A visit to the Supreme Court

I wanted to write a sequel to my previous blog but did not come up with anything particularly interesting( I mean I’ll just be among the thousand bloggers insisting that peace marches and human chains may well show solidarity, but for a long term plan they need to remind themselves that they also have a duty towards their country. It’s not just the politicians and the armed forces that have their duties defined to them. We as civilians can also help the situation and marching with candles and spending half a day under the sun forming a chain is not the answer. We need to change our attitude, and not wake up to a blast and have our content and peaceful bubble burst.) Thus this post. It might come across as a “legal profession bashing session”, but heck we all need a reality check. I probably like many others had this particular illusion of the Supreme Court being the temple of my profession. (Sounds dramatic? Read on…) when we went to get our passes done we had to wait in this pigeon hole sized hall for our passes, and we had two fans aiding us in battling the heat. While we waited a man who seemed to want to exit the room came right in front of me and said, “excuse me…” so I gave him the way, instead he stood right in front of me, and remained there. The heat having gotten to me the following dialogue passed between us:
Me: Sir, you are standing in my place in the queue.
He: But madam you offered me the place.
Me (Switching to my high pitched voice): Sir, you said excuse me, I thought you wanted to leave the room, why would I give you my place in the queue?
He: But madam you offered….
Me: In case you misinterpreted me, I’m clearing up the confusion, please step back…
All this was said by me in my killer tone. People there gave me the okay lady cool it look.

Having finally got our passes we proceeded to watch the proceedings in court hall 1 which is the chief justice’s court. Now, my expectations were sky high, but as soon as we stepped in it was like somebody splashed me with ice cold water… I probably had my mouth wide open for a moment wondering if I’d entered the wrong court hall, but was sure it was the chief justice’s court. We took our places in the visitors section and tried our best to comprehend the procedure and strained our ears to hear the advocates argue. It was a pathetic sight, there was no orderliness, and everything there is so disorganized. Finally we heard a voice that made us sit straight, we heard him argue out his case, understood every syllable he uttered and were totally impressed with this advocate. We could only see his back, while he argued. Once he was done stating his case he looked up at the judge who, said I quote, “ So, what do I do?” (Duh!!!!!) The next instant the advocate gave a fitting reply and when he turned around to storm out of the court hall we got his full view. It was Arun Jaitley. That was probably the only high light of our visit to the Supreme Court. Otherwise, the Supreme Court has nothing extraordinary to offer and the only comforting thing is that the court halls have AC’s.

The judges are so old and one has to actually sit in the court to realize the full extent of their lack of interest in the proceedings. This was one reality check I could do with. At least now I’m prepared and don’t have high expectations. But it’s really sad that our courts are so disorganized, and that people are not provided for properly. There is scope for improvement. The only question is whether people really want things to change? I guess once you reach the apex court you’ve gained a comfortable position and bothering about anything apart from the finances is too much of a strain on ones metal prowess. Sad state of affairs, blogging about it also saddens me more. It was after this visit that I asked my self if law was the right choice. Once you step into the final year there is no doubting your choice (at least it is so for me) All I can comfort myself is with the fact that there are a few good lawyers that I can still look up to and was glad to watch one of them actually argue.

When politicians speak you know it’s always TARAF!

This blog was supposed to be about why I support BJP and chart out some of the biggest screw ups by the Congress. Congress has always called BJP non secular and many other things along with that. But BJP has accepted that they are communal. Unlike BJP, Congress has been a pseudo secular party. How? To start with congress has divided the nation into men and women. The fact that the citizens are referred to as ‘person’ so that there isn’t any gender bias was lost on Congress. In 1986 when Congress was in power, Shah Bano was divorced by her husband. She approached the court to claim maintenance; she was 65 when she was divorced. As per section 125 of Cr.P.C, it is the duty of the husband to maintain his divorced wife. The Muslim community protested about the court interfering in personal laws and Congress found this as a means to bank on Muslim voters. It enacted the The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 which stated that a woman shall be maintained for the iddat period(which is for a period of 3 months) and then she no more is her husband’s liability. This Act was passed as back then Congress was in majority. Congress has further divided people into OBC and SC/ST. Mandal Case I & II are staring right at us, because of which sub clause (4) was inserted under Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution. A similar episode of further increasing quotas happened in 2007 -08. Which was the ruling party? CONGRESS. If our nation is slipping and sliding down on its way up it’s because of Congress.
But after the last 24 hours it’s not about which political party is better or which is the best of the worst. What’s happening in Mumbai is right in front of us and to think that even in such crisis politicians can only think about furthering their political ambitions by giving speeches “condemning terror”, you begin to wonder if you really want anyone at all to take the political throne. For once can’t they just act upon their words instead of just saying them?

