india legal 20 march 2017

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IJustice Karnan: Still Defiant

Affordable Justice Lifeline

Supreme Court’s Babri Bombshell

The battle between the two celebrity lawyers in the Delhi High Court is entangled in their

personal enmity and could backfire on Arvind Kejriwal

Star WarsArun Jaitley Ram Jethmalani

s

EWSPAPER editorials, public interestbodies, educational institutions andgood governance advocates periodicallyissue calls for electoral reforms, butmost of them fade from public attention

until the next election comes along. Actually someof the very best proposals—most of them still lan-guishing—have come from the Law Commission ofIndia. This august executive institution was estab-lished in 1955 and is appointed every three years toadvocate reforms which would help the countrymaintain its legal robustness under the constitutionand the rule of law.

Unfortunately, the Commission has no inde-pendent authority with legislative teeth and func-tions as an advisory body to the Ministry of Lawand Justice. The ministry, being a political entity, isnot bound to heed recommendations if it findsthem politically unpalatable. So most of the sugges-tions wind up gathering dust.

It is with this in mind that I feel it fit to rake upthe Twentieth Law Commission’s Report No 255which focused squarely on electoral reforms. Thesereports may lack enforcement teeth but they willcertainly gather moral force and catalyse publicopinion if they are regularly dinned into the publicconscience by the press. This particular one madecomprehensive recommendations for changes inthe law, following a Supreme Court of India order,(Public Interest Foundation & Others V. Union ofIndia & Anr- Writ Petition (Civil) No. 536 of

2011), and directed the Commission to makeits suggestions on two specific issues: curb-

ing criminalisation of politics and neededlaw reforms; and impact and conse-

quences of candidates filing false affi-davits. After a year of deliberations, the

Commission headed by Justice AP Shah submittedits report on February 24, 2014. It made severalrecommendations of which these are still the mostsignificant and relevant:� Section 182(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 shouldbe amended to require the passing of the resolutionauthorising the contribution from the company’s

funds to a political party at the company’s AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM) instead of its Board ofDirectors. These accounts will fully and clearly disclose all the amounts received by the party andthe expenditure incurred by it. A new section 29Eto be inserted in the Representation of Peoples Act(RPA) requiring the ECI to make publicly available,on its website or on file for public inspection onpayment of a prescribed fee, all the contributionreports submitted by all political parties.� Express penalties, apart from losing tax benefits,should be imposed on political parties vide section29G for the non-compliance with the disclosureprovisions of proposed section 29D of the RPA.This should include a daily fine of `25,000 for eachday of non-compliance, with the possibility of de-registration if the default continues beyond 90days. Further, ECI may levy a fine of up to `50 lakhif its finds any particulars in the party’s statementsas having been falsified.� A new Chapter IVC should be inserted dealingwith the “Regulation of Political Parties” and incor-porating the Commission’s previous recommenda-tions in its 170th Report with certain modifications.New sections will deal with internal democracy,party constitutions, party organisation, internalelections, candidate selection, voting proceduresand the ECI’s power to de-register a party in cer-tain cases of non-compliance.� The Tenth Schedule of the constitution should besuitably amended to vest power to decide questionsof disqualification on the ground of defection withthe president or the governor, as the case may be,(instead of the Speaker or the Chairman), who shallact on the advice of the ECI. This would help pre-serve the integrity of the Speaker’s office.� The ECI should be strengthened by first, givingequal constitutional protection to all members ofthe Commission in matters of removability; second,making the appointment process of the ElectionCommissioners and the CEC consultative; andthird, creating a permanent, independent secreta-riat for the ECI.� The issue of paid news and political advertise-

N

ELECTORAL REFORM: A STERN REMINDER

Inderjit Badhwar

Letter From The Editor

4 March 20, 2017

ments should be regulated in the RPA.Such practices should be curbed by creat-ing an electoral offence of “paying fornews”/“receiving payment for news” in anewly inserted section 127B of the RPA.“Not only would this provision make pay-ing for news/receiving payment for newspenal, the stringent punishment willensure that if the candidates themselvesare found guilty, then, in all likelihood,they will be disqualified pursuant to sec-tion 8(3) of the RPA.� In order to curb the practice of dis-guised political advertisement, disclosureprovisions should be made mandatory forall forms of media. The purpose of disclo-sure is two-fold; first, to help the publicidentify the nature of the content (paidcontent or editorial content); and second,to keep track of transactions between thecandidates and the media. Thus, a new section127C should be inserted in the RPA to deal with the non-disclosure of interests in politicaladvertising. The ECI can regulate the specifics of the disclosure required.� The regulation of opinion polls is necessary toensure that first, the credentials of the organisa-tions conducting the poll are made known to thepublic; second, the public has a chance to assess thevalidity of the methods used in conducting theopinion polls; and third, the public is made ade-quately aware that opinion polls are in the natureof forecasts or predictions, and as such are liable toerror. Consequently, new sections 126C and 126Dshould be inserted in the RPA.� The trial of election petitions by the electionbench of the High Court should be expedited byproviding for daily trial; minimising adjourn-ments, with the possibility of imposing exemplarycosts; a time limit of 45 days to file a written state-ment, with a further extension of 15 days, afterwhich such right shall be forfeited.� Appeals to the Supreme Court should now onlybe on the basis of a question of law, instead of theearlier provision permitting questions of fact or lawas grounds for appeal. This appeal should be filedwithin 30 days of the High Court’s order, althoughan extension of a maximum of 30 more days can begranted, with nothing thereafter. The SupremeCourt should try and conclude the appeal withinthree months from the date of appeal. � Amend section 33(7) of the RPA, which permits acandidate to contest any election (parliamentary,

assembly, biennial council, or bye-elections) fromup to two constituencies. In view of the expenditureof time and effort; election fatigue; and the harass-ment caused to the voters, section 33(7) should beamended to permit candidates to stand from onlyone constituency.� Independent candidates be disbarred from con-testing elections because the current regime allowsa proliferation of independents, who are mostlydummy/non-serious candidates or those who stand(with the same name) only to increase the voters’confusion. Thus, sections 4 and 5 of the RPAshould be amended to provide for only politicalparties registered with the ECI under section 11(4)to contest Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections.

Here’s a final note from the Commission thatsums up the fate of this tough, no-nonsense report:“Justice Shah further said that after the submissionof Report No. 244, the commission circulatedanother questionnaire to all registered national andstate political parties seeking their views on tenpoints, the response received was not very encour-aging, though.”

[email protected]

| INDIA LEGAL | March 20, 2017 5

UNI

AN EXERCISE INEXTRAVAGANZAThe just-concluded UPassembly elections sawpolitical parties spendinghuge sums on campaigns

Unfortunately, the Law Commission has noindependent authority with legislative teethand the law ministry is not bound to heed itsrecommendations.

Contents

Star WarsThe grilling of finance minister Arun Jaitley by veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani in the HighCourt is fraught with personal enmity and could backfire on Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi CM

16LEAD

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6 March 20, 2017

Judge in the DockAnother judicial precedent has been set with the issuance of a bailable warrant by the topcourt against sitting Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan

14SUPREME COURT

Making Depositors PayWill targeting account holders and charging them transaction fees rescue banks from thedeepening crisis of bad loans amounting to a total loss of `10 lakh crore?

20ECONOMY

R E G U L A R S

Follow us on Facebook.com/indialegalmediaand Twitter.com/indialegalmedia

Ringside............................8Delhi Durbar......................9Courts .............................10Briefs........................13, 29Media Watch ..................49 Satire ..............................50

Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCECover Picture: RAJEEV TYAGI & ANIL SHAKYA

Ghost of AyodhyaWhat is the strategy of the Modi government in allowing the CBI to pursuethe Babri Majid demolition case?

42MY SPACE

NothingPresidentialAn online petition signed by 1.8 millionBritish citizens has urged their government not to hold a state visit forDonald Trump for his “well-documentedmisogyny and vulgarity”

46


Relief for the HeartA PIL has led the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to cap the price ofstents. Stent-makers and hospitals must display the new prices on their websites

CONSUMER

A More Inclusive JusticeTo help the middle class, the apex court has started a mecha-nism whereby it can hire experienced lawyers at a nominal cost

FOCUS

30

GLOBAL TRENDS

38

Fight to Be BackwardA PIL has challenged the Haryana Backward Classes Act whichprovides quotas to Jats, putting them back on the warpath

STATES

32 Murky Waters In a surprising U-turn, India has decidedto hold talks with Pakistan on the IndusWater Commission. It will attend a meeting in Lahore later this month

44DIPLOMACY

“Curtail Money Power”MS Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner who introducedelectronic voting machines, talks about electoral reforms

26INTERVIEW

Poor Promise KeeperWhile the apex court takes its own time to decide on Aadhaar’sconstitutionality, the government has breached its word

24GOVERNANCE

World’s Top Meth LabA US administration report just indicted India for being a top illicit drug producingcountry, demonetisation notwithstanding

LAW ENFORCEMENT

34

8 March 20, 2017

“

RINGSIDE

“All along in my career, there were many peoplewho had doubted the way I have gone about my

game. Even now there are doubters and haters allaround, but I always believed in my heart that if

I work 120 per cent everyday in my life I amanswerable to no one.”

—Team India captain Virat Kohli, on winning the Polly Umrigar award in Bangalore,

in The Indian Express

“This is a wake-up call forthe government not toalienate the Muslimswhen it comes to provid-ing equal rights andopportunity. The govern-ment needs to be moreinclusive. Fanatics of anysorts are a problem.”

—Congress leaderDigvijaya Singh, on thebusting of a terror modulein Lucknow, in The Timesof India

“Most of the regional andnational parties, includingCongress, have become privatefamily properties and arebeyond redemption. Thus, anewcomer who is interested injoining politics will not fit intoany of these parties as he wouldhave to praise the head or otherleaders in the party.”

—Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti, at afunction celebrating 50 years ofDravidian rule in Tamil Nadu

“When you are 16 or 17 you arealso hormonally very chal-lenged. So to protect you fromyour own hormonal outbursts,perhaps a Lakshman Rekha isdrawn. It really is for your ownsafety.”

—Union Minister for Womenand Child Development ManekaGandhi, justifying early hostelcurfew for girls, on NDTV

“The new wave of femi-nism is aggressive anddestructive.... I am ahousewife and wear that label with pride.Why can’t you be anaccomplished homemaker?”

—Actor Shahid Kapoor’swife Mira Rajput, speak-ing at an event on theoccasion of Women’s Day

“I use every cardpossible. At theworkplace, it’s thebadass card to fightcut-throat competi-tion. With my fami-ly and loved ones,it’s the love card.When fighting theworld, it’s the digni-ty card, and for aseat in a bus, it’s thewoman card. Whatis important tounderstand is thatwe are not fightingpeople, we are fight-ing a mentality. Iam not fightingKaran Johar, I am fighting malechauvinism.”

—Actor KanganaRanaut, counteringKaran Johar’s claimof her using thewoman card, inMumbai Mirror

Delhi DurbarAn inside track on

happenings in Lutyen’s Delhi

There is a great deal of speculation andpuzzlement over Priyanka Gandhi’s blink-and-miss-it poll campaign in her mother’sconstituency of Rae Bareli, and why SoniaGandhi did not campaign at all. In fact,the reasons are connected. Priyanka hadto cut short her campaign after just onepublic appearance to look after her moth-er—literally. Sonia Gandhi’s physicalmovements are severely restricted as sheis facing a relapse of her shoulder problem. She had surgery on her shoulderlast August in Ganga Ram Hospital and

was discharged, but it has started causingher medical problems, including severepain. So severe that she has now flown tothe US to combine this treatment with herregular check-up.


The results of the assembly pollswill bring an added bonus if theBJP were to do well. A win in UPwill not just give the prime ministerthe freedom to pursue his agenda,whatever it may be, but also allowhim his choice of the next candi-date for President. PranabMukherjee’s terms ends in July anda big win in UP will give the NDAenough votes to dictate theirchoice for his replacement. TheNDA has enough votes in the twohouses of parliament to ensuretheir choice for vice-president, cru-cial since the VP presides over theRajya Sabha where the BJP is in aminority. Modi would dearly love tosee the back of Pranabda, whohas, on occasion, voiced a viewcontrary to that of the government.

NITI Aayog’s Three Year ActionPlan kicks in from March 31.According to sources, the rush ofministers and bureaucrats fromstates seeking funds will take offafter the assembly results are inon March 11. Hectic lobbying ispredicted as, under the newscheme, states will not only haveto make a strong case for allot-ment of funds but have to subjectthemselves to central scrutinyfrom the word go. Under the neworder, if money is not utilised bystate governments, the alloca-tions will immediately dry up. “Thepractice of auditing accounts afterfive years will not be followed any-more. The mantra that NITIAayog’s vice-chairman ArvindPanagariya has asked everyoneto follow is to stop the tap if thefunds are not being used,” saidan official.

ELECTION BONUS

The Trump administration’ssloppy start in office extendsto its diplomatic corps. Theday he was sworn in,ambassadors appointed byBarack Obama were askedto put in their papers. Thishas left many key capitalswithout an ambassador,including New Delhi, whichis being manned, or wom-anned, by Charge d’AffairesMaryKay Loss Carlson, sinceRichard Varma has left.Trump’s favourite “Hindu”Shalabh Kumar, wasrumoured to be the nextappointee but it seems tohave fallen between themany cracks being exposed.

