administrative side instead of placing the matter before appropriate Judge.

However, suddenly the matter was converted into a Miscellaneous Criminal Writ Petition and was listed before the Hon’ble Bench of Justice A. K Goel and Justice U. U. Lalit on 23.02.2017. As you are aware, in view of the extraordinary developments which were likely to seriously impair my right to pursue the matter in accordance with the law and fearing that the dismissal of the Writ may cause incalculable harm, the letter was withdrawn.

During the hearing it was categorically pointed out that I had not sought any relief on the judicial side and that the letter sought permission strictly in light of the law declared by the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in K. Veeraswami v. Union of India, (1991) 3 SCC 655

Reference is invited to Paragraph 60 thereof which is as under:

“We therefore, direct that no criminal case shall be registered under Section 154, CrPC against a Judge of the High Court, Chief Justice of High Court or Judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief Justice of India is consulted in the matter. Due regard must be given by the government to the opinion expressed by the Chief Justice. If the Chief Justice is of opinion that it is not a fit case for proceeding under the Act, the case shall not be registered. If the Chief Justice of India himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received the government shall consult any other Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court. There shall be similar consultation at the stage of examining the question of granting sanction for prosecution and it shall be necessary and appropriate that the question of sanction be guided by and in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice of India. Accordingly the directions shall go to the government. These directions, in our opinion, would allay the apprehension of all concerned that the Act is likely to be misused by the executive for collateral purpose.”

Sir, under these circumstances, I request you to supply the following information forthwith:

1.      Whether decision on the administrative side as reported in Indian Express was indeed taken and if so, a copy thereof be supplied.

2.      If not, was any decision at all taken on the letter, on the administrative side? If not, notings on the same be supplied recording reasons for inaction on the same.

3.      Whether attention of the Hon’ble Chief Justice was drawn to the judgment of Constitution Bench in Veeraswami’s case?

4.      Whether the Registry had requested the Hon’ble Chief Justice to place the letter before “appropriate judge” which would mean Hon’ble Justice Chelameswar being the senior most Judge available for action on the letter?

5.      When and under what circumstances the Hon’ble Chief Justice took the decision to convert the letter to a Criminal Writ Petition and whether reasons for the same were recorded?

You are requested to give a copy of the said decision which is already acknowledged in the judicial order passed by the bench of Justice A.K Goel and U. U Lalit on 23.02.2017

6.      How was the matter placed before the Bench of Hon’ble Justices A K Goel and U. U Lalit when the issue pertained to such serious matter and even if the letter was to be referred to the judicial side (although no such prayer was made and it was impermissible to so) why was it not placed before the Bench presided by Hon’ble Justice Chelameswar, the senior most available Judge?

Sir, the matter assumes great significance for the integrity of the institution and for larger public interest including Independence of Judiciary. I would therefore request you to give these details after consulting Hon’ble the senior most Judge without placing this letter before Hon’ble Chief Justice and Hon’ble Justice Dipak Mishra in view of the sensitivity of the matter.

I do hope and trust that at least now the matter will receive absolutely objective, independent and judicial treatment from this great Institution.

Yours sincerely,

Dangwimsai Pul

 

Mrs. Pul’s letter to the Vice President of India seeking constitution of a SIT to probe allegations in her husband Kalikho Pul’s suicide diary

 

February 28, 2017

To

The Hon’ble Shri M. Hamid Ansari

The Vice President of India

Maulana Azad Road,

New Delhi-110001

 

Subject: Filing of FIR and Investigation into the allegations contained in my husband Late Kalikho Pul’s suicide note in terms of the judgment of Supreme Court in K. Veeraswami v. Union of India.

Dear Ansari Ji,

You must be aware that my husband Late Kalikho Pul who was the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh from 19thFebruary to 13thJuly 2016 committed suicide on 9th August 2016. At the time of discovery of his body hanging from a ceiling fan in the official CM’s bungalow, 10 copies of a 60-page suicide note (each copy signed in original on every page by him) and dated 8th August 2016 was found. This note titled “Mere Vichaar” briefly details his life history and thereafter shows his anguish about the corrupt state of affairs in politics and in the judiciary in the country. He details several allegations of corruption against politicians and judges from his personal knowledge. In particular, the note contains allegations of corruption against the sitting Chief Justice of India and the next Judge in superiority in the Supreme Court and also against the present President of India.

The Inquest Report in Case No. 14 of 2016 made under Section 174 of CrPC by Itanagar Police Station has inter-alia acknowledged that the Additional District Magistrate had seized during examination of place of occurrence of suicide, inter-alia, “Note containing page 1-60 in four (4) sets signed by late Kalikho Pul with caption in Hindi ‘मेरे विचार’.” The said Report concludes that, “Investigation reveals that on 09/08/2016 at between 0500 hrs to 0900 hrs Lt. Kalikho Pul committed suicide by hanging on the ceiling fan at Pranayama room of HCM Bungalow.” The following observations are made during the investigation process:

1.      He was under depression after his removal from the CM post.

2.      His act of writing his biography is also pointing towards his intention…” (Copy enclosed)

Given the gravity of the allegations contained in the note and the fact that many of them are from his personal knowledge and that a suicide note is treated like a dying declaration, this matter needs to be seriously investigated by a credible investigation team. However, since it also involves the Chief Justice and another sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, to protect the independence of the judiciary, it should not be investigated by any investigative body controlled by the Government.