Here is wishing Gandhi a "SMASHING" birthday!

Gandhi is an icon to many, because of the principles he advocated and also for the role he played in the history of Indian independence. As it is his birthday today we see his name flashed on each and every page of the news papers quoting him. We tend to forget Lal Bahadur Shastri amidst all of Gandhi’s glory. Gandhi has never been my icon yet curiosity made me read," My experiments with truth" and to state it frankly I thought the man was slightly cuckoo in the head. I started reading the book to get an insight into his life and not to know every detail of him trying to control his libido to his 'supposedly' cleaning the toilets. I’m sure the man meant well, but if you go back to the pages where he is describing the day he and his followers went to clean the toilets, he mentions names of individuals, his wife Kasthurba included. Not once does he mention being a part of the whole of the activity, so it’s clear to the reader that he was merely a by-stander. I’d say that was a very cunning way of writing, but heck he is a lawyer and I have to admire him for that. The fact is that the man was being truthful. But how truthful was he really being was left to the reader’s interpretation. Having gained sufficient insight on the man I really couldn’t put him on par with the extremists, who in my opinion were the actual backbone of our freedom struggle. Non violence, honesty, non cooperation are all lessons well learnt. Were they really the reason why we are free today? No, the extremists played a large role and their contribution is always clouded by ‘Gandhi and his band of brothers’.
Let’s fast fwd from 1947 to 2008.
The current scenario of Gandhian principles:
1. Truth: Today people speak the truth only if it is guaranteed that, the “truth” they speak will hurt or cause someone grief.
2. Non violence: Read it as the progressive version of mental trauma/torture. (You don’t need to be physically violent to hurt someone)
3. Non-Cooperation: Yay! No one wants to cooperate when it’s all being done for a good cause.

So now you understand the chaos in our country. All this clearly shows that Gandhian principles have served their purpose well. The above principles are followed to the “T” by our politicians.(no surprises there)
This blog was to be a Gandhi bashing session and I am not done yet. Gandhi is the root to many-sufferings of the common man today, from the Kashmir issue to the Indo-Pak divide. I don’t want the old man cursing me from his grave so I’ll cut him some slack today and round up my bashings in my future posts.

The Blame Game

People always blame the law, lawyers and the judges . This is a shame in today’s day and age considering that most people are born prudent enough to judge right from wrong. Recently I read an article in times of India about a 16 year old girl who killed herself because she got in to social networking so as to make friends which went terribly wrong when she got sexually involved with one of her internet friends. Who as anybody can guess took advantage of her and she decided to end her life. The article blames the law for being flimsy.

Let’s go back a few decades when mothers used to warn their children about talking to strangers and divulging information. How different is it today? Fine, the internet exposes us to more people, but that’s a risk we take up on ourselves. But does that mean we ought not to be cautious as to whom we talk to and what we talk about? So when one is in one of these networks one can use their god given brains and exercise caution. But if people are on the net for all the wrong reasons, there is no helping them.

People always find it easy to blame someone else for their wrongs because then they are not answerable for the consequences. In this instance, the author of the article is blaming the law. For me the girl is the wrong doer. Why? Because, in spite of knowing the dangers she indulged in activities which resulted in her ending her life.

