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Editor: Nagaraj.M.R....vol.4…issue.01......05/01/2008
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Editorial : CITIZENS
OF
-
Open appeal to
shri.sunil Thomas , honourable registrar & CPIO , RTI Apellate authority ,
supreme court of India ,
TO,
SHRI.SUNIL THOMAS
,
Honourable
Registrar ( ADMN ) / Apellate Authority,
Supreme court of
India,
Subject : appeal no :
91 / 2007 in response to your letter no : F1 / RTI / A.91 / 2007 dt 13.12.07
Kindly go through the following articles & provide
justice by giving complete truthful information to us.
The constitution of
We need rights to perform our duties. Constitution of
Hereby , HRW seeks complete
truthful information from supreme court of
Your's sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
CRIMES
COMMITTED BY LAW COURTS IN
- An appeal to honourable supreme court of india
Indian prisons are meant to be reforming schools for the prisoners. By the corrupt practices of the officials , the prisons have become factories turning out hardened criminals.
Say , a person was caught by police on suspicion of pick-pocketing. The police produce the accussed before the magistrate , in turn he remands him for judicial custody. Let us consider , The punishment for this offence pick-pocketing as per law is 6 months imprisonment. However the case drags on for 3 years , finally the court finds him guilty of offence & orders for 6 months imprisonment. Totally, the offender serves 42 months imprisonment sentence in practice. In some cases , the courts consider the time already spent by the accussed behind the bars while giving judgement. In this example , even if the offender is let free taking 6 months imprisonment sentence, the offender has been given excess sentence of 36-6=30 months.
Taking the same example further, say the court finds the accused as innocent, not guilty of crime & lets him free. However , the poor chap has suffered 36 months imprisonment for no fault of his.
As
per law, no body not even the courts of law are legally empowered to punish
anybody beyond the legal procedures , rules established. In this way, due
to delay in our legal system , faulty bail procedures , thousands of
under-trials are suffering in various prisons throught
The
bail procedure in
Say, a rich industrialist is accused of rs.20 crores tax evasion, he is let free on a personal bond of rs.1 lakh. Stamp paper scam kingpin karim lala telgi has swindled government to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees, only few cases are registered against him. That too in one out of those cases involving rs.45 lakh worth stamp sale , judge has given him rigorous imprisonment plus a fine of rs.50000.
Considering the above examples it is quite clear the bail amount, fine amount are peanuts for the rich just a fraction of quantum of their crime , while for the poor it is huge many times more than the quantum of their crime.. it is biased towards rich & mighty criminals. As a result poor always suffers in jail, while rich are out on bail.
Even within prisons , the number of prisoners per sq.ft area , no of doctors , hospital beds , medicines available, weight of food per day given to prisoners , are all less & much below the statuotary limits. The food , health care , living conditions of prisoners , under-trials are worse than pigs. The prison authorities are utterly corrupt, which has been brought into light again & again by the media. If a poor prisoner questions the illegal acts of the officials , he is subjected to 3rd degree torture , roughed up by rowdy prisoners on the instigation of the officials themselves. Many poor prisoners are suffering from health problems , many are dying due to lack of proper health care & food in the prisons.
Whereas , the rich & mighty prisoners , by payting bribe get non-veg , alchoholic drinks from outside restaurants daily. They even secure drugs . they get spacious VIP rooms , television , mobile phones. They easily get parole & easily gets admitted in outside hospitals & roam free , while on record they are in-patients in hospitals.
The law of limitation which stipulates time limits for filing various cases is also biased towards the government as a party & rich , mighty. For the purposes of evidences , filing of cases one needs various government records. The concerned officials don't provide those records for years unless bribed & sit over the files for years. Some times by making absurd , illogical file notings , rejects it back. There is no time limit for the performance of duties by public servants. When a commoner don�t get relevant records , files , evidences in time , how can he file cases in time without those records , evidences ?
Nowadays , numerous cases of irregularities , charges of corruption against judges are coming to light. However , in such cases judges are asked to resign from service but no criminal prosecution against them is instituted , only in cases involving lower court judges it is done. When a case of irregularity by a judge in a specific present case comes , there are every possibility that in the past also he has committed the same in cases handled by him which has not come to light. In such instances , all the cases handled by that particular judge throught his career must be reviewed , but is not done why ? does not it amount to cover-ups ?
In many cases the higher courts have turned down the verdicts of the lower courts , let free the innocents , absolved innocents of charges & annulled death sentences when appeals came before them. However , in all such cases , the lower court judges must be punished for giving out wrong judgements, meating out injustice to innocents. Here a fact must be noted , only a fraction of cases goes in appeal to higher courts, as in majority of cases the poor people lack the financial might to make the appeal. The so-called free legal services authority pre-judges the cases before giving legal aid. As a result , many innocents poor people resign to their fates suffer injustice in courts of law , undergo imprisonment punishment , some times even death sentence. So , the urgent need of the hour is to incorporate jury system or some outside monitoring system to review cases as & when decided.
In many cases involving the rich & mighty like telgi , case proceedings are conducted in-camera in judge's chambers or proceedings are conducted through video conferencing . outside from public gaze. The tapes are not made public and the public cann't even ascertain the validity of tapes , whether it is edited , doctored .
One of the basic reasons for delayed justice & worse prison conditions in India , is low number of judges , police personnel , higher rate of case adjournments and finally low amount of financial grants made by the government to judicial department / police department. The government states that it doesn't have enough money to provide for judiciary & police. As a result, fundamental / human rights of innocent commoners are thwarted. The state governments & GOI , is one of either parties in 75% of cases before various courts in India, it is the biggest litigant & is influencing the judiciary by controlling the grants , recruitment to judiciary & by enticing some with post-retirement postings.
The government has got money to spend on lavish parties of VVIPs , IAS officers serving non-veg foods , alchoholic drinks . their foreign jaunts , 5-star bungalows , limousines , interior decorations of their bungalows, etc. which is of higher priority , importance , whether the luxury of VVIPs or the fundamental / human rights of commoners ? the courts should answer. The courts have the legal powers to order governments to provide enough financial grants to it , however it is keeping mum , turning blinds eye to crimes of VVIP�s. the government rewards such judges with salary hikes , promotions , luxury cars , bungalows , perks and post-retirement postings , sites at judicial lay-out , yelahanka , Bangalore , etc.
We
at HRW has utmost respect for the judiciary , but hereby humbly bringing
the crimes of judiciary before the honest few judges seeking justice to
the common folk.
Indian judiciary's contempt for accountability and scrutiny is a shame
The
The report, relying upon
documentary evidence, alleged that the judge's two sons Mr. Chetan and Mr.
Nitin had made material benefits out of their father's position in the Indian
judiciary as a senior judge and also as the Chief Justice of the country. The
report alleged that the judge's sons managed their business from their father's
official residence at 6 Moti Lal Nehru Marg,
The Supreme Court of
Earlier this year, the
Supreme Court of India had forced Mr. Vijay Shekhar, a journalist with a
television news channel, who exposed the caucus of a corrupt magistrate, his
court staff and some lawyers in Gujarat state in the "Warrants for
Cash" scam to apologise to the court or to face a term in jail for
contempt of court. The court staff and the lawyers were caught on camera
negotiating and accepting bribe for the magistrate for issuing arrest warrants.
In the episode which was telecast nationwide, the magistrate after accepting
bribes, issued arrest warrants on false charges against the President of
The Supreme Court took
up the matter and directed the
The conviction and
sentencing of journalists of Mid-Day for publishing information about the
conduct of Mr. Sabharwal has brought to the fore the issue of judicial
accountability. The Indian judiciary is one of the most powerful judiciaries of
the world. The conduct of the judiciary has a direct impact upon the life of
the ordinary people of the country. It is imperative in these circumstances
that a state institution of such high powers must be transparent and
accountable for its actions. The courts in
Under the Constitution
of
This is reflected in the
procedure adopted for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary as well.