TAILPIECE

THREE YEAR PLAN

RAMJAS EFFECT

THE MISSINGMOTHER-DAUGHTER

The Delhi police and theUnion Home Ministryhave been working over-time in ensuring that“sensitive” functions arecancelled or postponedin the national capital.Call it the Ramjas Effectbut the recent studentprotests have forced theauthorities to see red.So the March 6 discus-sion at Oxford BookStore on activist TeestaSetalvad’s recently pub-lished memoir, FootSoldier of theConstitution, was pre-dictably called offbecause it was “uncom-fortably close to theforthcoming (local bod-ies) polls in Delhi”. Thebook, as we all know,has details about the2002 Gujarat riots

which is not particularlyBJP-friendly. Two daysprior to that, a conclaveat the Delhi College ofArts and Commerce waspostponed. The theme,“Rights of the IndianYouth and Duties of theState”, was deemedsensitive. The event wasscheduled to beaddressed by RajyaSabha MP KTS Tulsi,Swaraj India presidentYogendra Yadav, formerRAW chief AS Dulat.The thumb rule if youare an eventmanager/organiser inDelhi is to wait till theRamjas Effect wears offand Big Brother tires ofwatching you beforedrawing up any sched-

ule or sending outinvites.

The Supreme Court directedthe centre not to submit an

updated account of the pro-ceedings of an internationalarbitration tribunal adjudicatingthe Italian marines’ case afterevery three months,.

The Court instead instruct-ed the centre to submit thereport only after the tribunal of the United Nations Law ofSea arrives at a final verdict.

The Italian marinesMassimiliano Latorre andSalvatore Girone had beenaccused of killing two Indianfishermen off the Kerala coastin 2012.

The case is with the tribu-nal, which is yet to reach aconclusion as to whether Indiais well within its rights to putthem on trial.

The Court, however, askedthe centre to keep updatingthe Kerala government on themovement of the case.

Latorre had returned toItaly in 2014 following astroke and the Supreme Courtgranted him bail in September2016, permitting him to stayin Italy. The other marineGirone was allowed to goback to Italy in May 2016 bythe Court, which had taken ahumanitarian view in his case.

Do not submitupdated reporton Marines

The recurrent issue of frivolousPILs was taken up again by the

Supreme Court. Taking a strongstand, it instructed all courts toslap “exemplary costs” on peoplewho file such petitions.

The Court observed thatupholding the sanctity of the judi-cial process was paramount andfor doing so, such practices must bedealt with an iron hand. Litigants can’tbe allowed to “take liberties with thetruth” or play with “procedures of thecourt”, it said.

The Court pointed out that “frivolousand groundless filing constitute a seri-ous menace to the administration ofjustice”. Time and infrastructure are

needlessly wasted in dealing with suchpetitions, it felt.

The Court’s observation came whiledeciding a case in which a tenant hadunnecessarily filed applications with themotive to ensure that an order of theBombay High Court on his evictioncould not be implemented. The tenantwas also slapped with a fine of `5 lakh.

Deal sternly withuseless PILs: SC

The Supreme Court agreed to exam-ine whether an independent probe

team was needed to investigate thepanama Papers case but pointed outthat it would first assess the progressmade by the present investigators. Thecentre had already formed a team com-prising officials from the Central Boardof Direct Taxes, RBI, Enforcement

Directorate and theFinance IntelligentUnit to investigatethe case. Six probereports have alreadybeen prepared bythe team.

A PIL filed byadvocate ML Shar-ma pleaded for afresh and separateprobe as he was notsatisfied with the

probe ordered by the centre. He pointedout that the names of close to 500 top-notch Indians had surfaced and dem-anded that they be tried under thePrevention of Corruption Act andPrevention of Money Laundering Act.He asked for a probe under the directsupervision of the Court.

The centre pleaded that there wasno need for an independent probe andthe Court should first go through thereports before arriving at any conclu-sion. The Court then asked the centre to hand over all the reports in a sealedenvelope within four weeks. The matterwill be taken up again on April 18.

Courts

10 March 20, 2017

SC rules onPanamaPapers

Delhi university professor GN Saibabaand four others were awarded life

imprisonment by a Maharashtra Court.The Court held them guilty of “wagingwar” against India and having connec-tions with CPI (Maoist), which isbanned. The professor had been arrest-ed in May 2014 but was out on bailsince June 2016. The accused wereawarded a lifer under Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The Court even observed that con-sidering their offense, life imprisonmentwas not an adequate punishment but itcould not do much as it had to followSections 18 and 20 of UAPA. The factthat Saibaba is wheelchair-bound did notsoften the Court which felt that “he ismentally fit”.

Saibaba given life imprisonment

The Army’s plea seeking a reversal ofan earlier Supreme Court order on

Summary Court Martial (SCM) wasturned down by the top court. The apexcourt had categorically ruled in July2016 that SCM could take place only inrare situations and the need for doing somust be put down in writing.

The Army had pleaded that the rulesof the Army Act did not permit recordingof the reasons for an SCM. The Court,however, stuck to its stand.

SCM only in rare situations

Considering that nothing hadbeen done so far to review

the salary of judges of thesubordinate judiciary, theSupreme Court observed thata new commission must beset up to deal with the issue and toformulate guidelines.

The Court had in the 1990s setup the Shetty Commission for deter-mining the pay structure of the sub-ordinate judiciary. The Commissionhad even submitted its report on thepay structure of judicial officers oflower courts in November 1999.

The Court felt that another com-mission on similar lines needed to be formed.

The Court’s response came whiledealing with a petition filed by AllIndia Judges Association. It had in

2015 asked the high courts, thestates and the centre to respond onthe matter.

The counsel for the petitionerpleaded that there was still no differ-ence in the pay structure of the judi-cial officers of the subordinate judici-ary. The centre argued that it was upto the states to take up the issue asthe subject fell in their jurisdiction.

The Court also noted that manystates and high courts have notresponded on the matter despite get-ting notices and ordered that noticesbe served to them again. The matterwill be taken up in April.

New pay slabsfor subordinatejudiciary

The Supreme Court was upset thatmuch was being made out of its

order related to Samajwadi partyleader Gayatri Prajapati, a minister inthe UP cabinet, who was accused ofgang-raping a woman along with hisassociates.

The Court observed that it had

only ordered the filing of an FIRagainst him and did not ask for hisarrest. It therefore struck down a pleafrom Prajapati seeking a stay on hisarrest and also did not consider hisrequest to rescind the FIR order.

An FIR was lodged as per thecourt’s order but he was still abs-conding when this report was filed.

The Court, however, observedthat in case Prajapati was apprehend-ed, he could seek bail from a courtwhere the matter would come up.

Prajapati’s counsels argued thatthere was a strong feeling that thetop court was monitoring a probeinto the matter and as a result,Prajapati had no chance of gettingrelief from any court whatsoever. TheSC, however, vehemently rejectedsuch a notion and clarified that it wasnot overseeing any such probe. Italso took objection to “politicalcolours” being attributed to the issue.

Do not politiciseGayatri matter


Modernisation of jails in Maharashtrawas taken up recently by the Bom-

bay High Court. It asked the state gov-ernment to make efforts within threemonths for building additional jails inMumbai and Pune and laid specialemphasis on Byculla and Arthur Roadjails in Mumbai and the Yerawada pri-son in Pune.

The High Court also ruled that themulti-member committee being set up bythe state government must also have awell-known architect and a famous per-

son from public health on its panel. Thecommittee is being formed by the stategovernment to suggest steps for mod-ernising jails in Maharashtra.

The Court’s direction on the threejails stemmed from adverse reports ontheir condition.

Modernise jails inMaharashtra

Chief Justice of India, JS Khehar, madesome important observations on cri-

mes against women at a seminar organ-ised by the SC’s Gender Sensitisationand Internal Complaints Committee, onthe International Women’s Day.

Justice Khehar said that tough lawsalone would not solve the problem and

the mindset towards women needed asea change. “A man goes outside hishouse as per his will but the wife goesoutside after taking permission. A manspends money as he chooses but hiswife spends as per his nod. A man isconsidered to be the master of the housebut not his wife...” he said.

Society must cater to the disadvan-taged, as crimes against womenemanate from its lower rung, he said.

Change mindsetabout women

The Bar Council of India’s (BCI)rule to set the upper age limit for

law students was stayed by the Sup-reme Court. According to the BCI, 22years was the age limit for thoseseeking the five-year LLB coursewhile 45 years was the cap for thoseapplying for the three-year course.

The Court observed that on theface of it the rule seemed illogicaland absurd and may discourage stu-dents to opt for law. It also decidedto consider whether the rule wasappropriate as per the constitution.

Bar Council rulesstayed

— Compiled by Prabir Biswas

Courts

Former BCCI president Anurag Thakurapologised before the Supreme Court

with reference to the contempt chargesinitiated against him. The apology was“unconditional and unqualified”. The top

court will now take up the contemptcase on April 17, but Thakur’s physicalpresence on that day is not required asper its order. He had apologised earlierafter perjury charges were launchedagainst him by the apex court.

Thakur and the-then secretary ofBCCI, Ajay Shirke were asked to stepdown by the Supreme Court for tryingto block the implementation of theLodha reforms seeking cleaning up of

the cricket board. They were held guiltyof contempt and perjury by the Court.

In another judgment, the apex courtasked the new panel of BCCI administra-tors to clear funds for the Delhi andDistrict Cricket Association (DDCA), provided the authorities concerned gavethe green signal.

Anurag Thakur apologises in SC

The days when high-end and well-known clients could bypass the

queue for listing of cases and gettheir cases heard on a priority basisby hiring top-notch lawyers could beover. The incumbent Chief Justice ofIndia JS Khehar has taken strongobjection to the practice. He insiststhat first-come-first-serve basisshould be the norm.

The issue came up in the Ansalbrothers’ case where Ram Jethma-lani pleaded for an urgent hearing ofthe issue of jail term for Gopal Ansal.The court stood by the registry’sobjection that the matter could not belisted for March 3.

No out-of-turnhearings

12 March 20, 2017

One of the key campaign promises ofUS President Donald Trump was of

repealing Obamacare, which wassharply ctiticised by the Republicans

when it passed into law in 2010under President Barack Obama.The American Health Care Act,which the Republican partyoffers in its place, among otherthings, will affect funding forplanned parenthood. Even asRepublicans claim that a spike ininsurance premiums resulted injob losses for many Americans,Obamacare has been creditedwith helping 20 million peopleacquire health coverage. The

freeze on Obamacare is expected tocome into effect on January 1, 2020. Ifthe Congress clears it, it will need to bereviewed by two House committees.

Donald Trump has signed arevised travel ban revoking an

earlier executive order that hadprompted instant chaos. The newban blocks entryof citizens from sixof the seven Muslim countriesnamed in the original order—Iran,Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria andLibya; Iraq has been removed fromthe list. A 120-day suspension ofthe refugee programme and anannual cap on America’s refugee intakehas remained unchanged. However,Syrian refugees will not be subjected to an

indefinite ban. Refugee advocacy groupswill challenge it in court as the intent to discriminate against Muslims is still present.

Foreigners involved in anti-Israel boycott will now be denied entry

into Israel as per a bill passed by its parliament. The new legislation, however, does not apply to Israeli citizens or foreigners who alreadyhave permanent residency in thecountry. Thousands of supporters ofthe boycott around the world seeIsrael’s continued occupation of landwhere millions of Palestinians resideas a threat to the country’s Jewishand democratic character. In responseto the new bill, Omar Barghouti, afounder of the boycott movement saidIsrael’s reaction is “self-defeating”.

—Compiled by Karan Kaushik and Shailaja Parmanathan

Telecom regulatorTRAI is planning

to unshackle Wi-Fideployment acrossIndia by allowingindividuals, commu-nities, small-time

entrepreneurs and content and appli-cation providers to offer affordable andhigh-speed internet to the public. Theplan is to provide internet for 2 paiseper MB against the existing rates ofaround 10 paise in the mobile telecommarket, which will ease access to Wi-Fi. TRAI also feels that the WI-Fi net-work can help take the load off fromchoked telecom operators, who arebattling poor quality and slow broad-band speeds.

TRAI planning to make Wi-Fi cheaper

Briefs

India and other members of the G4have offered to initially give up their

veto powers as permanent members ina reformed United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC) as a bargaining chipto get the reform process moving.India’s permanent representative SyedAkbaruddin (above) has said at theInternational GovernmentalNegotiations (IGN) on UN SecurityCouncil reforms that “the issue of vetois important but we should not allow itto have a veto over the process ofCouncil reform itself ”. He said thatwhile the new permanent memberswould in principle have veto powersthat the current five have, they shallnot exercise the veto until a decisionon the matter has been taken during areview. India, Brazil, Germany andJapan constitute the G4, which is lob-bying for UNSC reforms.