It was to protect the independence of the judiciary that the Supreme Court in Veeraswami’s case said that any allegations against the sitting judges of the higher judiciary can only be investigated by an investigating authority after obtaining the prior permission of the Chief Justice of India. The operative part of the said judgment is reproduced below;

“60…….We therefore, direct that no criminal case shall be registered under Section 154, Cr. P. C. against Judge of the High Court, Chief Justice of High Court or Judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief Justice of India is consulted in the matter. Due regard must be given by the Government to the opinion expressed by the Chief Justice. If the Chief Justice is of opinion that it is not a fit case for proceeding under the Act, the case shall not be registered. If the Chief Justice of India himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received the Government shall consult any other Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court. There shall be similar consultation at the stage of examining the question of granting sanction for prosecution and it shall be necessary and appropriate that the question of sanction be guided by and in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice of India. Accordingly, the directions shall go to the Government.”

The judgment says that in case there are allegations against the Chief Justice, the President will consult other judges. This, in terms of the spirit of the judgment, would mean the judge/judges next in seniority.

Since in this case the allegations are also against the sitting Chief Justice and the sitting President of India, I am therefore addressing this request to you to exercise the authority which normally the President would have exercised in terms of the Veeraswami’s judgment which also held:

 

“12….The President, therefore, being the authority competent to appoint and to remove a Judge, of course in accordance with the procedure envisaged in Article 124, clauses (4) and (5) of the Constitution, may be deemed to be the authority to grant sanction for prosecution of a Judge under the provisions of Section 6(1)(c) in respect of the offences provided in section 5(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. In order to adequately protect a Judge from frivolous prosecution and unnecessary harassment the President will consult the Chief Justice of India who will consider all the materials placed before him and tender his advice to the President for giving sanction to launch prosecution or for filing FIR against the Judge concerned after being satisfied in the matter. The President shall act in accordance with advice given by the Chief Justice of India If the Chief Justice of India. If the chief Justices of opinion that it is not a fit case for grant of sanction for prosecution of the Judge concerned the President shall not accord sanction to prosecute the Judge; This will save the Judge concerned from unnecessary harassment as well as from frivolous prosecution against him as suggested by my learned brother Shetty, J. in his judgment. Similarly, in the case of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the President shall consult such of the Judges of the Supreme Court as he may deem fit and proper and the President shall act in accordance with the advice given to him by the Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court.”

“45…In this view, the President can be considered as the authority to grant sanction for prosecution of a Judge since the order of the President for the removal of a Judge is mandatory.”

“54. The emphasis on this point should not appear superfluous. Prof. Jackson says “Misbehaviour by a Judge, whether it takes place on the bench or off the bench, undermines public confidence in the administration of justice, and also damages public respect for the law of the land; if nothing is seen to be done about it, the damage goes unrepaired. This must be so when the judge commits a serious criminal offence and remains in office”. (Jackson’s Machinery of Justice by J.R. Spencer, 8th edn. pp. 369-70).”

“55. …The proved “misbehaviour” which is the basis for removal of a Judge under clause (4) of Article 124 of the Constitution may also in certain cases involve an offence of criminal misconduct under Section 5(1) of the Act. But that is no ground for withholding criminal prosecution till the Judge is removed by Parliament as suggested by counsel for the appellant. One is the power of Parliament and the other is the jurisdiction of a criminal court. Both are mutually exclusive.”

“56. …. But we know of no law providing protection for Judges from criminal prosecution. Article 361(2) confers immunity from criminal prosecution only to the President and Governors of States and to no others. Even that immunity has been limited during their term of office. The Judges are liable to be dealt with just the same way as any other person in respect of criminal offence. It is only in taking of bribes or with regard to the offence of corruption the sanction for criminal prosecution is required.”

I am, therefore, requesting you to consult other judges in terms of Veeraswami’s judgment and permit filing of an FIR against the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India and Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra. If these allegations are not credibly investigated, a serious cloud of suspicion will continue to remain over the politicians and judges whose names are mentioned in the suicide note. This would be most unfortunate for our democracy as well as for the judiciary. A credible investigation in this matter can only be done by an SIT constituted by 3/5 judges next in seniority to the judges named in the note.

I, therefore, request you to consult those judges and also request them to name an appropriate SIT which can credibly investigate these allegations.

Yours sincerely,

 

(Dangwimsai Pul)      

 

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