Even though the appointment is made by the President of
Demanding judicial
accountability has almost certainly caused initiation of contempt proceedings,
thereby, stifling of free discussion on the issues plaguing the judiciary in
There are judicial
systems within
The Supreme Court of
The term democracy implies the notion that the people are supreme. All state institutions, whether it be the judiciary, legislature or the executive are merely the servants of the people. The basic principle behind the contempt of court proceedings is that the use of this authority by the court must be only in circumstances where otherwise the functioning of the court is impossible or obstructed.
In
The contempt of court action must not be an attempt to protect the dignity of the court, but to promote the administration of justice. The dignity of the court is promoted by the court being humble enough to face criticism, whereas promotion of justice is to be carried out by removing all hindrances in the delivery of justice. By the unrestrained use of contempt of court actions the courts in India are in fact derogating from their duty to safeguard the Constitution of the country, which also guarantees freedom of speech and expression in Article 19 (1).
The honour of the judge and the judiciary - a state institution through which a judge is supposed to serve the people - is promoted and protected by the openness of the judge and the judiciary to face any criticism. Intolerance to scrutiny and lack of openness equates the judge and the judiciary with a dictator.
At this pace the Indian
judiciary once known for its eloquence and its contribution to the advancement
of free thought and expression will soon be reduced to an egotistical
institution. Such a judiciary is definitely not what modern
The imperatives for the
judiciary in
Crimes Chief Justice of Supreme Court Of India , Union Home Secretary & Director-General of Police for Karnataka - RTI Act violations , constitutional rights & Human rights violations
The above stated public servants
have failed to provide full information to us ie HRW as per RTI Act ,
thereby covering up the criminals. The requested informations were no
state secrets , no defense secrets but the accountability of above stated
public offices. The information was requested for public welfare , to
secure equitable justice to public , to stop corrupt practices in public
service , in exercise of my FUNDAMENTAL DUTY as a citizen of
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 apex court of the land itself commits crime - violations of RTI Act , constitutional rights & human rights of public and obstructs the public from performing their constitutional fundamental duties , what happens ?
it gives a booster dose to
the rich & mighty , those in power , criminals in public service to commit
more crimes. that is exactly what is happening in
False Affidavits , Information Hiding – Crimes of supreme court of India & Public Servants
Many public servants are
leading luxurious lifestyles , beyond the legal sources of their income. Many
public servants are filing false affidavits about their annual income , wealth
details to Election Commission of
The tainted public servants are not even providing full , right information to public as per RTI Act, lest the truth come out. Just imagine , even the supreme court of India violated RTI Act – failed to give information to our publication as per RTI Act , lest the truth – skeletons in judiciary comes out.
Some public servants , caught redhanded during luxurious spending , easily says that it is at their political paty's expense or their well wisher's expense. However no entries are found in the account books of said parties to that respect. The law forbids public servants from accepting gifts , hospitality , favours beyond the value of rupees one hundred ( Rs. 100 ) , as it may be a form of bribe.
Hereby , HRW
urges the honourable supreme court of
CROSS –
EXAMINATION OF HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF
Q1. Why not death sentence to corrupt police who murder people in in lock-up / fake encounters ?
Q2. Why not death sentence to corrupt police who apply 3rd degree torture on prisoners ?
Q3. Why not death sentence to corrupt police , who connive with criminals & backstabs our motherland , it's national security ?
Q4. Don't the police have suo-motto powers to take action in the interest of public welfare , law & order ?
Q5. Daily we see numerous reports of misdeeds by police , public servants , industrialists , etc in the media . Then why not police taking any action with respect to them ?
Q6. nowadays we see numerous reports of scams , scandals by constitutional functionaries , public servants in the media. Instead of wasting money , killing time by prolonging formation of parliamentary committees , judicial commissions , why not subject those accussed public servants to narco analysis , lie deector test , etc to ascertain truth & provide timely justice ? ( new addition )
Q7. If a commonman files a complaint , police / courts wants evidences , witnesses to take action against the rich & mighty crooks. Where as if a rich person just gives a complaint against a poor chap , he is arrested , tortured eventhough there are no evidences , witnesses. Why this double standard ?
Q8. If a poor chap tries to collect evidences as per his fundamental rights or as per RTI ACT , the public servants don't give full , truthfull information. Still , police / courts don't take action against those public servants hiding crimes. Why ?
Q9.why I was not permitted to
appear as an "amicus curie" before jain commission of enquiry or
supreme court of
Q10. The criminal nexus tried to silence me , by closing my news paper , by snatching away my job oppurtunities in government service, by physically assaulting me , by threatening me of false fix-ups in cases & by attempts to murder me. But no action against culprits , why ?
Q11. Whereas , I was enquired number of times by police & intelligence personnel about this case , but the culprits were not enquired even once , why ?
Q12.who compensates the losses I have suffered due to these injustices ? are not police responsible for it ?
Q13. Is it not the duty of police to protect the lives , livelihood of witnesses & all parties involved , both during case & afterwards ?
Q14. How do you monitor & check corrupt police personnel & increase in their family's wealth year after year ?
Q15. While getting appointed into government service from the rank of peon to IAS officer , police verification is mandatory. While appointing to sensitive defense establishments , research institutes in addition to police verification , central intelligence agencies cross-check candidate's background. However is there no background checks of constitutional functionaries , MPs , MLAs , , who are privy to national secrets ? why ?
Q16. Recently , the opposition parties have made allegations during presidential allegations that close relative of one of the front running candidates have swindled public money by their bank , misused public money through one of their NGO. Is it true ?
Q17.has GOI funded any terrorist outfits in india or abroad ?
Q18.india preaches non-violence , panchasheel principles to the world. In india , more than half the population are poor , people are starving to death. Inspite these background , GOI funded & aided terrorist outfits in former east Pakistan ensuring the creation of Bangladesh , GOI has funded & aided terrorist outfits like LTTE , TULF , ETC in srilanka , MQM in Pakistan. In turn these terrorist outfits have murdered thousands of innocents in those countries. Are these acts of GOI just & legal ? Is not GOI responsible for all those murders of innocents ? has GOI paid any compensation to those victims or their family mebers ? why not ?
Q19.within india , to reduce the influence of certain terrorist groups , GOI has funded & aided couter terrorist groups , is it right & legal ?
Q20. In Jharkhand , chattisgarh , etc , the government has armed , trained & funded "salwa judum" to counter naxalites. Salwa judum cadres are terrorizing innocents just like naxalites. Is this action of government just & legal ?
Q21.in india, TADA , POTA is being rampantly misused by police. Even where there are no problems of terrorism , TADA / POTA is being slapped against innocents , even children. In M.M.Hills of Karnataka state , STF personnel charged tribal people with TADA on frivolous charges of taking lunch to veerappan , stiching dress for the forest brigand, etc. where as the prominent political, film , sports personalities who have links with underworld , anti national elements & attended parties hosted by dawood Ibrahim , other dons in gulf countries , else where. But these hi-fi people are not charged with TADA / POTA ? why ?
Q22. Film actor sanjay dutt had contacts with underworld & fully knowing well the criminal objectives of criminals , hid the dangerous arms & ammunition in his home , which were intended for terrorizing public. However mr.dutt is not charged with TADA / POTA instead he is charged with illegal possession of arms act ( which is normally applied to farmers who use illegal home made guns to scare away animals , birds in their farms ). Why this favourable treatment of mr.dutt by police ? prosecution ? is this because dutt is politically mighty & rich ?