One step backward

Israel closes borders

Amended travel ban


Adieu Obamacare

Supreme Court/ Justice CS Karnan

14 March 20, 2017

HE Justice CS Karnancontempt case has blownup to be a huge embar-rassment for the judiciary.It has also become verycomplicated. On March

10, the patience that had restrained theSupreme Court’s seven-judge benchfrom taking strong action againstJustice Karnan, a sitting judge of theCalcutta High Court, wore thin. As aresult, a bailable warrant was issuedagainst the judge. The bail was set at`10,000 and the Director General of

Police (DGP), West Bengal, was asked toserve the warrant.

According to the former acting chiefjustice of the Gauhati High Court,Justice K Sreedhar Rao: “He (JusticeKarnan) is adamant and foolish. Heshould not have stayed away. He shouldhave appeared before the bench andpresented his side of the story. Truth is avalid defence and showing disrespect tothe court is not.”

Speaking to India Legal, Justice Rao also said: “It has become morecomplicated now, with Justice Karnanapproaching the President of India,Pranab Mukherjee, to get this arrestwarrant cancelled.”

Justice Rao explained that it is not asthough Justice Karnan would be “arrest-ed”, creating a spectacle. When the DGPhands over the warrant, he has to paythe requisite `10,000 bail, sign a per-sonal bond and that would be it. He hasto thereafter appear before the apexcourt bench on the set date, which isMarch 31.

However, what will happen if JusticeKarnan fails to appear before the bench—comprising Chief Justice of India(CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar andJustices Dipak Misra, J Chelameswar,Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur, PinakiChandra Ghose and Kurian Joseph—even on March 31? “Then he will have to be arrested on a non-bailable war-rant,” Justice Rao said. That would cer-tainly be a spectacle.

Justice Karnan has maintained thathe is being harassed by other judgesbecause he is a Dalit, and that this is

JusticeDelayed

The sitting judge of theCalcutta High Courtappeals to the Presidentas the apex court issues a bailable warrant against himBy Sujit Bhar

TTwitter/ANI

“corruption” charges against 20 formerSupreme Court judges and sittingMadras High Court judges. He hadmade these allegations in a letter toPrime Minister Narendra Modi, askinghim to order an inquiry.

There is a possibility that JusticeKarnan is apprehensive that apart fromthe contempt case, another serious case,one of harassment, might come upagainst him during the hearing in front of the bench. The wife of Justice S Manikumar, a sitting judge of MadrasHigh Court—a court where JusticeKarnan served before being transferredto Calcutta—had approached theSupreme Court with the charge thatJustice Karnan was “continuouslyharassing” her and her family, as well asmaking baseless allegations against herhusband. She had accused JusticeKarnan of making “abusive” telephonecalls and sought the protection of theSupreme Court. This could be interpret-ed as sexual harassment, which could, initself, be disastrous for Justice Karnan.

Whatever the outcome, this will re-main a legal case that every law studentand practitioner will have to read.


basically a caste-based assessment. He has been playing the Dalit card allalong, which probably is one reason why the top judiciary is treading cau-tiously in the case.

This is a first in Indian judicial his-tory, as was the contempt casestarted against him by the apex

court on February 8. And it isn’t a goodprecedent. On March 10, AttorneyGeneral (AG) Mukul Rohatgi told theSupreme Court that notice was servedon Justice Karnan to be present, “but heis not present”. The AG also said that hehad learnt from newspaper reports thatJustice Karnan had passed an “order”even after “the order of this court”.

The SC had ordered that JusticeKarnan should not be allowed to handleany administrative or judicial work andthat all his files should be taken awayand placed with the Registrar.

The CJI said on March 10: “This maybe a prank, because the judge hasrequested to restore his administrativeand judicial charges.”

The AG said he had called up theCalcutta High Court, “but the registrarof the court said he has not seen it (therequest by Justice Karnan). The factremains that he has not appeared. If youdon’t appear then bailable or non-bail-able warrant should be issued.”

Rohatgi also said: “Office recordshows that notice was served. He haswritten one or two letters but it did nottalk about his appearance. I was infor-med by a newspaper that the judge haspassed an order. The order is not signed.It is a 10-page order, no parties. Facts ofthe case are that it is a lecture of somekind, that the judiciary should be free of corruption.”

The order that ensued was: “Noticewas served... Justice Karnan is not there.Neither... in person nor through... coun-sel. Hence this registry of this courtshall send a fax message fixing a meet-ing of the CJI with other judges of thiscourt to discuss some administrativeissues, which primarily reflect certainallegations on certain judges. A letter

received earlier (from Justice Karnan)cannot be treated as a reply.

“In view of the above there is noalternative. We issue a bailable warrantin sum of `10,000 in a nature of person-al bond with satisfaction of arrestingofficer,” the order said.

This is “so as to ensure the presenceof Justice Karnan on March 31 at 10.30am. We appreciate that the bailable war-rant shall be served to Justice Karnan bythe Director General of Police.”

In February, the Supreme Court hadcreated history by issuing a con-tempt notice to Justice Karnan,

again a first. It was a measured reactionto Justice Karnan’s levelling unfounded

On March 10, the patience thathad restrained the Supreme

Court’s sevenjudge bench fromtaking strong action against

Justice Karnan, a sitting judgeof the Calcutta High Court,

wore thin.

IN THE CENTRE OF THE STORM: Justice Karnan is a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court

42 March 6, 2017

Lead/ Jethmalani Vs Jaitley

The Delhi High Court was recently transfixed by the fierce barbs thrown by these two veteran lawyers at each other as they argued over a defamation case

involving Delhi’s chief minister Arvind KejriwalBy Sujit Bhar

was the mother of all courtroombattles. On one side was the iras-cible, spunky nonagenarian RamJethmalani, a battle-scarred veter-an of countless legal encounters.On the other, the smooth-talking

and all-powerful Arun Jaitley, whoselegal career has been largely overshad-owed by his political one. Over the lastweek, the country—and the politico-legal fraternity—has been in turns,transfixed, amused and shocked by thebattle of wits in Court Number 13 at theDelhi High Court complex.

Jethmalani spent two days in relent-less cross-examination of Jaitley in alibel case that the latter had filed agai-nst Delhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal. Jethmalani, who normally

Battle of theLegal Eagles

I

Rajeev Tyagi

| INDIA LEGAL | March 6 , 2017 43

charges anything between `20 lakh to`25 lakh per appearance (he is the high-est-paid lawyer in the country), hascharged a token amount of `1 to repre-sent Kejriwal in the case. It is a crimi-nal-cum-civil suit of defamation—theclaim is a stupendous `10 crore—againstKejriwal, for allegedly defaming him inpublic (reportedly at meetings and evenat press conferences), causing grievousharm to his reputation. The case is lar-gely to do with Jaitley’s stewardship ofthe Delhi & District Cricket Association.

HISTORY OF RIVALRYWhat makes the case more intriguingand captivating is that the two celebri-ties have a history of rivalry, even enmi-ty, largely to do with the fact thatJethmalani believes that Jaitley wasbehind his removal as Union law minis-ter in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee govern-ment. That added considerable fire-works and a personal element to thethrust and parry that was witnessedthrough March 6 and 7 at the Court (itwill continue on May 15 and 17).

In terms of drama and the rapier-likethrusts, the courtroom encounter mayhave made it as a textbook reference forlaw students but for the seeminglyuncontrollable barbs directed at Jaitleyby Jethmalani, who also resorted occa-sionally to raising his voice. That hasturned a legal landmark case into onetainted by the personal relationshipbetween baiter and baited.

To his credit, Jaitley, in the face ofsuch a concerted attack, managed tokeep his cool and even restrained hisown lawyers when they shoutedback, answering several questionshimself. Being a senior advocatehimself makes a great deal of differ-ence. The drama surrounding thiscase is fetching Jethmalani a larder

full of great headlines in the media, butaccording to one expert, “one mustremember that the court sees all hiscomments as Kejriwal’s, because theDelhi Chief Minister has signed thevakalatnama and has given Jethmalanithe brief to represent him. Adverse com-ments will be attributed to Kejriwal,even if Jethmalani had made them incourt”. While Jaitley wants to be com-pensated in good measure for what heclaims is loss of reputation, Jethmalaniseems to have found this extraordinaryopportunity to hit back for past loss ofhis own reputation, for which he holdsJaitley responsible.

For the 93-plus Jethmalani, it seemsrevenge is a dish best served cold. Andwhen revenge is the objective, personal

animosity colours what could be a fasci-nating legal case, filed by one politicianagainst another. According to a seniorlawyer who wished to remain anony-mous, this was a wrong tactic byJethmalani. He seems to have jumped at the opportunity to grill Jaitley.

COOL JAITLEYIn a recent interview in Scroll,Jethmalani claimed that Kejriwal hadapproached him to represent him in thecase. However, according to a seniorIndia Legal source, who knows bothJethmalani and Jaitley well, it was theother way round. While certain sectionsof the questioning do show his brilliantlegal mind, some comments he madewere avoidable and could cost him

SArun Jaitley (left) maintainedhis calm in the court in theface of ceaseless barbsfrom Ram Jethmalani

According to a veteranlawyer, most of the questions thatJethmalani asked Jaitleyhad nothing to do withthe defamation case.

when the final verdict is delivered. Saida veteran lawyer: “Most of the questionsthat Jethmalani asked Jaitley had noth-ing to do with the defamation case. Thishas just shown how vindictive he is.Later, I met him at his (Jethmalani’s)place and he himself said that he hadnot expected Jaitley to be so cool aboutit and not lose his temper. He said hewas, frankly, surprised.”

The source maintains that this was a clever ploy. Had Jaitley lost his cool,Jethmalani would have insisted that thiswas a necessary line and could have dra-gged the case on. Jaitley, on the otherhand, is clearly keen on a quick decision.

Jethmalani has carried his ire from

18 March 20, 2017

Question: Are you aware that I advisedMr. Narendra Modi not to set you up as acandidate from the Amritsar seat?Court observation: Question disallowedas is irrelevant to the issues framed.

Question: Is it correct that it was for thefirst time that you put your reputation totest in a public election in a democraticmanner while contesting from Amritsar? Answer: An election result is the outcomeof several factors prevailing in the con-stituency and not merely a test of a can-

didate's reputation considering that thedefendant no.1 lost the same Lok Sabhaelection in 2014 by 3.5 lacs votes. It iscorrect that I lost the Lok Sabha electionfrom Amritsar by a margin of more thanone lac votes. In 2014, I was a memberof Rajya Sabha with 4 more years to go.….by the time the present Prime Ministerwas sworn in office I had already severedmy links both with the DDCA and BCCI.

Question: Please go through the docu-ment Mark D-1/A and tell whether

the contents of the letter are correct or false?Answer: This letter is written in 2015 eventhough I had ceased to be the Presidentof DDCA in 2013. I strongly deny the con-tents of this letter in so far as they pertainto me. Neither as a Minister nor as theLeader of Opposition, did I prevail uponany Ministry or Department of theGovernment to do anything wrong orimproper in relation to DDCA. …

Question: The Defendant no.1 (Kejriwal)had commented on this statement asserious allegation. What do you have to say? Answer: Defendant no.1 has committeda serious act of libel through his mali-

Excerpts from the cross-examinationWhat transpired in Court Number 13 in the defamation case

the day he was sacked as law minister.He said in an interview that he wasasked to resign by Vajpayee while hewas in his car on a highway. He said thathe would from the first PCO he couldfind on the road. One version is thatJethmalani had actually asked for timetill the next morning, which Vajpayeerefused. He eventually faxed his resigna-tion from the first PCO he came across.He has not forgotten that day. Asked inthe interview why Jaitley would want tohave him evicted from the BJP in 2013,Jethmalani said: “You see, all these crea-tures don’t want anyone who is intellec-tually superior to them. They managedmy expulsion from the BJP.”

PERSONAL BATTLESJethmalani has a chequered historywhere personal relations have often dic-tated his strategy and acceptance of acase. A lawyer who knows him well said:“It has been a trait of Jethmalani to hitback in every issue where he has had totake a backseat or has been defeated.Think of his handling of Bollywood starSanjay Dutt’s TADA case of 1993. Whatwas found at Dutt’s house was not theAK-56 that Dutt had confessed to havebought for personal safety. What wasfound was a spring of a gun, possiblynot even of an AK-56. Yet, Jethmalanihad persuaded Sanjay to confess. Lat-er, Jethmalani went to Sanjay and

FACING DEFAMATIONDelhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, whose

case Jethmalani is arguing in theDelhi High Court (right), might be

the end loser in this battle

Lead/ Jethmalani Vs Jaitley

confessed that he had done this toavenge the election loss (Bombay elec-tions) to Sanjay’s father, Sunil Dutt in1984. This goes to say how long he cancarry a scar”.

Another senior lawyer told IndiaLegal: “The way I see it, Jaitley has beenthe man winning so far in the cross-examination, whatever the headlinesmay say. And Kejriwal, possibly, is get-ting deeper and deeper into a hole with-out even realising it. He has to realisethat nobody, certainly not Jaitley or hislawyers, ever brought up any of the per-sonal weaknesses of Jethmalani, whichhe has. Neither have they made any per-sonal attack on Kejriwal. Jaitley and his

lawyers have stuck to the case preciselythe legit way.”