Reading about such deaths is disheartening but at the same time it could have been prevented. A life lost. For what?Predators are everywhere, and the only tool we have is CAUTION.
Now coming to the lawyers, the BMW case after the NDTV expose has resulted in two lawyers being barred from practice for 4 months and have been slashed with a fine for Rs.2,000. My non lawyer friends have been telling me that, the fine and punishment are way too light for the offence committed and that they should have had a more severe punishment. At a certain level I do agree, but the expose has done the two lawyers more harm than one can possibly measure by way of punishment. So the punishment may be light on the face of it, but facts are contrary to the general public’s belief.

Now coming to the judges, the recent case of the mother in her 26th week of pregnancy found her child had a congenital heart problem and wanted to abort the child.Unfortunately for her, the law does not permit abortion after 20weeks of pregnancy. Making this woman an exception would have resulted in an abortion rampage by the not so willing parents (in cases where the child is a girl). But everyone looked down upon the judge’s decision and criticism flew from all corners. People, People, People… before you blame anyone please stop for a minute and be the devil’s advocate before you reach an opinion.

Inheritance of "Tatti"

I read Kiran Desai's "Inheritance of Loss". All i wanted to do after reading the book was to flush it down the toilet. The woman seems to have a knack for describing toilets and has emphasised on the many ways of doing tatti! The book has no story. Its filled with characters, all of whom are pretentious. None of the characters in her book have a spine. Mind you this is a book that's supposed to take you through a cultural journey.What i despised most was the fact that she described all her characters as weak. She hasn't given justifications of their behaviour.She goes on to be descriptive in certain parts of the book,to maybe shock the readers into reading further. When i was nearing the end of the book i had lost all expectations( to say the least). When i actually was done reading the last page, all i could say was,"what a waste of time and energy gone in writing this SHIT!" I was forewarned about the book. Yet i HAD to read it to know how bad it was. I guess the only good thing thing that did come out of reading her book was, i found something that i could write about.

Capital Punishment

This is in justification of my previous blog. As a part of our academic syllabus we have to read Krishna Iyer’s Biography. Having read it when I was in the 2^nd year, I cannot say he and his ideas impressed me. He’s considered to be one of the most prominent of judges who added a new dimension to PIL (Sunil Batra’s case). He has further in his book dedicated a whole chapter to Capital Punishment and every time I read that chapter I disagree with every line that has been written. He talks of criminality as a way of behavior, he attributes person’s crimes to mental illness. Therefore he suggests that criminals must be treated like the ill in a hospital. He has done a lot for prison reforms and for prisoners in general. He is all for human rights and abhors Capital Punishment. He has suggested several means of curbing crime, the same old theories on punitive, retribution and preventive measures. India is a country where we find people of all kinds. There isn’t one particular solution that will apply to all. Each person has to be dealt with individually. So when it comes to criminals the judiciary takes into consideration facts surrounding each individual case before giving a judgment and it has been very well established that capital punishment shall be given only in the rarest of rare cases. When Dhanajay’s case was decided and he was sentenced with death, we saw protests of all kinds all over the country asking for his sentence to be commuted. But finally the sentence was carried out.

Gandhi said if we all follow the principle of an eye for an eye, the whole nation would be blind. That is a cliché, which is not applicable in today’s context. Sometimes when a person commits crimes that are heinous, it does fall upon the judiciary not only to do justice to the aggrieved family but also at the same time send the right message to other “prospective criminals” as to what extent the law can go to bring justice to the masses. That being said, you wonder what happens to the family of the convicted? Well the convict didn’t give two hoots when he did what he did, because he thought he wouldn’t be caught. He never planned for the alternative, i.e. what would he do if he were caught. Not once does it cross his mind that not only is he jeopardizing another’s family but also his own. In such circumstances, our sympathies are equally divided between both families. But it is not our emotions that are to decide what course is to be taken. Pardoning once for a crime that is punishable with death will not only instill confidence in the criminal that law is growing soft, but also that he was lucky once and that he can be lucky again.

Afzal Guru v. Sarabjit Singh

Two men. One a Pakistani terrorist, convicted in India for an attack on the Parliament and the other an Indian convicted in Pakistan for 4 bomblasts. Both have been sentenced with death. Mercy pleas have been forwarded to respective presidents. Afzal’s sentence has been stayed on the Indian front. Sarabjit on the Pakistani front had his death row extended for a month.