Q23. Law is one & same for all , the public servants, police interpretes , enforces it differentially between rich & poor ? why this differentiation ?
Q24.recently in Bangalore police nabbed criminals belonging to international criminal syndicate selling duplicate nokia mobiles. Every nokia mobile comes with 15 digit IMEI number , this number is also used by police for tracking criminals. In consumer dispute at consumer disputes redressal forum Mysore CD 49/05 , nokia company stated that all it's products come with IMEI number only & stated that the product in dispute sold by tata indicom dealer M/S INTOTO COMMUNICATIONS , Mysore are not their's as it doesn't have IMEI numbers. Further nokia stated they don't have any business relationship with either tata indicom or it's dealer. However the tata indicom dealer stated that indeed his products are genuine , first hand products , but doesn't have IMEI numbers . this proves the dealer in collusion with tata company is selling illegal nokia mobile hand sets & cheating the public. These mobiles are evading taxes , as well as these are without IMEI numbers best buy for criminal elements who want to evade police tracking. What police are doing ?
Q25. Who , of which rank among police personnel takes the decision to close a case ie to file "B" report , when after certain time limit no leads are found in investigation ?
Q26. How do you monitor corrupt police personnel , who purposefully fail to investigate case properly , so that either the case can be closed with "B" report or the prosecution fails to prove the case in court ?
Q27. Who among police takes the decision to appeal against the verdict of a lower court , when the prosecution fails ?
Q28. Who took the decision , not to appeal against the argentina court order acquitting mr.quatrochi accussed in bofors scandal ?
Q29. Do you treat all the prison convicts same in the prison or does the notorious big time rich criminals get spacious barracks with tv, news paper , adequate food , medical care , etc while small time criminals , poor are crammed into pig sty like rooms with 60-70 inmates without any basic requirements ?
Q30. What is the status of my complaint made to the DG & IG of police , government of Karnataka on 10/12/2004 ? the copies of complaint was released at press meet at patrakartara bhavan Mysore on same day, even copies were given to police & intelligence personnel ?
Q31. Why no action , reply regarding the complaint till date ?
Q32. Our constitutional frame workers gave legal immunity privileges to certain constitutional functionaries , so that they are not burdened with frivolous court cases & can concentrate on their constitutional duties. But these privileges doesn't cover the individual actions of those public servants like rape , murder , dowry harassment , tax evasion , misuse of office , etc. but still law enforcement / police department is bound to send request to home ministry seeking permission & home ministry sits over files for months. This gives the accussed ample time to destroy evidences. Is it right & legal ?
Q33. Does legal immunity privileges cover their official actions alone ? if not what does it cover ?
Q34. What is the time limit for home ministry to give sanction for the prosecution of tainted constitutional functionaries ?
Q35. How many present MPs , MLAs , MUNICIAPAL CORPORATORS , other people's representatives are facing criminal charges ?
Q36. In the past , how many MPs , MLAs , corporators were facing criminal charges , yearwise since 1987 ? how many of them were eventually convicted ?
Q37. How many MPs , MLAs , prominent film , sports personalities have have contacts with underworld , foreign intelligence agencies ?
Q38. How many of them have attended frequent parties hosted by underworld dons in gulf countries , else where ?
Q39. How many MP , MLA , other people's representatives are wanted by police in various cases . but shown in the police records as absconding but in reality are attending the proceedings of the house as usual ?
Q40. When did smt. Sonia Gandhi became a citizen of india ? did she occupy any public office before naturalization ?
Q41. In india , how many MPs , MLAs , MLCs are of foreign origin or have a spouse of foreign origin ?
Q42. Does smt. Sonia Gandhi have citizenship of any other country ?
Q43. Did she occupy any public office while enjoying dual citizenship ?
Q44. How do you monitor public servants who have spouses of foreign origin & while they are on foreign tour , from national security perspective ?
Q45. Is mr. M.S SUBBA member of parliament a citizen of india ?
Q46. What is the status of complaint made by former union minister mr.subramanya swamy alleging that late P.Mrajiv gandhi's family received money from foreign intelligence agencies ?
Q47. In many cases like mass riots involving certain political parties , when that culprit party comes to power all the cases involving it's partymen are withdrawn by the government orelse prosecution fails to prove it's case & prefers not to appeal. Just remember Bombay riot case involving shiv sainiks & others , when shiv sena – BJP came to power in Maharashtra , all the cases against it's partymen were withdrawn. Are these type of decisions by government just & legal ?
Q48.what damages has been done to india's national security due to mole in the PMO, as alleged by former union minister mr.natwar singh ?
Q49. What action by the government ?
Q50. How many Indians are in the custody of police / military in various foreign countries ?
Q51. How many foreigners are there in Indian prisons ?
Q52. How GOI is protecting the human rights of these prisoners ?
Q53. Is the government paying any compensation to victims of police failures , fix-ups , , who suffer in jail for years & acquitted by courts upon finding them as not guilty ?
Q54. Do you register murder charges / attempt to murder charges against guilty police officers who are responsible for lock-up deaths , fake encounters & 3rd degree torture ?
Q55. How many cases has been filed since 1987 till date ?
Q56. What action has been taken against guilty police officers , STF personnel who were responsible for gross human rights violations , 3rd degree torture , lock-up deaths of innocents in forest brigand veerappan's territory , based on justice A.J.Sadashiva commission findings ? if not why ?
Q57. I , as a citizen of india as my "fundamental duty" hereby do offer my conditional services to GOI & GOK to apprehend corrupt public servants. Are you ready to utilize my services ?
Q58. Police personnel are always in the forefront of containing crimes , mass fury , riots , etc. they suffer more & even their family members suffer threats from the criminal elements. Do the government provide insurance coverage to police & their family members on the lines of defense forces ?
Q59. What is the amount of coverage to a police constable & his family ?
Q60. Who makes the premium contributions ?
Q61. Do the government provide overtime allowance , food allowance to police who daily work beyond 8 hours of duty ?
Q62. Is the government giving any training to police personnel in public interaction , human rights ?
Q63. Is it right to post professionally trained police to sentry , orderly duties of ministers ?
Q64. What is the ratio of police personnel to total population in india since 1987 ?
Q65. IS THE GOVERNMENT GIVING ADEQUATE FOOD, MEDICAL CARE , CLOTHING , LIVING SPACE TO PRISON INMATES , AS REQUIRED BY A NORMAL HUMAN EING ACCORDING TO W.H.O NORMS ?
Q66. Is the forensic science department which conducts narcfo-analysis , lie-detector test , etc under the control of police department ?
Q67. Is it not right to put it under impartial control of NHRC or like bodies ?
Q68. Is the action of some police officers arranging compromise meetings & subtly insisting the poor to tow the line of rich or else face the consequences , is it right & legal ? this happens mostly in real estate matters.
Q69. Did government make any ransom payments to forest brigand veerappan during his various kidnappings ?
Q70. What action has been taken based on revealations by karim telgi during narco analysis about public servants involvement ?
Q71. How many cases of allegations against judges were made in the media about misuse of office , criminal acts by judges from munsiff court to supreme court of India ? since 1947 till date
Q72. are the enquiry report findings, action taken reports of such cases accessible to public ? if not why ?
Q73. what action has been taken against guilty judges ?
Q74. are the guilty judges legally prosecuted in all such cases ? or has it just ended with their resignation from services or his superior judge not allotting him any judicial work ?
Q75. why some high ranking judges are not legally prosecuted for their wrong doings ?
Q76. are judges above law ? are not everybody equal before law ?
Q77. do the judiciary subject , all the cases handled by accussed / tainted , guilty judges to review , to undo past unjust judgements ?