The reference was to the remark thatJethmalani made on Jaitley’s defeat byover a lakh votes in the 2014 Punjabelections to former Congress chief min-ister Amarinder Singh. That was thefirst time Jaitley had contested elec-tions. Jethmalani used this to try andprove that the first public test of good-will that Prime Minster Narendra Modiput Jaitley to, the minister lost. “Theimplication being that public goodwillwas not anything Jaitley had to startwith, anyway,” the expert said.

RAZOR-SHARP JETHMALANIJethmalani’s cross-examination has hithome when it comes to facts and fig-ures, since he is known as a man whodoes his homework. His barbs onJaitley’s assets, for instance, were basedon declarations and an Association forDemocratic Reforms report, but it failedto have the desired effect, namely Jait-ley’s reputation.

One legal source pointed out thatJethmalani had once approached Jaitleyto get a former bureaucrat’s suspensionlifted (the retired bureaucrat is helpingJethmalani in this case), at which Jaitleyhad thrown up his hands saying it wasbeyond him. That was, again, a setbackfor the veteran lawyer and one he hasclearly not forgotten or forgiven.

According to legal experts, in a defa-mation case, the only thing that mattersis the truth. All personal references areunnecessary. Since the case is aboutgoodwill, truth is the only way to estab-lish this. Vindictiveness and personalallegations go against the defense.

Despite that, Jaitley was often on thebackfoot during the cross-examination.Jethmalani did refer to the DDCA caseoften, and tried to establish how Jaitleywas associated with corruption in thecricket body. This was one episode inJaitley’s career that will not add to hispublic image.

At the same time, Jethmalani may befiring from Kejriwal’s shoulders, but thatdoes not mean his own position has

remained unassailable. Jethmalani hadonce admitted privately that he needsthe protection of a Rajya Sabha mem-bership every six years. In fact, it wasJaitley who got him a Rajya Sabha seat and then Lalu Prasad Yadav obliged too.

Another source reveals that whenSanjay Dutt wanted a Rajya Sabha seatfrom Uttar Pradesh, Jethmalani app-roached Amar Singh, who openly saidhe was against it. Sanjay’s name wasdropped. There are also rumours inlegal circles that Jethmalani had writtento Sonia Gandhi, offering his services ascounsel in the Robert Vadra land case.He is believed be looking at theCongress for a Rajya Sabha seat.

In a recent interview, Jethmalani hadsaid that he was sitting in the departurelounge of God, and at this age, he had no desire for anything. Except revenge,it seems.

That is not good news, in legal terms,for the man who is missing in the court-room—Arvind Kejriwal.


cious falsehood, falsely alleging that mywife and daughter are linked to fake com-panies, it was not only false but taking thepublic discourse to a very low level.

Question: The originator Ms. MadhuKishwar, you dare not to sue. What doyou have to say? Answer: Many people on the socialmedia make irresponsible statementsabout people in public life but when aChief Minister endorses them, it becomesa grave and serious matter. Even falseallegations gain credibility. Repetition oflibelous statement gives me a cause ofaction against the person, particularly ifhe has stature, to take action against thesaid person.

SETTLING SCORES?: Jethmalani reportedlypersuaded Sanjay Dutt to confess possessingan AK-56 for safety, as he had lost to hisfather, Sunil Dutt, in the 1984 elections

OLD SCARS: It was then Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee who had forced Jethmalani toresign as law minister

UN

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Economy/ Banking System

20 March 20, 2017

Will targeting account holders and charging them fees rescue banks from the crisis of bad loansamounting to a total loss of `10 lakh crore for which they themselves are responsible?By Ajith Pillai

ESPITE the rosy butquestionable statisticalhalo of 7 percent GDPgrowth in October-December 2016 post-demonetisation, all is not

well with the Indian economy. And atthe core of the dark side of the fiscalstory is the banking system reelingunder the weight of Non-Performing

Assets (NPAs) amounting to `6.97 lakhcrore if both private and public banksare included. The exposure of PSUbanks alone to bad loans is `6.4 lakhcrore. That is a whopping 56 percentincrease in 2016 from the year beforeand a 135 percent hike in the last twofiscals. To this, if you add the `4 lakhcrore written off since 2000, the weightof bad loans would touch `10 lakh crore.

The Customer is No Longer King

DEMONETISATIONQUEUES

Crowds outside a bank in Kolkata awaiting their turn

DUNI

But instead of addressing the core ofits balance sheet problem, namely NPAs,what are the banks doing? They are outon a mindless cost cutting/revenue gen-erating drive with account holders, whoprovide deposits that are the lifeblood ofbanks, as their targets. These haplesscitizens who endured the pain ofdemonetisation and have seen interestrates slide on their deposits will soon becharged for hitherto free services andvirtually forced to pay a fee should theyvisit the bank or withdraw money fromATMs more than the stipulated numberof times.

FRUSTRATING THE PUBLICIn fact, what upset bank customers noend was the announcement last weekthat major Indian banks, including SBI,ICICI, HDFC and Axis, have decided tocharge account holders for basic servic-es. The new parameters to come intoforce from April 1 vary from bank tobank (see box) but the message thatwent out was loud and clear—theaccount holder will no longer be kingin the post-demonetisation and cashless era.

The protest from consumers wasalmost instant. It did not spill out to thestreets but found expression on socialmedia. And as the news sinks in, morevisible protests are likely given that the

bank charges effect most ordinary citi-zens. Consumer forums may also takethe banks to court over the issue.

There is already a PIL pendingbefore the bench of the chief justice ofthe Delhi High Court challenging theunequal and discriminatory surchargelevied on payments made with creditand debit cards. Advocate Amit Sahniwho moved the PIL had initially filed anRTI query last year with the RBI inquir-ing about the total amount of surchargecollected across the country from con-sumers at fuel pumps. He also wanteddetails of the guidelines on paymentsthrough debit and credit cards. The RBIresponded that it did not have therequired information.

In his PIL, Sahni sought guidelinesfrom the government to prevent unlaw-ful and discriminatory surcharge ondebit and credit card transactions. TheRBI pleaded with the bench last week todismiss the PIL but the High Court haslisted it for hearing on July 12.Away from the court, discontent is


brewing. There is a post that has goneviral on social media calling for a boy-cott of banks on April 6. One will haveto see how the campaign picks up butcomments on social media indicate thatthe public is visibly angry. Here is asampling of the response on Twittercompiled by a business daily whichserves as a barometer of the prevailing mood:

“Charging 150 is fine, but can wehave working ATMs dispensing moneywith lights, security. — AD (@anaggh)With Rs 150 charge per transaction peo-ple will prefer keeping their money athome. Thank you Modi for taking Indiaback in to the 70’s Thakela(@babu_thakela) #Rs 150 to supportcashless transactions and #Rs 86 to sup-port Gas less cooking? Ache din :-( --TataraoTorlapati (@tptatarao) with Rs150 after 4th ATM withdrawal. Apnapaisa apnanaraha... iGREEN (@mdi-brahimkhan)”

The government is aware of the neg-ative public response. A finance ministryofficial told India Legal that an informalsuggestion was sent on March 6 to theSBI as well as private banks to “recon-sider charges on cash transactions andATM withdrawals above a certain limit”.It was also suggested that SBI “reviewits decision of imposing a penalty onnon-maintenance of minimum

Hapless citizens who endured thepain of demonetisation and haveseen interest rates slide on their

deposits will soon be charged forhitherto free services.

GOING THE E-WAY(Left) Passengers purchasing tickets at a cashless transactionscounter at Mumbai ra lway station; (above) a popular mall inNOIDA, NCR

UNI

Kh Manglembi

balance in accounts”.SBI, on its part, denied having

received any formal communique fromthe government and has justified itsdecision to impose a minimum balance.“Today, we have a lot of burden like 11crore Jan Dhan accounts. To managesuch a large number of accounts, weneed some charges. We have consideredmany factors and after careful analysiswe have taken this step,” SBI chairper-son Arundhati Bhattacharya told themedia on March 8.

The position of the private banks isequally clear. They claim that eachbanking transaction costs a bank about`50 when all overheads are taken into

account. On an average, banks (bothprivate and government) run up anannual bill of `21,000 crore as opera-tional costs and this, they feel, has to berecovered from customers. Aditya Puri,MD of HDFC Bank, was quoted as say-ing: “If you deposit exceptional amountof cash, it costs me. My teller has tocount, then it will be put in a safedeposit. Then you come to withdrawcash again, it costs me. Pay my cost. Iam not a free enterprise.”

It goes without saying that imposingadditional charges cannot rescue banksfrom the current NPA crisis. As thefinance ministry official said to IndiaLegal: “These charges amount to pre-

cious little when you look at the largerpicture of bank debts. It would serve nopurpose other than frustrating the pub-lic and making the banks feel goodabout not giving freebies. But in all this,one basic fact is being missed—withoutdepositors there would be no banks.”According to him, the priority area ofbanks should be to recover loans, ensurecredit offtake and serve customersrather than tax them further at thisjuncture.

He sees little logic in levying transac-tion charges other than earning a minis-cule amount of money while banks likeSBI (with whopping NPAs amounting to`1.08 lakh crore) are accruing hugeloses, thanks to debts. Not just that, themove of introducing additional chargesand minimum balance in accounts alsoserves as a disincentive to ordinary folkto deposit their money in banks. He alsonotes that the SBI as a leading PSUbank is setting a trend which otherbanks are likely to follow.

Former finance minister andCongress leader, P Chidambaram, wasat his cryptic best when he responded tothe new banking rules: “Bank chargesfor depositing cash and withdrawing itis a most retrograde step. Will banks behappy if customers withdraw cash inone go and keep it at home?” he asked.

When contacted, Ashok Ravat, mem-ber of the Mumbai-based All IndiaDepositors’ Association, was of the view

22 March 20, 2017

SBI�Free cash deposit thrice a month. `50plus service tax for every other transac-tion �A minimum balance required, failing

which there will be a fine. In cities, thepenalty is `100 plus service tax if the bal-ance falls below 75 percent of the mini-mum of `5,000*Withdrawal of cash from ATMs of otherbanks will be charged @`20 if the num-ber of transactions exceeds three. `10 formore than five withdrawals from SBIATMs

Axis Bank �Five free transactions every month,including deposits and withdrawals. `95per additional transaction �Five non-home branch transactions

free, subject to a maximum per-daydeposit of `50,000. For larger deposits orthe sixth transaction, the bank will charge`2.50 per `1,000, or `95 per transaction,whichever is higher

HDFC Bank �Four free deposits and withdrawalseach month. `150 for additional transac-tions. Charges applicable to savings andsalary accounts�For home-branch transactions, freedeposits or withdrawals per day of up to`2 lakh. Charges beyond this: `5 per`1,000

Variable New ChargesA close look at the upcomingcharges to be levied by banks:

THE LONG WAIT: People in front of RBI waiting to exchange their old currency

Economy/ Banking System

UNI

that the RBI must step in and regulatethe charges levied by banks. “When peo-ple are slowly moving towards the habitof banking, these charges will only turnthem away from it. I also feel that theRBI should start regulating the charges.How have the banks arrived at thesetransaction charges? They cannot befree to do whatever they please,” he said.

TRADERS’ WOESTraders who largely deal in cash havealso been protesting. BC Bhartia,national president and PraveenKhandelwal, secretary general, of theConfederation of All India Traders(CAIT) said in joint statement: “Levy ofsuch charges is a kind of financial ter-rorism on account holders. It can’t bethe way to encourage digital payments

by putting the people at the will andmercy of the banks. This move willgreatly harm the general public sincesavings and salary accounts are used by the common man to discharge vari-ous obligations.”

That Indian banks are in a mess iswell-known. It has been in steadydecline since the last 20 years. But tillrecently, it was fashionable among gov-ernment bankers to blame much of thebad loans on the social sector to whichthey had to lend on a priority basis asper government directives. This is apopular notion that needs to be com-pletely dispelled, says KC Chakraborty,former deputy director of the RBI from2009-2014.

He told India Legal: “When I waswith the RBI, I called for the figures—

for data—that is very important tounderstand the scale and nature of thedebt crisis. It was revealed that only 33percent of the loans are in the social sec-tor and 67 percent, in the non-prioritysector. As for NPAs, 80-85 percent arein the corporate sector. So when we say`6 lakh crore plus NPAs, we are mostlyreferring to the non-priority sector. Butthen, even this amount is not the fullpicture. What about restructured badloans under various categories—theseare not even considered to be NPAsalthough they are exactly that thoughlisted under various heads.”

Several solutions have been suggest-ed to rescue the banks. There is talk of diverting all the NPAs to a specialvehicle (bad bank) set up by the government. But such a move, manyfear, would lead to allegations that thestate is writing off debts to favourfriendly corporates.

The other proposal is to hand overthe bad loans to private asset restructur-ing companies to handle. But this wouldinvolve banks taking a major loss toarrive at a negotiated settlement. Thethinking is that once the toxic assets are removed, banks will sport clean balance books.

Interestingly, answers to the NPAproblem dont touch upon levying trans-action charges as a solution. It wouldindeed be as ridiculous as trying tomove a mountain with a single shovel.