One of the leading political party made a statement, “If Sarabjit hangs so shall Afzal.” Politicians! Do they really believe they have the right to make such a statement? (RIDICULOUS!!!!!) Both countries have convicted the accused, in their respective judicial proceedings. Both have been sentenced. Lets respect the decision and let it take its course.

Today Sarabjit's family came forward stating that they won't plead for clemency, if it means trading Pakistani prisoners in India for Sarabjit. Hats off to his family.

tHuMb RuLeS

Have you ever heard of people blessed with a “black thumb”? I am definitely blessed with a “black thumb”. The green thumb is a positive thing to have if you are into gardening, and if you have a black thumb it means you are pathetic when it comes to technology. Whenever I’ve handled any electronic gadget, it’s always conked within minutes of me using it. I had really thought it was just a phase that would pass. But no, the curse is back. My comp was royally attacked by a virus and I slipped into the “oh no not again” mode. But then my friends (what would I do without them!) told me that a comp getting a virus is a common thing and that it was nothing to worry about. So my friend and I (mostly my friend… ok my friend did it all!) reinstalled windows xp and all other things on my comp and we said bye bye to the virus. Next day when my brother switched on the comp, we had a happy virus (Surabaya) waiting to welcome us.
Its like, the forces are working against me. Just when I need my computer the most things go wrong… :( anybody wants to trade a thumb?

Ghar Ki Murgi Dal Barabar

The Scarlette Keeling case has been in news almost daily with a new development cropping up each day. It does make interesting reading, but at the same time you wonder how could a mother of a 15 yr old leave her child without supervision in the drug zone of a country she’s visiting. So we pitied the girl and her watery grave. But as the drama unfolds, we get to know that Scarlette was a junkie and before her murder she had allegedly doped. I’m all for the murder/rapist being punished. But the mother blaming everyone else but herself using Indian media to criticize Indian politicians of having a hand in drug deals is taking things to far. Why? Well the lady herself is a drug peddler for one, and she did leave her daughter in an area where crime and drugs are common, and the woman did know the risk but then she wasn’t concerned. Now that her daughter is dead she has these motherly emotions welling in her and is screeching for justice on all news channels. As always she’s getting all the needed attention and the media has its jackpot of the month.

I definitely dislike firangs; I also definitely hate the way people just bow before them and are ready to be at their beck and call. The New Year eve incident where two firangi ladies were abused came into the limelight and timely action was taken. Same time elsewhere two desi women were also abused not by one man but a MOB! The police just pushed the case away as a normal occurrence at new years. Well that’s justice for you! What infuriates me further is a particular case in Kerala where a man was belted by the police for eve teasing a firangi teenager. Now if a desi girl had complained of the same, the cop would have told her to ignore it and move on with her life, and that’s exactly what happened to a girl she moved on by setting herself ablaze….

Why does this happen? Why do people tolerate it? Has “Ghar ki murgi dal barabar”, become a way of life?