Q78. how ? if not why ?
Q79. how do the judiciary monitor the net wealth growth of some judges including the wealth in the name of judge's family members ?
Q80. do all the judges file their annual income , wealth statements on sworn affidavits to the higher judiciary ? defaulters how many ?
Q81. how does the judiciary verifies those statements ?
Q82. is such statements made public , on web ?
Q83. when the judgement of a lower court is turned down by the higher court , what action is initiated against lower court judge for making unjust judgement & meating out injustice ?
Q84. when allegations of corruption , misuse of office , etc against judges are made , why the accussed – judges are not subjected to tests like "poly graph , lie detector , brain mapping , etc" , in the interest of justice & truth ?
Q85. judges are not employees of government , so they are ineligible to be the members of "Karnataka state government judicial department house building co-operative society". Then how come , many judges including supreme court judges are admitted as members of this society & allotted prime residential site worth crores of rupees for a few thousands by the said society at said society's – judicial layout , yelahanka , Bangalore ? while the ordinary members like peons , clerks in judicial department are waiting for a site since years , is not the whole thing grossly illegal ?
Q86. in more than 70% of cases before all courts in India , central government or state government or government agency is one of the parties. How many judges or their family members , have received out of turn , favourable allotments of sites , gas agency , petrol pumps , etc by the government ? is not such allotments illegal ? what action ?
Q87. when a person under police custody or judicial custody suffer 3rd degree torture by police , is not the judge of the respective court which is handling that tortured person's case responsible for it ?
Q88. has the higher judiciary legally prosecuted respective judges & the police officers for committing 3rd degree torture , on charges of attempt to murder & murder ? if not why ?
Q89. registrar , Mysore district & sessions court , has called for the candidatures to various vacancies in that court from the public vide notification no : ADMN/A/10825/2003 dated 19/11/2003 & collected application fees from the candidates. Till may 2007 , they have not even conducted the interview ? is it not public cheating by judiciary ? what action to undo the injustices to unemployed ?
Q90. registrar , Bangalore city civil court , has called for the candidatures to various vacancies in that court from the public vide notification no : ADM-I(A)422/03 dated 19/05/2003 & collected application fees from the candidates. Till date , they have not even conducted the interview ? is it not public cheating by the judiciary ? what action to undo injustices to unemployed ?
Q91. when a person doesn't get adequate food , medical care while under police custody or judicial custody , is not the respective judge dealing that person's case responsible for it ? what action ?
Q92. how judiciary is monitoring food & medical care to prisoners ?
Q93. numerous accussed persons are suffering in jail under judicial custody , for periods far exceeding the legally stipulated sentence periods. For example : a pick-pocketer is in jail for one year , the judge finds him guilty of offence & gives him 3 months sentence. What about the excess punishment of 9 months. Is not the judge responsible for the illegal , excess punishment of the convict ? what action against the judge in such cases ?
Q94. numerous innocents suffer in jail for years & finally the judge finds them as innocents & acquits them of the charges. What about the prison sentence , the innocent has already served ? is not the judge responsible for this illegal , unjust punishment to an innocent ? remedy ? what action against the judge ?
Q95. does the privileges of judges cover both their official actions & the actions arising out of misuse of office ?
Q96. does the privileges of judges cover both their official actions as judges & their personal actions as individuals ?
Q97. are the fundamental rights of citizens supreme or the privileges of judges , constitutional functionaries supreme ?
Q98. what is the criteria adopted for promotion of judges ?
Q99. what is the criteria adopted for appointment of advocates from bar , as the judges ?
Q100. what is the criteria adopted for appointment of retired judges , as governors of states , members or as chairman of commissions , etc ?
Q101. how many judges belonging to oppressed classes – scheduled caste , scheduled tribe , other backward classes , minorities & women are their in supreme court , state high courts & subordinate courts ? kindly provide specific figures .
Q102. what are the legal measures enforced by judiciary , to enforce the accountability of judges & to check corruption in judiciary ?
Q103. are not these measures a failure , looking at present state of affairs of judiciary ?
Q104. does the judges arrange for distribution of alchoholic drinks at the official meetings , parties , at the tax payer's expense ?
Q105. does any judges have included their consumption of alchoholic drinks , in their hotel bill & claimed traveling allowance ?
Q106. what action has been taken against – selectors ie Karnataka high court judges & newly selected women judges involved in roost resort scandal in Mysore , Karnataka ?
Q107. when common people / tax payers & even government employees are not getting proper health care from government at government hospitals. Is it right & just to provide premium health care to judges , constitutional functionaries at 5-star private hospitals in India , abroad , all at tax payer's expense ?
Q108. are the judges subjected to periodical health check-ups to ascertain their health , mental faculties & mental balance in the midst of all work pressures , emotional tensions ?
Q109. what is the criteria adopted by judiciary for accepting applications seeking public interest litigations ?
Q110. why numerous appeals for PIL by me , were not considered ?
Q111. what is the criteria adopted by judiciary , for appointing "amicus curie" in a case ?
Q112. why my appeal to honourable supreme court , to make me as an "amicus curie" in late P.M Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case , was not considered by the court ?
Q113. what is the criteria adopted by judiciary , for initiating suo-motto action ?
Q114. numerous cases of injustices are reported in the media daily , with supporting evidences . why not the judiciary take suo-motto action in all such cases ?
Q115. legal aid boards pre-judge the cases in the name of taking legal opinion , before providing legal aid to the needy ? is it not needy person's rights violation ?
Q116. is not the safety of witnesses , parties in cases responsibility of the court , both during hearing of the case & afterwards ?
Q117. is the use of 3rd degree torture by police on prisoners , during the police custody / judicial custody / prison sentence right ? what action ?
Q118. when the corrupt police officer & government prosecution advocate together cover-up evidences , conducts improper investigation intentionally to fail the case – to cover-up rich crooks , high & mighty people , what action judge takes in such cases ?
Q119. how does the judiciary monitor the wealth growth of police , government advoctes , tax officials , officials of licensing authorities , to ensure proper & fair prosecution of cases against rich & mighty ?
Q120. what are the status of appeals made by human rights activist NAGARAJ.M.R. to the honourable supreme court of India ?
Q121. corruption is rampant for selection of officers to quasi-judicial positions like district / taluk magistrates , tax officers , revenue officers , land acquisition officers , etc. how the judiciary monitors over their quasi-judicial actions ?
Q122. subject to conditions , I , NAGARAJ.M.R. , editor , e-voice of human rights watch , do offer my free services to honourable supreme court of India , to apprehend corrupt judges , are you – the honourable court ready to utilize it ?
Q123. what are the status of my appeals , sent to the honourable supreme court of India , through government of india's on-line grievance system ( DPG & DARPG ) :
DPG/M/2006/80008 , DARPG/E/2006/00057, DARPG/E/2006/00225 , DPG/M/2006/80021 , DARPG/E/2006/00253 , DPG/M/2006/80032 , DARPG/E/2006/01149 , DPG/M/2006/80047 , DARPG/E/2006/01164 , DPG/M/2006/80043 , DPG/M/2006/80085 , DARPG/E/2006/06704 , DARPG/E/2006/07017 , DARPG/E/2006/07018 , DPG/M/2006/80159 , DPG/M/2006/80162 , DARPG/E/2006/07864 , DPG/M/2006/80165 , DARPG/E/2006/07877 , DPG/M/2006/80167 , DARPG/E/2006/08028 , DARPG/E/2006/08029 , DARPG/E/2006/08032 , DARPG/E/2006/08043 , DARPG/E/2006/08044 , DPG/M/2006/80174 , DPG/M/2006/80193 , DARPG/E/2007/00044 , DPG/M/2007/80003 , DPG/M/2007/80010 , DARPG/E/2007/00164 , DARPG/E/2007/00165 , DPG/M/2007/80014 , DPG/M/2007/80025 , DPG/M/2007/80049 , DPG/M/2007/80055 , DPG/M/2007/80056 , DPG/M/2007/80078 , DPG/M/2007/80082 , DARPG/E/2007/02618
Q124. the appeals made to the honourable supreme court of India , copies of which are available at following web pages :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw/message/182 ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw/message/206 ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw/message/208 ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw/message/212 ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw/message/209 ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naghrw
what are the status of those appeals ?