ICICI Bank �Four transactions a month at branches in home city free.`5 per`1,000 will be charged thereafter subject to a minimum of `150 in one month �For non-home branches, no chargefor first cash withdrawal a month and ` 5 per `1,000 thereafter subject to aminimum of `150 � `5 per `1,000 (subject to a minimumof 150) at branches. At cash accept-ance machines, first cash deposit ofthe month free and `5 per`1,000 thereafter

“Bank charges fordepositing cash and with-drawing it is a most retro-grade step. Will banks behappy if customers ...keepcash at home?”P Chidambaram, formerUnion finance minister

“Today, we have a lot ofburden like 11 crore JanDhan accounts. To man-age such a large numberof accounts, we needsome charges.” Arundhati Bhattacharya,SBI chairperson

“If you deposit excep-tional amount of cash, itcosts me. My teller has tocount, then it will be putin a safe deposit...I amnot a free enterprise.” Aditya Puri, MD,HDFC Bank

WHAT’S NEXT? Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (fourth from left) at a high-level meeting UNI

Governance/ Government Scheme

24 March 20, 2017

AKING a public policy likethe Aadhaar scheme,which is under legal chal-lenge before the SupremeCourt, a fait accompli,

appears to be the current strategyadopted by the government. In this, theSupreme Court is seen as a hapless spec-tator since it has been unable to consti-tute a Constitution Bench, for want ofjudges, to expeditiously dispose of chal-lenges to the Aadhaar scheme.

Making Aadhaar mandatory for thestudents availing the Mid Day MealScheme in schools, as the Union HumanResources Development Ministryannounced on February 28, is one suchmanifestation of the strategy, which,seen with similar steps undertaken byother Union Ministries in recent weeks,

has raised concerns within the civil soci-ety about the government’s intentions.

The Mid Day Meal Scheme inschools, administered by the UnionHuman Resources DevelopmentMinistry, aims to improve nutritionalstatus of children studying in classes I toVIII by providing them hot cookedmeals during working days and duringsummer vacation in drought affectedareas. The scheme covers government orgovernment-aided schools, special train-ing centres, madrasas and schools sup-ported by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

AADHAAR MADE MANDATORYOn February 28, the HRD Ministryannounced that students desirous ofavailing the benefits under the Mid DayMeal Scheme, are required to furnish

proof of possession of Aadhaar numberor undergo Aadhaar authentication. Itsaid that those who do not possess anAadhaar number or have not yetenrolled for Aadhaar shall have to applyfor it by June 30, and produce a copy ofher/his request made for enrolment.The ministry asked the States and theUnion territory administrations to givethis notification wide publicity, and cre-ate Aadhaar enrolment facilities at con-venient locations.

No doubt, the beneficiaries of theMid Day Meal Scheme are given theoption of submitting alternative identifi-cation documents, in case they do notobtain the Aadhaar enrolment beforeJune 30. But these documents are per-missible only in addition to the proof ofrequest made for enrolment, makingit clear that the universalisation ofAadhaar enrolment is the government’s objective.

The HRD Ministry issued similarnotifications to ensure enrolment ofAadhaar for the beneficiaries of Saak-shar Bharat and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Earlier, the Ministry of Social Justiceand Empowerment, notified onFebruary 16 that whoever is desirous ofreceiving central scholarship benefit andare not yet enrolled for Aadhaar have toapply for enrolment by March 31, andprovide a copy of this request alongwith any one of the other specified identity proofs.

The ministry also issued similar noti-fications requiring Aadhaar enrolmentfor beneficiaries of the National ActionPlan for Skill Training of Persons withDisabilities and Scheme of Assistance toDisabled Persons for purchase and, or,

Exploiting the Delay The apex court’s inability to expeditiously decide on the Aadhaar scheme’s constitutionality hasallowed the government to violate with impunity the promise not to make it mandatory By Venkatasubramanian

M

IDENTITY PROOF A woman gets her

photo clicked to complete the

formalities required toget the Aadhaar card

csc.gov.


fitting of aids and appliances. Other ministries—Health and Family

Welfare, Labour and Employment, andWomen and Child Development madesimilar announcements by askingprospective beneficiaries of theirschemes to obtain enrolment within adeadline, or at least produce proof oftheir applying for it.

These announcements, all made inFebruary and March, raised privacy ofpersonal data concerns, which forcedthe Supreme Court to refer the initialchallenges to the Aadhaar Scheme to aConstitution Bench. Activists found itoutrageous that vulnerable groups likechildren in the 6-14 age group, womenrescued from sexual trafficking, and disabled persons seeking scholarships orstate-funded appliances are beingcoerced by the government to seekAadhaar enrolment.

MAKING IT IRREVERSIBLE That several ministries have madeenrolment near-mandatory around thesame time for extending benefits of itsschemes should make one wonder aboutits timing. The Supreme Court’s nine-Judge Constitution Bench is likely tobegin its hearing of the challenges toAadhaar on the grounds of right to pri-vacy, from April.

If the government is able to increaseAadhaar’s coverage of the populationsubstantially by then, the SupremeCourt may not find it feasible to reverseit. In that event, the case itself will

become infructuous, or even academicmerely looking at whether there isindeed a right to privacy for Indian citizens and whether it is a funda-mental right.

It is, therefore, interim relief fromthe Courts that the petitioners shouldhope for if they have to stop the govern-ment from going ahead with its univer-salisation of Aadhaar enrolment by cit-ing its legal obligation under theAadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financialand other Subsidies, Benefits andServices) Act, 2016, which came intoeffect from September 12, 2016.

“The use of Aadhaar as identifier fordelivery of services or benefits or subsi-dies simplifies the Government deliveryprocesses, brings in transparency andefficiency, and enables beneficiaries toget their entitlements directly in a con-venient and seamless manner. Aadhaarobviates the need for producing multipledocuments to prove one’s identity”, thegovernment routinely claims in everynotification requiring Aadhaar enrol-ment from different classes of its citi-zens, to avail benefits of its schemes.The requirement of Aadhaar enrolmentfor children’s Mid Day Meal Scheme, isclearly inconsistent with any of these

stated goals. The Supreme Court’s five-Judge Constitution Bench, as an interimmeasure, held on October 15, 2015 inPara-graph 5 as follows:

“The Aadhaar card scheme is purelyvoluntary and it cannot be mademandatory till the matter is finallydecided by this Court one way orthe other.”

The bench modified its August 11,2015 order, to permit the use of Aadhaarcards only in six schemes, namely,Public Distribution Scheme, LPGDistribution Scheme, Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment GuaranteeScheme (MGNREGS), National SocialAssistance Programme (Old AgePensions, Widow Pensions, DisabilityPensions), Prime Minister’s Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY) and Employees’Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

On September 14, 2016, a Supremecourt bench of Justices V GopalaGowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel, on aplea by All Bengal Minority StudentsCouncil, stayed the operation and imple-mentation of the central government’sletters to states, making the submissionof Aadhaar mandatory for Pre-MatricScholarship Scheme, Post-MatricScholarship Scheme and Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme, and direct-ed the Union Ministry of Electronicsand Information Technology, not tomake Aadhaar number as a mandatorycondition for the student registrationform for the National Scholarship Portalof Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology.

The enactment of Aadhaar Act,through a Money Bill, which enables aBill’s passage in Parliament, even with-out the support of the Rajya Sabha(where the ruling party is currently in aminority), has also been challenged inthe Supreme Court, as unconstitutional.Therefore, there are clear legal prece-dents for the Supreme Court to stay thelatest notifications till it hears the challenges on merits.

The SC has been unable to constitute a Constitution Bench

to expeditiously dispose of challenges to the scheme.

MEAL TIME: Mid Day meal being served to school childern in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir

UNI

Interview/ MS Gill

26 March 20, 2017

You were the CEC for so many years andyou also worked as a member of theElection Commission. What were thehighlights of that period?In a country with a population of morethan 100 crores and with a voter list ofover 60 crores, where there are so manysocial and politically contentious issues,and in a democracy with its own limita-tions, we tried our best to maintain itand ensured that the electoral processkeeps running in order. I have seen thatindividual changes soon fade out but thechanges in the system remain. Duringthe last assembly elections in Assam,Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, we

“You Can’t Continue BreakingRules and Then Expect EC to Do Policing Later”

MANOHAR SINGH GILLserved as the Chief ElectionCommissioner of Indiafrom 1996 to 2001. Hismajor achievement has beenthe introduction ofElectronic Voting Machineswhich curbed malpracticesto a large extent. He has alsobeen honoured with thePadma Vibhushan. In anexclusive interview withNAVANK SHEKHARMISHRA, Gill speaks aboutelectoral reforms and howthings can be made better.Excerpts:

Photo Division

black economy which is estimated to beat 50-60 percent right now. I think thepolitical parties need to think about theissue seriously and with a long-termapproach. I also want the power ofmoney be curtailed because honest can-didates find it hard to contest for elec-tions because of the lack of money. Weneed to fix our existing financial systemtoo. The Commission had, in 1998,given state funding by giving space to


political parties from various states ontelevision and All India Radio.

Candidates often spend way more incampaigning than the prescribed limitof `15 lakh for each candidate. What canbe done to prevent this problem?Section 77 of the Representation of thePeoples Act states that there has to be alimit on expenditure during campaign-ing but unfortunately, a proviso waslater added to it, according to which, acandidates’ friends and family memberscould contribute money for his cam-paign which will not be accountedunder the spending limit. This opened alot of backdoors. The ElectionCommission has been raising its voiceagainst the proviso and even

established Made In India EVMs and Ihad made sure that no voter votes with-out identification. We have madechanges in the system and regulationsso that everything works well in the longterm. We are connected with all the dis-tricts during polls and we are informedabout every moment to moment activity.We have worked on computerising thesystem and we have computerised avoter list of 63 crore voters which is abig achievement. I am proud and happyabout these accomplishments.

Despite electoral reforms, names of a lotof Bangladeshis have entered in thevoter list. How do you think this prob-lem can be dealt with?The Election Commission has beenworking to resolve this problem. I sawthe Commission advertising in newspa-pers on a massive scale telling voters tocheck the revised voter lists. We need tochange some regulations. TheCommission has made some changesand some changes need to be made inthe Representation Peoples Act. Ibelieve that a transparent, clean, up-to-date and easily available electoral rolecan become a milestone for a democra-cy. We have been working on it. I did itduring my tenure and my colleagues arenow taking care of it.

You had taken the matter of state fund-ing further. What do you have to sayabout that?I worked with Indrajit Gupta’s sub-com-mittee on this issue. The all-party-meet-ing came up with a few suggestions butI don’t think they would really be of anyhelp. The report suggested measureslike giving free diesel, petrol or loud-speakers to the candidates. These thingsare nominal and it’s tough to keep suchaccounts, which would lead to furtherconfusion and both the ElectionCommission and political parties will besubjected to questioning. I have a differ-ent take on state funding. Let’s say thateven if `500 crore is distributed amongpolitical parties on the basis of some for-mula, even then they will keep adding

“We can follow the Bangladeshmodel where the elected govern-

ment steps down once the ECdeclares elections and it is the

governor who takes on the state.”

KEEPING ACLOSE WATCH(Left) The ElectionCommission officein New Delhi;(Below) ElectronicVoting Machines

UNI

Anil Shakya

the SC has shown its discontent on thismatter. Our proposal was and willalways be that a reasonable limit shouldbe set which could be revised from time-to-time and it should be checked effectively. There should be no loop-holes. This is in the hands of parliamentnow and it can easily do so by removingthe proviso. Till then, the mission will be incomplete.

The presence of criminals or candidateswith a criminal background is on therise. How can we stop this?This is a very serious and worryingissue. Back in the fifties and sixties,things were different, it was a time ofidealist candidates but now everyone isgreedy for power. This has to stop, orelse we will continue conducting pollsbut the spirit of democracy would bekilled. This is a problem which only thepolitical parties can solve by not givingtickets to candidates with a criminalbackground. You can’t expect to contin-ue breaking the rules and then expectthe EC to do policing later. That needsto stop.

The rise of criminals in politics will alsolead to booth capturing. How do youthink we can stop that?We need to bring some changes in theway political parties work. We need tochange their attitude and the way theyare regulated. We could follow theGermany model where all the politicalparties have a mutual consensus aboutnot capturing booths of other parties.When a party, which is in power, is con-testing elections to come back to power,it acts both as the government and thecandidate. In such a scenario, it’s easy toget the top officers and bureaucrats towork for you. To get rid of this problem,we can follow the Bangladesh modelwhere the elected government stepsdown once the EC declares electionsand it is the governor who takes over thestate. The time has come when evenposts like the governor and other highconstitutional positions should be filledby the present government after taking

help from the opposition so that every-one trusts the governor and bureaucratsand things will fall in place.

You introduced the concept of proxyvoting. How is it helping?I come from an army background. Iwanted army officers and soldiers to beable to cast their vote from the locationthey are posted at. Since the postal ballots don’t reach Siachin from Kerala, the army personnel can’t vote. Even though proxy vote is not the best thing and the ideal situationwould be that the solider himself goes to cast his vote, I took the idea of proxy voting from foreign countries. Ieven formed a committee on it. But Ithink, if a way can’t be figured out, then they can give their relatives thepower to cast the vote for them as pertheir directions.

The Women’s Reservation Bill has beenhanging fire in parliament for quitesome time now…This problem is directly linked withpolitical parties and should not belooked at as a constitutional problem. If the political parties themselves givewomen their share of tickets theydeserve, then there won’t be any issue in the first place. But, if they don’t, thena simple provision can be added to theRepresentation of Peoples Act and asub-section can be made stating that ifyou believe in the EC and if you use theEC’s privileges, then you must respectthe EC by giving a certain percent oftickets to women candidates.