Prevention of Domestic Violence Act- Social Jeopardy

From the time of independence we have seen several legislations made for the benefit of women. The Indian Constitution under Article 15(3) provides for legislations to be made to empower and benefit women and children. Thus came the Dowry Prohibition Act, Maintenance Act, Upgrading of women as coparceners, Prohibition on female infanticide, Prohibition of pre natal diagnosis, government went a step forward in providing aid for families with single girl child. All of these were enacted over the past 6 decades for the benefit of women. As of today we have the Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence, Act 2005. When one sees the number of legislations in the past and the need to provide a new one, it clearly shows that these past Acts have not been implemented properly. So how well can the D.V Act be implemented? Of course the answer would be prompt and timely justice. Under the D.V Act. Firstly, enquiry need not be conducted before arrest or for that matter a warrant need not be provided before arrest. How convenient for a woman to fabricate or concoct a false story, stating her husbands abusive behavior. This Act can be misused by immoral wives to get rid of husbands and indulge in infidelity, rather than those who are really tormented by their husbands. Secondly, this Act States that the Public Officer to whom the complaints are made cannot be prosecuted under C.P.C, Cr.P.C, I.P.C, therefore providing them with ample power to harass parties or help them enter into money deals with either party. Such discretionary powers without adequate guidelines will be fatal in later stages. In a system as corrupt as ours, money clout and muscle power will always call the shots. And as long as the woman stays a puppet or pawn in the hands of her male relatives, she will always be manipulated and used.
We have women in our society who will use the Act for their own benefit, may it be to spite their husband or in-laws. The power given to a woman under this Act is to such an extent that, it can be misused by a woman herself.
Incase a husband or for that matter any relative in a moment of frustration yells at the lady in Question, she can approach the court, however miniscule the said word be. Or as the Act defines D.V as, “deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources.” If the woman in Question does not get the desired material object may it be gold or silver would the same amount to D.V? of course it can be construed to be D.V. how is a court going to decide if the woman has come with a legitimate complaint if no enquiry has been made prior to the hearing? Can justice be delivered in such cases?
The Act in itself is vague, vast and expressive; it brings every act done under the purview of D.V. Under this Act, any act can be said to have been done without any evidence to prove it. If all innocuous acts done are brought to the court seeking justice, women falsely alleging to have been abused by relatives will lead to piling up of cases, leading to backlogs. Having portrayed this scenario is it right to say justice will be delivered?
This Act also provides for protection of women, may it be a girl, a wife, a sister. In all it is for the benefit of one gender. In all the dowry cases we come across, the prime accused is the mother in law/ sister in law, in cases of feticide; we see that the same woman wants a male child! When a woman cannot respect herself in such circumstances an Act for her would lose its spirit. Therefore the need is to begin at grass roots. EDUCATE the men and women about their rights and consequences of violation of their rights by anyone. Without knowledge, proper action cannot be taken and implementation will not be fruitful. Therefore education is the first step. Also the principles of Natural Justice must be looked into. Arrest without warrant or enquiry is a clear violation of PNJ. Further the Act clearly violates of Article 14 of the Indian constitution. It is overwhelmingly gender biased in favor of women, the potential for misuse is astounding and the definition of D.V is too wide.
It makes it very easy to escalate domestic problems to such a level that it eventually leads to a break down of marriage. Once a man is arrested for a relatively minor offence, perceived insult, he will perpetually feel threatened by his partner and that is the beginning of the end.
The second question is – Are only women the victims in domestic violence? Aren’t men subjected to the same? The Act’s negative effect would empower violent behavior on the woman’s part. We have provisions under the Indian Penal Code to protect a woman from her husband and relatives under Section 498A, but does a man have such protection?
Socially this law will increase the number of broken homes, with children ultimately paying the price. Morality will be lost, men will fear relationships, and the very institution of marriage might be lost. India thrives on Hindu Joint Family, picture this- A new young bride files a case of mental and physical abuse against the rest of the household, the household gets arrested and the bride will relish the end achieved by her cunning means. That was the urban scenario. In the rural areas women will continue to bear the torture with no resources to help her…

To write or not to write? Well.... Here goes.... So I decided to write a blog. Having decided that I now needed a topic on which to write. So I began writing about my PG where I stayed for a month... but it was tooo much of a strain to relive all the horrors again, so I thought I'll write about FENNY my little Labrador but then I started picking lines from James Herriot! Being a law student I wouldn't want a suit for plagiarism against me ( for all who haven't read Kavya Vshwanathan's- Opal mehta book ;) wise decision). So I tried to recollect some funny incidents that happened last month. My friend and I while walking up CMH road actually saw a rat commit suicide. Now I wouldn't call that funny but something that I remembered. But since I did not know much more about the rat it would be useless to write a blog on a silly rat that wanted to die.... But then.... What if that rat had lost all it's interest in life? What if it was cheated? What if somebody had moved it's cheese? Why? Why? Why did it commit suicide? Now here is a question- Have you read of incidents where animals have committed suicide? Is it a possibility that even animals are facing the stress of the fast life in the city? Are the animals trying to catch up with us humans so as not be left out of the superior living race?Are they fighting for their space on planet earth? More in my next my next blog.