Q125. in the media , we have
seen reports about judges committing crimes – rape , attempt to murder ,
swindling government money , untouchability practice , the disrespect to
national flag , sale of judicial orders , bail , etc. by this way , judges
themselves are making contempt of court , constitution of India &
citizens of India. How you are protecting the honour of the judiciary ,
constitution of
Q126. Is the government giving any facilities / affirmative actions to policemen's family as being given to defense personnel , ex-servicemen & their families , like preferential site allotment , lpg agency , ration depot , reservation in college admission , soft bank loans , etc ?
Q126. if not , why ? after all , the contribution of police to national security is on par with defense forces.
Q127. is not some high police officials addressing their subordinates in singular term , abusing them with vulgar words wrong ?
Q128. is not some police personnel calling public with singular term, abusing public with vulgar words wrong ?
Q129. is it not the duty of prison authorities to protect the health, lives of prison in-mates ?
Q130.what action is taken against police personnel who wrongly charged an innocent person of criminal acts , resulting in his confinement in jail , finally acquitted by court as found to be innocent ?
Q131. is it not right to with hold salary , gratuity , pension to such guilty police personnel & pay it as compensation to victims of police failures & atrocities ?
Q132. does our Indian constitution legally permit a citizen of foreign origin naturalized by marriage to an Indian or naturalized by option , to occupy any constitutional office ? ( new addition )
Q133. during british rule in india & various other british colonies , criminal cases were foisted against our freedom fighters in India & other british colonies. After india's independence what happened to those cases ? did our Indian government close all such cases or did it continue with the prosecution ? ( new addition )
Q134. in how many cases GOI & other state government continued with the prosecution AGAINST OUR FREEDOM FIGHTERS ? why ? ( new addition )
Q135. what about cases against shri.netaji subash Chandra bose ? ( new addition )
Q136. has GOI deported any
freedom fighters to
CRIMES COMMITTED BY LAW COURTS IN INDIA – charge sanjay dutt with TADA
- An appeal to honourable supreme court of india
hereby, HRW appeals to
the honourable supreme court of
Indian prisons are meant to be reforming schools for the prisoners. By the corrupt practices of the officials , the prisons have become factories turning out hardened criminals.
Say , a person was caught by police on suspicion of pick-pocketing. The police produce the accussed before the magistrate , in turn he remands him for judicial custody. Let us consider , The punishment for this offence pick-pocketing as per law is 6 months imprisonment. However the case drags on for 3 years , finally the court finds him guilty of offence & orders for 6 months imprisonment. Totally, the offender serves 42 months imprisonment sentence in practice. In some cases , the courts consider the time already spent by the accussed behind the bars while giving judgement. In this example , even if the offender is let free taking 6 months imprisonment sentence, the offender has been given excess sentence of 36-6=30 months.
Taking the same example further, say the court finds the accused as innocent, not guilty of crime & lets him free. However , the poor chap has suffered 36 months imprisonment for no fault of his.
As per law, no body not even the courts of
law are legally empowered to punish anybody beyond the legal procedures ,
rules established. In this way, due to delay in our legal system , faulty bail
procedures , thousands of under-trials are suffering in various prisons
throught
The bail procedure in
Say, a rich industrialist is accused of rs.20 crores tax evasion, he is let free on a personal bond of rs.1 lakh. Stamp paper scam kingpin karim lala telgi has swindled government to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees, only few cases are registered against him. That too in one out of those cases involving rs.45 lakh worth stamp sale , judge has given him rigorous imprisonment plus a fine of rs.50000.
Considering the above examples it is quite clear the bail amount, fine amount are peanuts for the rich just a fraction of quantum of their crime , while for the poor it is huge many times more than the quantum of their crime.. it is biased towards rich & mighty criminals. As a result poor always suffers in jail, while rich are out on bail.
Even within prisons , the number of prisoners per sq.ft area , no of doctors , hospital beds , medicines available, weight of food per day given to prisoners , are all less & much below the statuotary limits. The food , health care , living conditions of prisoners , under-trials are worse than pigs. The prison authorities are utterly corrupt, which has been brought into light again & again by the media. If a poor prisoner questions the illegal acts of the officials , he is subjected to 3rd degree torture , roughed up by rowdy prisoners on the instigation of the officials themselves. Many poor prisoners are suffering from health problems , many are dying due to lack of proper health care & food in the prisons.
Whereas , the rich & mighty prisoners , by payting bribe get non-veg , alchoholic drinks from outside restaurants daily. They even secure drugs . they get spacious VIP rooms , television , mobile phones. They easily get parole & easily gets admitted in outside hospitals & roam free , while on record they are in-patients in hospitals.
The law of limitation which stipulates time limits for filing various cases is also biased towards the government as a party & rich , mighty. For the purposes of evidences , filing of cases one needs various government records. The concerned officials don't provide those records for years unless bribed & sit over the files for years. Some times by making absurd , illogical file notings , rejects it back. There is no time limit for the performance of duties by public servants. When a commoner don't get relevant records , files , evidences in time , how can he file cases in time without those records , evidences ?
Nowadays , numerous cases of irregularities , charges of corruption against judges are coming to light. However , in such cases judges are asked to resign from service but no criminal prosecution against them is instituted , only in cases involving lower court judges it is done. When a case of irregularity by a judge in a specific present case comes , there are every possibility that in the past also he has committed the same in cases handled by him which has not come to light. In such instances , all the cases handled by that particular judge throught his career must be reviewed , but is not done why ? does not it amount to cover-ups ?
In many cases the higher courts have turned down the verdicts of the lower courts , let free the innocents , absolved innocents of charges & annulled death sentences when appeals came before them. However , in all such cases , the lower court judges must be punished for giving out wrong judgements, meating out injustice to innocents. Here a fact must be noted , only a fraction of cases goes in appeal to higher courts, as in majority of cases the poor people lack the financial might to make the appeal. The so-called free legal services authority pre-judges the cases before giving legal aid. As a result , many innocents poor people resign to their fates suffer injustice in courts of law , undergo imprisonment punishment , some times even death sentence. So , the urgent need of the hour is to incorporate jury system or some outside monitoring system to review cases as & when decided.
In many cases involving the rich & mighty like telgi , case proceedings are conducted in-camera in judge's chambers or proceedings are conducted through video conferencing . outside from public gaze. The tapes are not made public and the public cann�t even ascertain the validity of tapes , whether it is edited , doctored .
One of the basic reasons for delayed justice & worse prison conditions in India , is low number of judges , police personnel , higher rate of case adjournments and finally low amount of financial grants made by the government to judicial department / police department. The government states that it doesn't have enough money to provide for judiciary & police. As a result, fundamental / human rights of innocent commoners are thwarted. The state governments & GOI , is one of either parties in 75% of cases before various courts in India, it is the biggest litigant & is influencing the judiciary by controlling the grants , recruitment to judiciary & by enticing some with post-retirement postings.