How can the common public reach the Election Commission with its complaints and grievances?The Commission’s telephone and doors are always open for the commonman. I have full faith in the Commissionand my former colleagues who are nowrunning it effectively. I have seen thatthe Commission has also suspended offi-cers, including a collector wheneverthere has been a mistake in revision ofelectoral roles. This has sent down amessage to Punjab and Uttar Pradeshthat the Commission won’t spare any-one. I was still a lenient ElectionCommissioner but my successor is astrict man and political parties andother officers need to keep that in mind.

Since you have shown interest in sports,what is your comment on the state ofsports in the country?The state of sports is sad in the countryand I don’t think there will be a nextMilkha Singh because all the sports,except cricket, go unnoticed and there isno money, no sponsors and no one towatch them. We need to change theoverall policy to improve the conditionof sports in the country and we needto focus on the games which Indians can afford to play like Football and athletics which do not require expensive equipment.

28 March 20, 2017

“Back in the fifties and sixties,things were different,

it was the time of idealist candidates but now everyone is

greedy for power.”

Interview/ MS Gill

Briefs

UP Governor Ram Naik has askedChief Minister Akhilesh Yadav

why Gayatri Prajapati, minister fortransport, is still in his cabinetdespite facing rape charges. The CMhad asked Prajapati to surrender andhis defiance raises serious questions

on the constitutionaland moral values of ademocratic set-up. TheGovernor pointed outthat Prajapati’s failure tosurrender showed thecabinet in poor light andhinted that action waswarranted against theminister. Prajapati, whois also contesting the UPelections from Amethi,was booked in a rapecase on orders of theSupreme Court and a

local court issued arrest warrantsagainst him and six others for thealleged rape recently. Earlier, duringhis stint as minister for mining, hewas dropped from the cabinet byAkhilesh after the SC ordered a CBIprobe into graft charges.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubeyhas moved a Bill seeking

to reserve seats in the LokSabha and Rajya Sabha forthe residents of Gilgit andPoK, in order to providemomentum to the demandfor creating political spacefor the people of Gilgit-

Baltistan in legislative insti-tutions. The Bill, which seeksto reserve five seats in theLok Sabha and one in theRajya Sabha for the residentsof Gilgit and Pok, is listed forintroduction in the secondpart of Budget Sessionbeginning March 9.

The centre has claimed that there hasbeen no breach of the voluminous

Aadhaar database, collected as part of theUnique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI) programme. It further claimedthat there have been savings to the tune ofover `49,000 crore due to Direct BenefitTransfers based on the platform. An official statement issued on UIDAI’sbehalf said that there has been no inci-dent of misuse of Aadhaar biometricsleading to identity theft and financial lossduring the last five years when more than400 crore Aadhar authentication transac-tions have taken place.

More power to residents of Gilgit and PoK

Poll candidates mustclear water, power dues or be barred

The Election Commission wantsthe Law Ministry to make an

amendment to the Representation ofthe Peoples Act to disqualify candi-dates who fail to clear their waterand power dues from contesting LokSabha and State polls. Candidatesneed to give an undertaking to theEC that they have no public duesagainst their name along with a ‘NoDemand Certificate’ from agenciesproviding the services. This wasintroduced before the ongoingassembly polls.

Missing Mehrishi

Members of the Public AccountsCommittee (PAC) are contem-

plating privilege action against Unionhome secretary Rajiv Mehrishi for“not appearing” before the paneldespite being in the national capital.Mehrishi skipped the meeting where-in he was supposed to appearbefore a PAC sub-committee, head-ed by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab.In his place, another senior officerfrom the ministry attended. Upsetwith the secretary’s absence, theMPs are now contemplating movinga privilege motion to the speaker.

Aadha r database safe

Prajapati on the run

—Compiled by Karan Kaushik


Focus/ Middle Income Group Legal Aid Scheme

N attempt by theSupreme Court to makelegal assistance availableto litigants who aren’tmarginalised orextremely poor is being

seen as a move to fill in significant gapsin justice delivery at the highest forumof dispensation.

The “Middle Income Group LegalAid Scheme” is not new but it’s beengiven an interesting packaging to attracta large number of litigants who fall inthe 10 percent income tax slab, ie, thosewho earn up to `7.50 lakh annually, anamount which won’t empower them toknock at the door of the Supreme Courtfor disposal of long-standing litigation.

Chief Justice JS Khehar is thepatron-in-chief of the scheme, whileJudge Dipak Misra is president.Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi is theex-officio president and SolicitorGeneral Ranjit Kumar will be its hon-orary secretary. It will also have a teamof 13 senior lawyers. The scheme isbeing incorporated under the Societies Act.

NEEDY LITIGANTSLawyer R Venkataramani, who is also amember of the Scheme, said that in thepast, the legal assistance programmecould not attract needy litigants. A freshattempt is now being made to reach outto them so that their litigations could becontested by experienced lawyers at anominal cost, which is far below theprevailing fee in the Supreme Court and elsewhere.

Every person who desires to avail ofthe services of an advocate empanelledunder the Scheme will have to approachits secretary by filing an application in aprescribed form along with the relevant

AffordableJusticeIn a move to help the middle class, the apex court has starteda mechanism whereby it can use the services of experiencedlawyers at a nominal cost, eventually leading to a reduction in pendency of cases By Rakesh Bhatnagar

MUCH-NEEDED SUCCOURThe Middle Income Group Legal Aid Scheme aims to make justice accessible to the middleclass. They will have to pay a nominal fee to get their cases contested

A

30 March 20, 2017

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documents. Once the papers arereceived, they will be assigned to theAdvocate-on-Record (AoR) of the choiceindicated by the applicant. In case thatAoR “opines that this is not a fit case”for moving in the Supreme Court, theapplicant will not be entitled to the ben-efit of the Scheme. This rejection costs`750. In case, the AoR finds it worthapproaching the top court, the MiddleIncome Group Legal Aid Society willcertify that the applicant is entitled tolegal aid.

The Scheme offers an opportunity toa litigant to seek the first opinion by anAoR on the merit of the evidence andthe possibility of its acceptance by theSupreme Court. However, if the AoR isnot in favour of filing an appeal (specialleave petition) before the SupremeCourt, the litigant can still pursue thematter independently with lawyers who

aren’t associated with the Scheme. By arough estimate, it will cost a maximumof `52,000 for filing the lawsuit andcontesting it before the apex court, provided the trial is concluded withinthree hearings.

PENDENCY OF CASESPendency of cases has plagued ourcourts for decades and if this move willreduce the backlog, it is a welcome step.Just take the Supreme Court’s order onMarch 5 relating to the case of BJPleaders LK Advani, Murli ManoharJoshi and Uma Bharti in the BabriMasjid demolition on December 6,1992. The apex court observed that“prima facie” the order exoneratingthem was not correct. After 25 years, theapex court found fault with the proceed-ings by trial courts, which means thematter would be argued afresh.

The MIG scheme is inaddition to the free legalaid scheme for the poor.This is ostensibly to softenthe damage done to themiddle class, the worst vic-tims of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s demoneti-sation. Though the freelegal aid mechanism for thepoor was set up under theNational Legal ServiceAuthority and has servedthe purpose for which it

was constituted, the MIG scheme willhave to evolve a system whereby a nomi-nal fee will be paid by the litigant toAoR and a senior lawyer so as to retaintheir interest in the case.

MANY WOESIf the mammoth backlog of cases,mounting vacancies of judges and poorinfrastructure are prime reasons for thepathetic state of the judiciary, ever-increasing lawyers’ fees have only addedto the woes of litigants.

Venkataramani said: “The deficiencyin demand and supply of legal serviceswill always be a challenge. Dealing withall factors as they arise demands visionand unfailing commitment. The MIGidea is to fill up gaps and ensure thatreaching out to competent lawyers ismade easy and over a period of time, todraw good talent to work beyond merce-nary considerations.”

President of the Supreme Court BarAssociation Rupinder Singh Suri said:“The new MIG scheme makes justiceaccessible. Justice has become so prohibitively expensive that middle andlower middle class people are deprivedof quality legal assistance. This is a self-sustaining scheme and fulfils theneed of a class of litigants who do nothave an income low enough to qualifyfor availing legal aid and which do nothave a high-enough income to affordexpensive lawyers.”

“The new MIG scheme makesjustice accessible…. It fulfillsthe need of a class of litigantswho do not have an income lowenough to qualify for availinglegal aid and which does nothave a high-enough income toafford expensive lawyers.”Rupinder Singh Suri, President,Supreme Court Bar Association

25 YEARS AND COUNTINGThe apex court has found fault with the order exonerating (from left) LK Advani,MM Joshi and Uma Bharti in the Babri Masjid case


States/ Haryana/ Jat Agitation

32 March 20, 2017

HE mayhem during theJat agitation last year inHaryana, in which about30 lives were lost inattacks or in police firing,is still fresh in public

memory. The Jats are on the warpathagain. They have been agitating for amonth and are planning to march toDelhi later in March.

But their demand for reservations ingovernment jobs is part of a PIL in thePunjab and Haryana High Court. Adivision bench comprising of Justices SSSaron and Lisa Gill, after hearing argu-ments of the petitioner and the stategovernment, has reserved its judgmenton the issue.

The petitioner, Murari Lal Gupta,had challenged the Haryana BackwardClasses (Reservation in Services andAdmissions in Educational Institutions)Act, 2016. The legislation was passed bythe Haryana assembly on March 29 last

the additional reservations had beengranted on the basis of the Justice KCGupta report which was also rejected bythe Supreme Court in its 2015 judg-ment. The petitioner's counsel, MukeshVerma, had argued that the legislativeexercise of enacting Schedule-III of the2016 Act by the state governmentamounted to “acting as an appellateauthority over Supreme Court's March2015 decision by overruling the verdictgiven in Ram Singh's case”.

He also pointed out that since the2015 ruling, “no new facts had emergednor was there any change in circum-stances, except occurrence of violentagitation and the threat of more violent agitation”.

Interestingly, a copy of the officialfigures provided by the state educationdepartment was presented in the Court,which revealed that the representationof Jats in various posts varied from 30to 56 percent. Thus they don't need

On theWarpath

AgainEven as this community is up in arms and

threatens to march to Delhi, a PIL in the HighCourt has challenged the Haryana Backward

Classes Act, 2016, which provides for reservations in government jobs to them By Vipin Pubby in Chandigarh

Tyear in the wake of the Jat agitation. It provided for 10 percent reservationsin government jobs for Class 3 and 4posts and 6 percent reservations inClass 1 and 2 posts to Jats, Jat Sikhs,Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla orMuslim Jats.

AGAINST CONSTITUTIONTaking cognisance of the PIL, and someother petitions filed later on similargrounds, the High Court had stayed theoperation of the new law in May lastyear. The petitioner had said that theAct was contrary to the basic structureof the constitution and was also againsta Supreme Court judgment in 2015.

He pointed out that the apex courthad then held that Jats were not back-ward. He had also argued that the newlaw exceeded the reserved quota of 50percent set by the Supreme Court in theIndira Sawhney case in 1992.

Besides, the petitioner pointed out,


reservations, it was argued.The counsel representing the

Manohar Lal Khattar government,which brought in the legislation to pla-cate Jats, took a rather technical pleathat the petitioner should have chal-lenged the new law before the HaryanaBackward Classes Commission as it wasenacted on its recommendations.

He also argued that although theIndira Sawhney judgment provided for aceiling of 50 percent reservations, it alsoprovided exceptions “in public interest”.He said that several state governmentslike Tamil Nadu had reservations inexcess of the 50 percent limit.

TN RESERVATIONSSenior Advocate Jagdeep Dhankar, representing the Haryana government,defended the reservations which hadreached 67 percent in the state. He said that the Tamil Nadu govern-ment had granted 69 percent reserva-

tions to various communities. Hestressed that though Tamil Nadu’s casewas pending in the Supreme Court, the Court had not granted any stay on reservations.

While the ongoing agitation by Jatsis to press for reservations, the focusappears to be more on seeking with-drawal of cases registered against theirprotestors last year.

They are also demanding release ofall those arrested for rioting and com-pensation for those killed in police fir-ing. About 400 protestors were arrested

and about 2,000 FIRs registered in con-nection with the agitation led byYashpal Malik of the Akhil Bharatiya JatAarakshan Sangharsh Samiti.

Subsequently, the state governmenthad set up a fact-finding committeeheaded by a retired director general of police of Uttar Pradesh. The commit-tee had indicted about 90 IAS and IPSofficers for dereliction of duty.

Taking lessons from last year, theKhattar government has taken a fewpro-active steps to deal with the proteststhis year. It has formed a committee to“talk” with the protestors. The talks haveremained inconclusive due to a firmstand taken by the protestors and thedelaying tactics employed by the stategovernment to tire them out.

However, given the history of the agitation and the attitude of the protes-tors, the situation may take an ugly turnif no progress is made and they taketheir agitation to Delhi.

HEATED AFFAIR(Clockwise) Jat protestors block aroad in Jind, Haryana,to demand reservationin government jobswhile in Gohana, a bus is set on fire byprotestors; HaryanaChief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar

The petitioner said the Haryana Backward Classes Act,2016, was contrary to the basic

structure of the constitution and was also against a Supreme

Court judgment in 2015.

Photos: UNI

Law Enforcement/ Narco Trade

34 March 20, 2017

HE November 8, 2016,demonetization of `500and `1,000 notes andintroduction of new notesto try to crack down on“black money” stemmingfrom corruption, tax eva-

sion and financial fraud did “little tomitigate long-term money launderingrisks,” says a recent report prepared bythe United States government.

The exhaustive study—InternationalNarcotics Control Strategy Report—is neither aimed exclusively at India nor is it India-specific. India figures in it as part of a mandatoryannual worldwide survey of illicit drugproduction, distribution and the criminal activities, including the parking of illegal money, associated with these activities. It also analyses thewillingness and capabilities of govern-

India Emergesas the World’sTop Meth Lab

TA report of the US administration has indicted India for being amajor money laundering nation despite demonetisation andsays it is also one of the top illicit drug producing countriesBy Inderjit Badhwar

THE UGLY HAUL-Police displaying fake currency notes recovere from criminals in Patna UNI


ments to police and investigate thesecrimes as mandated by US laws andinternational legal covenants (see boxes).

India’s demonetisation figures in thisreport as part of a global overview ofmoney laundering vulnerability. Thesusceptibility stems from a widespreadlack of access to formal financial institutions, particularly in the rural sector, that has resulted in the growth of informal financing networks. Eventhough the government, the reportacknowledges, has launched financialinclusion programs to increase the number of banked individuals, India is rated by Global Financial Integrity asone of the top four sources of illicitfinancial outflows over the last decade, primarily based on trade-basedmoney laundering (TBML) and abusivetrade mis-invoicing.

Amajor money laundering countryis defined by statute as one“whose financial institutions

engage in currency transactions involv-ing significant amounts of proceedsfrom international narcotics trafficking”.However, the complex nature of moneylaundering transactions today “makes itdifficult in many cases to distinguish theproceeds of narcotics trafficking fromthe proceeds of other serious crime.Moreover, financial institutions engag-ing in transactions involving significantamounts of proceeds of other seriouscrime are vulnerable to narcotics-related

BATTLE AGAINSTDRUGS(Left) An anti-narcoticsworker with a bagcontaining seizedcocaine near Trujillo,in Lima; (Below) Apoppy farm

International Agreements—1988 UNDrug Convention; United NationsConvention against Illicit Traffic in

Narcotic Drugs and PsychotropicSubstances (1988); UN Single DrugConvention; United Nations SingleConvention on Narcotic Drugs (1961 asamended by the 1972 Protocol), UNPsychotropic Substances Convention;

United Nations Convention onPsychotropic Substances (1971);UNCAC (UN Convention againstCorruption) (2003); UNTOC (UNConvention against TransnationalOrganized Crime (2000)), and its sup-plementing protocols: Trafficking inPersons Protocol; Protocol to Prevent,Suppress and Punish Trafficking in

Persons, Especially Women andChildren, supplementing the UnitedNations Convention againstTransnational Organized Crime MigrantSmuggling Protocol; Protocol againstthe Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Airand Sea, supplementing the UnitedNations Convention againstTransnational Organized Crime FirearmsProtocol; Protocol against the IllicitManufacturing of and Trafficking inFirearms, their Parts and Componentsand Ammunition. This supplements theUnited Nations Convention againstTransnational Organized Crime

The International Legal FrameworkGlobal covenants govern international cooperation in curbingillicit drug trafficking

money laundering,” the report says.While one objective of the demoneti-

sation drive was to attack the twin men-ace of counterfeit currency, it failed tohave an impact on or to tackle the long-term menace of money laundering. Inaddition to including India in the list of“major money laundering countries”, the

report paints a pretty dismal picture of its standing in the world illegal drug trade. � India features in the list of “majorillicit drug producing and/or drug-tran-sit countries” notified to the USCongress by the President as early asSeptember 14, 2015, along with

Deeptrivia/wikipediaI

UNI

SCAM UNEARTHED Jignesh Kishorebhai Bhajiawala, caught in amoney laundering case in Ahmedabad

Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize,Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica,Dominican Republic, Ecuador, ElSalvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua,Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. (This notification is necessary under section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228)� India is a major “Precursor ChemicalSource Country”. A “precursor” is theessential chemical used in the production of illicit narcotics. The diversion of precursor chemicals fromlicit producers to the illicit drug trade isa serious problem. India-based precursor trafficking organisations areinvolved in the illicit exportation anddomestic sale of precursor chemicalssuch as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine,both of which are used in the manufac-ture of methamphetamine. � India’s geographic location makes itan attractive transshipment area for

narcotics bound for Europe, Africa,Southeast Asia and North America.Cross-border drug trafficking fromPakistan and Burma to India continuesto be a major problem due to India’sporous borders and low enforcementcapacity. There is also evidence thatopium poppy is grown illicitly in India,especially in the northeastern region. � India’s large pharmaceutical andchemical industries are faced withincreasing diversion of products for illicit purposes, including of illicit pharmaceuticals to the US and othercountries. Seizures of the prescriptionopioid tramadol traced to India are onthe rise throughout the Middle East andNorth Africa. � Poor intelligence exploitation duringdrug seizures results in few investigativeleads. Lengthy delays between drugseizures and prosecutions have compli-cated efforts to develop an effectiveenforcement and prosecution strategy.The lack of modern drug legislation andeffective drug courts severely hampers

36 March 20, 2017

US authorities are keeping mumabout why their latestInternational Narcotics Strategy

Report (2017), has completely omitted –in fact deliberately deleted—names oforganisations and individuals believedto be connected to the ISI. The 2016report featured these links prominently.

Intelligence sources are speculatingthat the omissions are deliberatebecause US authorities could possiblybe in negotiations with Dawood and hissurrogates, as well as with certain sec-tions of the Taliban in view of changingUS strategic interests and information-gathering compulsions in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.

Reproduced below are relevant sec-tions (see italics) of the 2016 report aswell the 2017 document dealing withPakistan.

2016: State Department’s annual report on Money Laundering andFinancial Crimes:

“Common methods for transferringillicit funds include fraudulent tradeinvoicing, money service providers,hundi/hawala, and bulk cash smug-gling. Criminals utilize import/exportfirms, front businesses, and the charita-ble sector to carry out such activities.Pakistan’s real estate sector is anothercommon money laundering vehicle,since real estate transactions tend to bepoorly documented and cash-based.Pakistan’s national savings schemesappear vulnerable to money laundering,and laws providing certain immunitiesto foreign currency remittance accountsseem to provide an avenue for bothmoney laundering and tax evasion.

“Money laundering in Pakistan

affects both the formal and informalfinancial systems. Pakistan does nothave firm control of its borders, whichfacilitates the flow of illicit goods andmonies into and out of Pakistan. FromJanuary through October 2015, the

Pakistan’s deadly networkBut what happened to the Dawood Ibrahim-terrorist connection in 2017?

Law Enforcement/ Narco Trade

Getty Images

UNI

the ability of Indian law enforcementagencies to conduct complex drug con-spiracy investigations. � The report acknowledges that theGovernment of India, unlike many other nations, does not, as a matter ofgovernment policy, encourage or facilitate illicit drug production or distribution, nor is it involved in laundering the proceeds of illicit drugsales. In 1964, the Central VigilanceCommission (CVC) was established bylaw as an independent body to issueguidelines and conduct inquiries regard-ing government corruption. The CVCreports to the President of India

CAUGHT IN A WEB Weak enforcement of laws makes drugs easily availble and many fall prey to them

through the Indian parliament.However, corruption has historicallyundermined the effectiveness of government control regimes for illicit drugs.

Although India has taken steps toimplement an effective AML regime,deficiencies remain. While 2012 amendments to the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act widen the definition of money laundering, the government has not changed itsenforcement model.

The report lauds India for “demon-strating an increasing ability to act onmutual legal assistance requests” with the caveat that it continues tostruggle with institutional challenges,which limit its ability to provide assistance. The government of India should seek to use data and analytics to systematically detect tradeanomalies that could be indicative of customs fraud, TBML, and counter-valuation in hawala network, recommends the report.


Pakistani diaspora remitted approxi-mately $16 billion back to Pakistan viathe formal banking sector. Though it isillegal to change foreign currency with-out a license, unlicensed hawala/hundioperators are prevalent throughoutPakistan. Unlicensed hawala/hundioperators are also common throughoutthe region and are widely used totransfer and launder illicit money. Somesupport the financing of terrorism. UN-designated groups continue to be ableto solicit donations openly withoutapparent government reaction.

“Additionally, the Altaf Khananimoney laundering organization (KhananiMLO), a transnational organized crimegroup, is based in Pakistan. The groupfacilitates illicit money movementbetween, among others, Pakistan, theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), UnitedStates, UK, Canada, and Australia, andis responsible for laundering billions ofdollars in organized crime proceedsannually. The Khanani MLO offers

money laundering services to a diverseclientele, including Chinese,Colombian, and Mexican organizedcrime groups and individuals associat-ed with Hizballah and designated terror-ist organizations. The Khanani MLO alsohas been involved in the movement offunds for the Taliban, and Altaf Khanani,the group’s leader, is known to havehad relationships with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Dawood Ibrahim, al-Qaeda,and Jaish-e-Mohammed.2017: “Additionally, the Altaf Khananimoney laundering organization (KhananiMLO) is based in Pakistan. The group,which was designated a transnationalorganized crime group by the UnitedStates in November 2015, facilitatesillicit money movement between,among others, Pakistan, the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), United States, UK,Canada, and Australia, and is responsi-ble for laundering billions of dollars inorganized crime proceeds annually. TheKhanani MLO offers money laundering

services to a diverse clientele, includingChinese, Colombian, and Mexicanorganized crime groups and individualsassociated with designated terroristorganizations.”

According to Dawn, Altaf Khanani pleaded guilty to a moneylaundering charge before a US courtand signed a plea agreement onOctober 27. Khanani was arrested fol-lowing a sting operation by the USDrug Enforcement Administration, andhas been in jail ever since. He wasindicted in the US District Court of theSouthern District of Florida on 14counts of money laundering in June2015. He is reputedly Dawood’s mostpowerful front man.Footnote: Altaf’s brother Javed JavedKhanani, a director of Khanani andKalia International (KKI) money chang-ers, died in December 2016 after reportedly falling from an under construction building in Karachi.

India features in the list of“major illicit drug producing

and/or drug transit countriesnotified to the US Congress

as early as September 14, 2015...

Consumer/ Stent Prices

OW often have we comeacross shocking medicalpractices where patientsare made to cough uphuge sums of money formedical devices that

were not required or are not as expen-sive as touted? In recent weeks, thanksto a PIL, it has been revealed that prof-its from stents, which open up cloggedarteries, range from 270 to 1,000 per-cent! Scared relatives often do not evenbother to question the fat bills as they

A PIL has led the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authorityto fix the price of stents, thereby providing a huge relief toheart patients. Stent-makers and hospitals are also to display the new prices on their websitesBy Ramesh Menon

HStop the Loot

REGULATING HEALTHThe drug price regulator

has asked stent-makers and hospitals to display the new prices

of stents on their websites

UNI

38 March 20, 2017

see a loved one fight for life. When advocate Birender Sangwan

visited Faridabad’s Metro Hospital twoyears ago where the brother of one of his friends was undergoing a heart sur-gery, little did he realise that he wouldsoon be helping many cardiac patientswho got fleeced by hospitals for stents.“The total bill came to around `3.30lakh and I found that the hospital hadcharged over `1.25 lakh for a stent thatwas actually priced at `23,000. Theonly way to stop this unethical practiceand hospital scam was to file a PIL,” hetold India Legal.

Sangwan in his petition pointed outthat around 30 percent of the urbanpopulation and 15 percent of the ruralpopulation suffered from heart-relatedailments which was emerging as thenumber one killer in India. Most ofthese elements, he said, were related tothe blocking of arteries which requiredstents to be inserted into them. As itwas overly priced, he wanted coronarystents to be included in the NationalList of Essential Medicines so that theseprices could be regulated.

PRICES CAPPEDThe Delhi High Court then directed thegovernment to treat the PIL as a repre-sentation and pass an appropriate order.But the government did not do so. SoSangwan filed a contempt petition. Aft-er that, the government issued a notifi-cation fixing the prices of stents. TheCourt order forced the government tocap its angioplasty procedures to makethem affordable to the common man.

The National Pharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA) which is responsiblefor fixing drug prices swung into actionand capped prices of bare metal stentsat `7,260 and drug eluting stents at`29,600. Till recently, the average retailprice for a bare metal stent was `45,000and for drug eluting stents, around`1.20 lakh. To stop any further ambigui-ty, the drug price regulator has askedstent-makers and hospitals to displaythe new prices on their websites.Hospitals will now have to bill stents

separately and follow the Drug PriceControl Order that says that everyretailer and dealer shall display the pricelist and the supplementary price list in aconspicuous part of the premises that iseasily accessible.