The government has got money to spend on lavish parties of VVIPs , IAS officers serving non-veg foods , alchoholic drinks . their foreign jaunts , 5-star bungalows , limousines , interior decorations of their bungalows, etc. which is of higher priority , importance , whether the luxury of VVIPs or the fundamental / human rights of commoners ? the courts should answer. The courts have the legal powers to order governments to provide enough financial grants to it , however it is keeping mum , turning blinds eye to crimes of VVIPs. the government rewards such judges with salary hikes , promotions , luxury cars , bungalows , perks and post-retirement postings , sites at judicial lay-out , yelahanka , Bangalore , etc.
We at HRW has utmost respect for the judiciary , but hereby humbly bringing the crimes of judiciary before the honest few judges seeking justice to the common folk.
AN OPEN APPEAL TO
JUSTICE SHRI. K.G.BALAKRISHNAN , HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF
Recently , in the media an interview with the present chief justice of India was reported. In the interview the honourable CJI stated that he is against any compulsory disclosures to be made by judges ie he is against any external supervision of judges performance , as any self respecting judge would not like this. He is for voluntary disclosures by judges themselves. It is true , thinking on the same lines, our constitutional forefathers thought that only people with self respect , personal integrity will come to occupy high constitutional offices in parliament , legislature & judiciary , as at the dawn of independence there were great educationists , statesmen in parliament , judiciary , in the whole of public service . that is the reason they have left out blank in drafting disciplinary proceedings against erring judges , ministers , MLAs , MPs. They have not even dreamt of the present situation, now see the opposite individuals facing murder , rape , extortion charges are in parliament , state legislatures, corruption is rampant in judiciary. These facts have been publicly acknowledged by union cabinet ministers , supreme court judges themselves. This problem has grown out of proportion due to failure of self regulation , transparency by judiciary & parliament.
Even certain technicalities , actions of the judiciary are biased for the rich & mighty. The cases of commoners drag on for years , months without a hearing whereas the special leave petitions which only rich can afford & other cases which the judge thinks urgent comes for hearing at the shortest time & even interim orders are issued. The judiciary in convenient cases initiates suo-motto action based on media reports , considers e-mails , post cards of high profile individuals / NGOs as PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATIONS and takes action. Whereas , when commoners send appeals for justice concerning public good, about violation of fundamental/human rights & obstruction to performance of fundamental duties, those are not even considered.
Honourable CJI is only concerned about the self respect of judges , what about the self respect of common people. When a commoner asks for accountability of judiciary or parliament he is slapped with contempt charges , what about his self respect ? When innocent commoners are arrested without warrants , illegally detained beaten up by police , what happens to the self respect of those individuals ? who bothers about the shame , job losses , broken marriages , fall of community relationships his whole family suffers as a result ? due to corrupt police officers sometimes innocents are put behind the bars , unable to pay the bail amount they suffer in jail for years while the real crook who is rich will be roaming outside on bail. Ofcourse, finally the court may absolve that poorman of charges, but what about his self respect the trauma his whole family faces ? what about poor people who unable to bear police 3rd degree torture confess to crimes they have not committed & suffer punishment - some times even death sentence , what about their self respect ?
Nowadays numerous scandals involving ministers , MLAs , MPs are reported in the media. The government drags it feet for months , sometimes years to give legal sanction for prosecution , thereby indirectly aiding the tainted in manipulation of evidences , records. Finally the tainted are let-off for lack of evidences in courts. In high profile cases , opposition parties raises hullaballo , an enquiry / parliamentary committee is formed to inquire into the issue. The committee takes months to complete it's findings , the government takes months to table the report , months to take action & months to table action taken report. Finally, VVIP is let off the hook , even if found guilty he resigns from the membership of the house.
In the same manner , senior judges facing charges of irregularities / corruption are either asked to resign or not allotted any judicial work. Only in rarest cases impeachment motion is brought about by parliament.
In this manner on quid pro quo basis the functioning style , action time of judiciary & parliament are mutually helpful. Instead of dragging on the cases for years spending lakhs of rupees , the tainted ministers , judges can be subjected to scientific tests like polygraph , brain mapping , etc & the truth can be found out , but not followed why ?
Resignation from office or not allotting any work to tainted constitutional functionary is not complete equitable justice ? what about the legal prosecution for their wrong doings ?
Just see the recent media reports about justice bhalla. See the recent reports in "vijaya karnataka' about whole irregularities in recruitment process by Karnataka public service commission. KPSC selects candidates for quasi-judicial positions like taluk magistrates , tax officers , labour officers , etc. what about UPSC , JUDGES SELECTION COMMITTEE, etc ? when an unfit person pays bribe to get a job , it is to reap more profits afterwards. Naturally, corruption spreads. Just remember "ROOST RESORT SCANDAL" involving selectors- high court judges & the candidates - newly selected women judges.
The commoners do have self respect as VVIPs & in the spirit of equitable justice VVIPs must be treated on par with commoners with respect to enforcement of law. Or else it will go against the letter & spirit of constitution & violative of people's fundamental rights. Ofcourse , there are honest persons in public service � judiciary , parliament . it is an humble appeal with full respects to them to legally prosecute their corrupt colleagues .
ACCOUNTABILITY OF
INDIAN JUDICIARY NEEDED
In early 2006 , While attending a
programme the honourable chief justice of india has remarked the fact that ,
you need a god father to get appointed into highest judicial echelons. Why do
these political godfathers recommend their own candidates to president of
Our constitution has given independence to judges , to freely make their own
inference , interpretation of
law , so as to give an impartial , just judgement. Our constitutional frame
workers thought that our judges will be wise enough to perform within the realm
of established jurisprudence & logical reasoning. As per law, the public
don't have a right to question the action , jurisprudence of a judge with respect
to any judgement. The public can only appeal. This independence of decision
making given to judges coupled with legal immunity given to them , is being
misused by some corrupt judges. These judges are giving out biased judicial
orders without the backing of any logical reasoning or established
jurisprudence. If a commonman questions these corrupt judges about their
actions, it is termed as " contempt of court" , the commonman is
punished & the voice seeking the truth is silenced forever.
The corruption among judiciary is more wide spread in lower judiciary &
quasi-judicial bodies like land
appellate authorities, licensing authorities, etc. a criminal in the garb of a
judge is more lethal than 1000 hard core criminals put together. Hereby, HRW
urges, the honourable chief justice of
1.how many judges right from munsiff level to apex court are facing criminal
charges & disciplinary proceedings?
2.How many quasi-judicial officers like taluk magistrates , members of
appellate boards, licensing authorities , etc, are facing criminal charges
& disciplinary proceedings?
3.what action the apex court has taken?has the apex court subjected all cases
handled by tainted judges, for review?
4.how the apex court is monitoring the wealth details of judges?are you
cross-checking their statements & affidavits?
5. in bangalore yelahanka judicial lay-out how the residential sites worth
lakhs of rupees were allotted to high ranking judges just for few thousands by
the karnataka govt judicial dept employees housing co-operative society? The
judges are not govt of karnataka employees & govt of karnataka is a party
in nearly 70% of the cases before the courts.
6.giving out blanket immunity to all judges for all actions irrespective of
merit of their actions , is it not against founding spirit of our constitution?
7.are judges more equal than the citizens of
8.why don't the courts punish the guilty judges for their crimes instead of
just asking them to resign from service or dismissal? Are judges above law?
9.why there is no transparency in nomination of advocates to highest judicial
positions & nomination of retired judges to various commissions?
10.why don't the judges are subjected to narco-analysis & other scientific
tests , when accussed of favouritism or corruption?
11.why you have not registered previous appeals of HRW , as PIL & not
responded till date?
12. the judiciary � honourable supreme court of India itself is violating my constitutionally guaranteed FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS as well as my HUMAN RIGHTS , also it is obstructing me from performing my constitutionally stated FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES AS A CITIZEN OF INDIA. Why ?
We at the HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, have highest respect for the judiciary. If at all
there is a semblance of law & justice in
FAKE ENCOUNTERS , LOCK-UP
DEATHS & 3RD DEGREE TORTURE BY POLICE IN
Recently, it has been reported in the media , how in gujarath state high ranking police officials took SUPARI to murder & committed the murders by giving it the name of encounter. Nowadays , it has become common place that police take law into their own hands , settle scores , conducts their own courts of justice like compromise panchayaths at police stations. All these acts of police are illegal , the police must first thought the lessons of law before enforcing it. The murderers ,criminals in police uniform must be punished at the earliest.
3RD DEGREE TORTURE PERPETRATED BY POLICE IN INDIA-
Gross violations of human rights by police
At the outset , HRW salutes the few honest police personnel who are silently
doing their duties inspite of pressures , harassment by
political bosses & corrupt superiors , inspite of frequent transfers ,
promotion holdups , etc. overcoming the lure of bribe ,those few are silently
doing their duties without any publicity or fanfare. we salute them & pay
our respects to them and hereby appeal to those few honest to catch their
corrupt colleagues.
The police are trained , to crack open the cases of crimes by just holding onto
a thread of clue. Based on that clue they investigate
like "Sherlock holmes" and apprehend the real criminals. nowadays ,
when police are under various pressures , stresses – they are
frequently using 3rd degree torture methods on innocents. Mainly there are 3
reasons for this :
1) when the investigating officer (I.O) lacks the brains of Sherlock holmes ,
to cover-up his own inefficiency he uses 3rd degree
torture on innocents.
2) When the I.O is biased towards rich , powerful crooks , to frame innocents
& to extract false confessions from them , 3rd degree
torture is used on innocents.
3) When the I.O is properly doing the investigations , but the higher-ups need
very quick results – under work stress I.O uses 3rd
degree torture on innocents.
Nowhere in statuette books , police are legally authorized to punish let alone
torture the detainees / arrested / accussed / suspects. Only the judiciary has
the right to punish the guilty not the police. Even the judiciary doesn't have
the right to punish the accussed / suspects , then how come police are using 3rd
degree torture unabetted. Even during encounters , police only have the legal
right , authority to immobilize the opponents so as to arrest them but not to
kill them.
There is a reasoning among some sections of society & police that use of
3RD DEGREE TORTURE by police is a detterent of crimes. It is false &
biased. Take for instance there are numerous scams involving 100's of crores of
public money – like stock scam , fodder scam , etc involving rich businessmen ,
VVIP crooks. Why don't police use 3rd degree torture against such rich crooks
and recover crores of public money where as the police use 3rd degree torture
against a pick-pocketer to recover hundred rupees stolen ? double standards by
police.
In media we have seen numerous cases of corrupt police officials in league with
criminals. For the sake of bribe , such police officials bury cases , destroy
evidences , go slow , frame innocents , murder innocents in the name of
encounter , etc. why don't police use 3rd degree torture against their corrupt
colleagues who are aiding criminals , anti nationals ? double standards by
police.
All the bravery of police is shown before poor , innocents , tribals , dalits ,
before them police give the pose of heroes. Whereas ,
before rich , VVIP crooks , they are zeroes. They are simply like scarecrows
before rich crooks.
Torture in any form by anybody is inhuman & illegal. For the purpose of
investigations police have scientific investigative tools like
polygraph, brain mapping , lie detector , etc. these scientific tools must be
used against rich crooks & petty criminals without bias.
hereby we urge the GOI & all state governments :
1) to book cases of murder against police personnel who use 3rd degree torture
on detainees and kill detainees in the name of
encounter killings.
2) To dismiss such inhuman , cruel personnel from police service and to forfeit
all monetary benefits due to them like gratuity ,
pension , etc.
3) To pay such forfeited amount together with matching government contribution
as compensation to family of the victim's of 3rd degree torture & encounter
killings.
4) To review , all cases where false confessions were extracted from innocents
by 3rd degree torture.
5) To make liable the executive magistrate of the area , in whose jurisdiction
torture is perpetrated by police on innocents.
6) To make it incumbent on all judicial magistrates ,to provide a torture free
climate to all parties , witnesses in cases before his court.
7) To make public the amount & source of ransom money paid to forest
brigand veerappan to secure the release of matinee idol mr. raj kumar.
8) To make public justice A.J.Sadashiva's report on "torture of tribals ,
human rights violations by Karnataka police in M.M.HILLS ,
KARNATAKA".
9) To make it mandatory for police to use scientific tools of investigations
like brain mapping , polygraph , etc without bias
against suspects rich or poor.
10) To include human rights education in preliminary & refresher training
of police personnel.
11) To recruit persons on merit to police force who have aptitude & knack
for investigations.
12) To insulate police from interference from politicians & superiors.
13) To make police force answerable to a neutral apex body instead of political
bosses. Such body must be empowered to deal with all service matters of police.
14) The political bosses & the society must treat police in a humane manner
and must know that they too have practical limitations. Then on a reciprocal
basis , police will also treat others humanely.
15) The police must be relieved fully from the sentry duties of biggies &
must be put on detective , investigative works.
The Business Of Encounter Killing By Sorit Gupto
Encounter killing is again a hot topic nowadays but with a little difference. This time it is for the suspension of a sub inspector from Mumbai, Daya nayak, who is better known as a Encounter specialist.
Encounters or extra judicial killings are not a new phenomena for Indian state, though it has changed its position or acceptability in the public psyche for past few years. Thanks goes largely to the Mumbai film industry for making several films 'inspired' by the real life of an encounter specialist. After the box office success of such films, one can say that the act of extra judicial killing , which otherwise is a gross violation of the Justice system, the very aspect of our Constitution( by denying the fundamental right to live), the civil liberties and the human rights, now got legitimacy in the Indian society.
The 'Rise and Fall' of this Sub inspector is nothing but story of complete violation of the very rule of law , which the police department is supposed to enforce.
We are catered with the biographical sketch of this encounter specialist by different news channels , about how from a humble beginning as a boy in a tea stall he becomes the heroic face of the state police department . According to an unconfirmed 'estimate' he has gunned down some 80-90 persons till date.
However the most strange thing about the whole saga is the fact that, every one is bothering about his crime of earning the huge amount of wealth , disproportionate to his known source of income, but no one is giving a damn to his murderous record which is much more disturbing vis-a-vis to his known source of power to do so. Now it is not just a known fact but established fact also that what ever he did in his tenure ,he had actually killed people without having any right ,like many other famous or yet to famous 'Encounter Specialists' are doing .Now, they keep on doing because they are doing the same under the full protection and patronage of the state. It is a chilling fact for any civilized society but as far as we are concern , we simply habituated and grasped it.
Be it Ansal Plaza Shoot out in New Delhi , Or Killing of four person in the outskirts of Ahmedabd , more or less after every encounter, the story or the logic provided by the state to the people, is too innocent to compared only with the Aesop's fables , that there was a bad man who fired at the police, and police in retaliation fired back to him and he died on the spot. Simple. Very simple. And for the sake of the rule of law please do not make complications by raising disturbing quarries as how not even a single police person hurt by the firing of the bad man? Why police did not tried to catch the person alive ? and so on…
However after 9-11, we the people are provided with some upgraded set of
logic's. One can name it Gen X logic's. These are logic's with veiled threat.
Now it is not just a mere fable but with a strong massage encrypted in it ,'
either you are with us or you are part of enemy' and that is why if you try to
raise all these disturbing question you could be branded as the enemy. Better
you believe what the state says.
Now coming again to the very police sub inspector. It is said that he has
earned enormous amount of wealth by manipulating his duty of executing extra
judicial killings , in other words ,a long list of fake encounters, by favoring
one group of criminal against the other. His departmental bosses are very much
concern about his alleged misuse of power. The Irony is, being an encounter
specialist itself is the product of gross indiscipline and utter misuse of the
power provided by the state to the police department .
So, what new thing they are going to get through "the trial"?
If it is proved that this encounter specialist really has earned this huge wealth by manipulating his ability of encounters, by favoring ( read killing) individual of one particular gang of mafia against the other, which is a truth yet to discover, what charges are going to frame against this fellow?
Dealing with this particular case one should have to keep in the mind that , this fellow has acquired this huge amount of sum by simply cold blooded murdering a number of people. Just like any other member of the organized crime he had taken 'supari'.
This case is a typical in the nature as corruption is just one part of it and the other part is made up of homicide. Part of the media is shrewdly downplaying the later half by overplaying the first half and that is the most dangerous aspect of this particular case.
Though there are number of punishments prescribed in IPC for killing a fellow human being starting to rigorous imprisonment for years to death penalty, but our encounter specialist do not have to be worry about all that , rather he knows it very well that he will face some petty charges of corruption to maximum.
A simple sub inspector can not become an encounter specialist over night if there is no political patronage behind him. As far as patronage is concern we have this news published in The Hindu on 23 Nov '03, which says that, The then Home Minister of Karnataka, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, ruled out a probe into the encounter killing of two alleged women naxalites in a village near Karkala in Udupi district . In a press conference Mr. Kharge said, "We cannot disbelieve the version of police officials who witnessed the encounter. We have to believe somebody.''
And last but not least ,If a mere police sub inspector can doctor or manipulate this phenomena of 'Encounter', It would be a chilling realization for anyone that magnitude wise how much scope of manipulation is there for the state to eliminate their political rivals through this 'simple' mechanism of extra judicial killings.
Today, Daya nayak has been arrested after a prolonged drama of "to arrest and not to arrest'.
This is the high time to examine the very phenomena of encounter thoroughly.
JUDICIAL PROPRIETY AND
TEHELKA By: Rajeev Dhavan
India needs a policy of embargoing post-retirement jobs for judges whilst
increasing their retiring age.
THE JUDICIARY is in the news in ways that do not do it credit. Beginning with
the `defeated'
Justice V. Ramaswamy impeachment in
the early 1990s, the last decade portrays scandals. These include the Bombay
Pay-off Scandal of 1990, the controversy over the Bombay High Court Chief
Justice Bhattacharjee receiving large "foreign" royalties in 1995,
controversies, however founded or unfounded, over Justices Punchi and Anand - both
Chief Justices of India - and Justice Bharucha's declaration that 20 per cent
of judges are corrupt. The year 2002 has been a bad year. In
Judges reign and rule - with little external effective oversight over their
conduct. Judicial independence cannot encompass judicial lawlessness, rampant
corruption or conduct unbecoming. Justice Ramaswamy's impeachment suffered
defeat in Parliament. The Supreme Court's Committee opined he could not be
denied work. In
Witness the cases of Hastings and Clairbourne in
An intermediate method has to be created so that judges are answerable and can
be disciplined without compromising their independence. But, it is not just a
question of disciplining judges; but, also of dealing with complaints against
them in a swift and effective way. Such mechanisms exist for the lower
judiciary, but not for High Court and Supreme Court judges. From the
supercession controversy of 1973 when three judges were superceded for the post
of CJI, there have been calls for a National Judicial Commission both to (a)
make judicial appointments (which after the 1982, 1993 and 1998 judgments are -
and, that too, not quite satisfactorily - in the hands of a conclave of Supreme
Court judges) and (b) deal with complaints, corruption and misconduct. But,
ongoing suggestions for a National Commission have fallen on fallow ground.
Having wrested the patronage of appointment, the judges have dragged their feet
on issues of judicial discipline except to produce unenforceable codes of
conduct. What are required are constitutional and statutory amendments.
Recent history shows that where there is a will, constitutional amendments are
possible. But, there is a lack of political and judicial will to introduce
changes. Today, judges collectively and in judicial orders make all kinds of
suggestions on their pay, salary, perks and other things. But no consensus
suggestion to interrogate judicial indiscipline emerges with credible clarity.
Individually
In the midst of all this comes the controversy over the commendable resignation
of Justice Venkataswami who was the sole Commissioner of the Tehelka
Commission. Three issues arise. The first is: what went wrong? Something did.
Sometimes judges do hold two post-retirement posts - without conflict or demur.
But, the Tehelka Commission was not just an inquiry but an inquisition in which
the Government had a massive political stake. The proposal to give another
assignment to Mr. Venkataswami whilst he investigated Tehelka and its
discontents should never have been made. The next slip up was Chief Justice
Bharucha's recommendation behind which the Government seeks refuge. No less,
the offer of appointment should have been declined. This is not a case of
conspiracy, corruption or misconduct. Mr. Venkataswami integrity is beyond
dispute.
The famous Pinochet case (1991) was re-heard because Lord Hoffman had broad
links with a charity which, though not before the 'Lords', had a stake in the
cause. In the Curative Petition case (2002), the Indian Supreme Court drew
sustenance from the `Pinochet' example on the premise that justice must not
only be done but always appear to be done. This sets the tone. Mr. Venkataswami
has led by example. Purity is as important as cleanliness. At least one present
judge of the Supreme Court declined an above board invitation to a seminar from
an American university on the basis that it was unacceptable that anyone other
than the Government of
The second issue that arises out of Tehelka is whether Mr. Venkataswami can
simply be replaced by another judge. There is a stateable case that he cannot.
Section 8A of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, was amended in 1971 to
permit a Commission to continue if a vacancy arose in a multi-member
Commission. The assumption of continuity would survive because a member or
members would continue. But, section 8A is inapplicable for a single-member
Commission or where an entire Commission ceases to exist. It becomes
non-existent (non est) and ceases to function (functus officio). Continuity is
broken. Replacing Commissions afresh contrives its own politics. There is an
even chance that any replacement appointment would be challenged to the
discomfiture of any new appointee. This does not mean that the records of the
Commission are not available for public use. So far, the only real public
interest part of the Commission's work was over the military deals - which was
heard in camera. These can be examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee as
raw evidence to interrogate lapses. The other aspect of the Commission's
inquiry investigates Tehelka's journalistic conduct and wild, unfounded allegations
that Tehelka tried to destabilise the stock exchange and personally benefit
Tehelka's people and financiers. A lot of this is humbug. The `journalistic'
ethics issue does not need a Commission's wisdom, but along with the
accountability of the electronic media should be generally examined by public
discourse. There are enough legal provisions to deal with `destabilising'
frauds; but, the Government knows that they do not have a credible leg to stand
on. On this basis, the Tehelka Commission needs to be wound up; but the
`defence deals' examined by Parliament.
The third issue relates to the desirability of post-retirement appointments for
judges. There is a dilemma here. Although Inquiry Commission reports generally
gather dust, there is a public faith that only judges should head such
inquiries - indeed, that is what made the T.T. Krishnamachari and Kairon
inquiries of the 1950s credible. The answer lies in less inquiries and
carefully chosen incumbents. Today, an inquiry is a general panacea to avoid any
public allegation. The Commission process has been devalued. Several statutes -
such as the Human Rights and others - necessitate judicial appointments. Such
jobs cannot be multiplied as inducements.
are massively powerful. They both compensate bad governance as well as fulfil
the judicial quest for power. Judges may err in their judgments. But, if
confidence in the Judiciary abates, Indian governance is in peril.
Honor of Parliament for sale by few members
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