Health activists feel that the Court’smove has set a good precedent to stopunethical practices by hospitals and doc-tors. This comes as a huge relief to thousands of patients who have toundergo angioplasty.

A senior doctor told India Legal oncondition of anonymity: “It now seemsthat all doctors are racketeers. It is notso. Actually, even doctors do not knowthe real cost of producing stents. Theyjust buy them from the manufacturerswho charge heavily. It is their profitmargins that have destroyed the systemand doctors have played along as theyalso make huge money. There is no end

to greed. The tragedy is that the enduser pays the price.”

CHEAPER STENTSNPPA made it clear that hospitals werenot expected to charge margins forstents as they are not retailers of stentsand are supposed to earn an incomeonly from cardiac procedures and notfrom medical devices. Many fear thathospitals will now try to raise theircharges to make up for the loss. Patientsalso fear that hospitals will now usecheaper stents as doctors have startedtelling them that the government capdoes not allow them to use high-end orsuperior stents.

Data released by the NPPA showsthat by the time a stent moves from themanufacturer’s table to the operationtheatre, it can cost the patient over tentimes due to the high margins. Hospitalmargins are among the highest in thechain, sometimes crossing 600 percent!No wonder, then, that hospitals wereopposing price control on stents.

A hospital source said that while thereal price of a stent might be lower, thehospital gets the distributor to givethem a bill showing a higher price.

Filing of applications under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act

asking for a cap on 14 more medical devices like knee

replacements is on the anvil.

Reining them inThe stent industry in India isworth over `3,300 crore. Over 30million Indians suffer from cardio-vascular diseases. Nearly five lakhstents are required every year. The National Pharmaceutical PricingAuthority has now fixed the price of stents, profits from which rangedfrom 270 to 1,000 percent! Here is a comparison of their prices:

BEFORE NOW

Bare metal stents: `45,000* `7,260

Drug eluting stents: `1,20,000* `29,600

*Approximate average retail price


This is used to make the patients coughup more. The stent industry in thecountry is worth over `3,300 crore.Over 30 million Indians suffer from car-dio-vascular diseases. Nearly five lakhstents are required every year.

DETAILED BILLSFormer health secretary, K Sujatha Rao,told India Legal: “The government moveto regulate the prices of stents will resultin a huge saving for patients as stentswhich costs `30,000 were being billedto them for almost `2-3 lakh. As there isno profit margin now, hospitals may notforce patients to go for procedures thatwere not required. The challenge isenforcement, quality care and gettinginsurance companies to now reducetheir premiums. Patients must getdetailed bills so that they know whatthey are being charged for and not get

cheated in the name of packages. Thegovernment must ensure that the pricesof other medical procedures too arereduced to a realistic level.”

One argument that hospitals anddoctors are now employing is that thelow cost of stents will stop research intobetter stents. Bhupendra Singh, chair-man, NPPA, said that before a manufac-turer puts out a product, the cost ofresearch that made it possible is woveninto it. It was the huge profit margins of

importers that were distorting the sys-tem, he said. The Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) said that if a manu-facturer comes out with an advancedstent that is more expensive, they canwrite to the government for considera-tion of relaxing the cap.

A senior cardiologist said: “The PILhas just scratched the tip of the medicalscandal in India. If hospitals and lead-ing doctors are investigated, the littlefaith that patients have in them will beblown to bits. Even good doctors willlose their credibility. It is a huge scamthat involves not just stents, but organtransplants, pharmacy companies, drugcontrollers and much more.”

REBUILDING FAITHDr KK Aggarwal, national president ofthe IMA, told India Legal: “If any prod-uct falls under the National List ofEssential Medicines, it needs to be regu-lated. Stents have been included in itnow. Medical professionals are not inany case supposed to profit from con-sumables as it is a direct conflict ofinterest. They can raise their profession-al fees if they want to earn more. IMAwelcomes the government move as itwill help rebuild the faith betweenpatients and doctors.”

Rao said that it must be ensured thatthe benefits of this government moveare passed on to the patients. “We mustalso ensure that hospitals do not try tomake up for their losses in profit mar-gins by raising their health servicecosts,” she said.

Encouraged by the Court order andthe government move, Sangwan is now contemplating filing applicationsunder the Drugs and Cosmetics Act asking for a cap on 14 more medicaldevices like knee replacements that arevery expensive.

Added a doctor from a major southDelhi hospital: “There will be morePILs. There will be numerous auditsinto medical practices and investiga-tions will follow. We have reached astage where it is normal to be corrupt.This has to change.”

“As there is no profitmargin now, hospitalsmay not force patientsto go for proceduresthat were not required.The challenge isenforcement, qualitycare and getting insurance companies to now reduce their premiums.”K Sujatha Rao, formerhealth secretary

“If any product fallsunder the National Listof Essential Medicines,it needs to be regulated.Stents have beenincluded in it now....IMA welcomes the government move as itwill help rebuild thefaith between patientsand doctors.” Dr KK Aggarwal, nationalpresident of the IMA

“The total bill came toaround `3.30 lakh and I found that the hospitalhad charged over `1.25lakh for a stent that was actually priced at `23,000. The onlyway to stop this unethical practice andhospital scam was to file a PIL.”Birender Sangwan, advocate, Delhi High Court

Consumer/ Stent Prices

30 percent of the urban population and 15 percent of the

rural population suffer fromheart-related ailments which

is emerging as the number onekiller in India.

40 March 20, 2017

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42 March 20, 2017

IKE the ghost of Banquo inShakespeare’s play, Macbeth,the ghost of Babri Masjidseems to return time andagain to haunt the chiefarchitect, LK Advani, who

adopted the Ram temple issue in 1990to catapult the BJP into pole position.In 1990, he undertook the controversialSomnath-to-Ayodhya rath yatra, whichstrengthened the party’s Hindutva-calling card. Prime Minister NarendraModi, who was then a modest partyfunctionary, accompanied Advani onthat game-changing yatra.

But after a frenzied mob of karsevaks razed the 400-years-old structureto the ground on December 6, 1992, theparty experienced a political setback as

What is the unstated strategy of the Modi government in allowing the CBI to pursue the Babri Masjid demolition case?

Lwell as psychological withdrawal symp-toms. Advani, who had turned the BJPinto a key player in Indian politics,could not press forward with the advan-tage and claim the prime ministerialpost for himself. In 1996, he steppedback and projected Atal Bihari Vajpayeeas the prime ministerial candidate of theparty. He turned the BJP, formed in1980, into a party which became a forceto reckon with in Indian politics.

Advani’s tryst with destiny failed.One of the reasons was that the partyand its ideological mentor, the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS), did not for-give him for his June 2005 remark inKarachi that Mohammed Ali Jinnahwas a secular leader. When he was pro-jected as the party’s prime ministerial

candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha elec-tion, pitted against the quiet ManmohanSingh whom Congress president SoniaGandhi had pitched as the party’s prime ministerial choice, he fumbledand stumbled.

But the Ram temple agitation whichended in the melee and arson of Dec-ember 6, 1992, continues to haunt him.The latest twist in the story came whenJustices Pinaki Chandra Ghose andRohinton F Nariman of the SupremeCourt, in their oral observations,declared that the criminal conspiracy

Advani’s Ayodhya Woes

CUTTING A LONELY FIGURE LK Advani is visibly sidelined as he shares thedais with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at aNational Council meeting in Delhi in 2014

UNI

charges initially brought against Advaniand 19 others should be brought back.They questioned special court judge SK Shukla for dropping the conspiracycharge on “technical grounds”. Not justthat, Judge Shukla had split the demoli-tion case into two, one against the “con-spirators” and the other against thosewho indulged in the act of destruction ofthe structure of the mosque. The apexcourt was hearing the CBI plea againstthe Allahabad High Court judgment of2010, upholding the lower court’s deci-sion to drop the conspiracy charges.

It is true that the CBI filed the app-eal in the Supreme Court in 2011when the Congress-led UPA was in

office, and it could easily be interpreted,especially by the BJP, as politicalvendetta of the Congress. But the sur-prise lies in the fact that the BJP-ledNDA has allowed the government’s legalofficer, the additional solicitor general,to press the case against Advani andothers. It is this fact that opens up thepolitics behind it all.

The Modi government would want tosay that it is “sea-green incorruptible”—a phrase that Thomas Carlyle used todescribe the architect of the Reign ofTerror in the French Revolution, Maxi-milien Robespierre. It may also want tosay that it will not interfere with theworking of the investigation agency eventhough the CBI is pitted against leadersof the BJP, including Murli Manohar

Joshi and Uma Bharti among others. Onthe face of it, the BJP and the Modi gov-ernment can argue that they are confi-dent that the conspiracy charge wouldnot stand legal scrutiny and that Advaniet al would emerge unscathed throughthe trial. It will be the right rhetoricwhether it would carry conviction withthe people at large or not.

The fact is that the present BJP lead-ership seems to want to distance itselffrom the Ram temple agitation whichbrought the party into the limelight inthe late 1980s and early 1990s. It isindeed a fair strategy to move away fromthe past and look to the future. Modi iskeen to devise the rhetoric of develop-ment. But the prime minister’s and theparty’s ambiguity with regard to thetemple-in-Ayodhya agenda is there forall to see. In the Uttar Pradesh assemblyelection, the BJP touched on the templein Ayodhya in passing, not abandoningit nor clinging to it or seen to be cling-ing to it.

Like any big party, there are enoughpower struggles within the party. As amatter of fact, the Advani-Modi tusslewhich was fought in the run-up to the


2014 Lok Sabha election is a case inpoint. It should not then come as a sur-prise if the party wants to keep its dis-tance from Advani’s Ayodhya woes sothat it could be seen that it does not laymuch store by the Babri-Masjid-RamJanmabhoomi dispute.

In reality, the charge of criminal con-spiracy against Advani and others maynot pass legal muster after all theseyears, and it may even take anotherquarter-of-a-century before the case isbrought to a legal finis.

Meanwhile, by allowing the CBI topress charges against Advani and others,the BJP leaders of the day can hope tosettle some petty scores and some brow-nie points in the simmering internecinefeud inside the party. Most of the BJPleaders facing the conspiracy chargesare not insiders in the Modi-BJP presi-dent Amit Shah set-up.

It is quite plausible that the Modigovernment would want to use theBabri Masjid demolition case to

rein in the Hindutva hotheads in theparty. It is an undeniable aspect of BJPpolitics that its Hindutva ideology hasno element of piety in it. It is interestingthat Modi is now a pilgrim, albeit apolitical one, of Varanasi, a shift fromthe Ram temple cult of Advani’s BJP.Then the war cry was “Jai Shri Ram!”.Now it is “Har Har Mahadev”, whichsometimes wittingly or unwittingly slipsinto “Har Har Modi”.

The BJP’s Hindutva colours areindeed changing. It leaves Advani andothers holding the standard of Ram-temple-in-Ayodhya a little too farbehind. Advani must be wondering as towhether he did the right thing in work-ing up political fury over an abandonedmosque and an imagined temple in aremote town which never occupied aposition of geographical centrality thatVaranasi has done for millennia in theHindu imagination. Modi might believethat he got things right, but he toomight discover that the Kashi of Hindushas little to do with the Varanasi of hisblinkered politics.

It is quite plausible that the Modigovernment would want to use

the Babri Masjid demolition caseto rein in the Hindutva hotheads

in the party.

Devdham.com

Diplomacy/ Indo-Pak Agreement

44 March 20, 2017

N a break from its position sincethe Uri attack, not to talk toPakistan till terror strikes werestopped, the Narendra Modi gov-ernment has decided to attend ameeting of the Indus Water

Commission in Lahore later this month.The dates are likely to be March 20 and21. Foreign ministry officials will alsoattend the meeting. The move is wel-come, considering it involves the sancti-ty of an international agreement whichhas so far been able to serve the inter-ests of both countries.

The Indus Water Treaty is regardedas one of the most successful interna-tional agreements, which has stood thetest of three wars, numerous terrorstrikes and the ups and downs of thevolatile ties between the two SouthAsian neighbours.

BONE OF CONTENTIONThe Treaty is under threat, withPakistan accusing India of breaking theprovisions of the Treaty by building theKishanganga hydroelectric project inNorth Kashmir and the Ratle project inJammu. New Delhi maintains that run-of–the river projects are allowed byinternational law. According to theTreaty, technical objections by eitherparty are referred to neutral experts ifthe countries cannot resolve it bilateral-ly. Only disputes that require interpreta-tion of the Treaty are handled by a Courtof Arbitration.

In a surprising U-turn, Modi government decides totalks with Pakistan on the Indus Water Commission

By Seema Guha

I“The current problem regarding the

Kishanganga and Ratle hydel projectshas much to do with the World Bank’smishandling of the issue,’’ former Indianhigh commissioner to Pakistan VivekKatju told India Legal. “Neutrality can-not imply refusal to make a determina-tion,’’ he added. Katju believes that theIndian request for a neutral expert to gointo these differences is correct and thePakistani demand for a Court ofArbitration not sustainable.

The World Bank maintains that “thetwo countries disagree over whether thetechnical design features of the twohydroelectric plants contravene theTreaty. The plants are on respectively atributary each of the Jhelum and theChenab rivers. The Treaty designatesthese two rivers as well as the Indus asthe ‘western rivers’ to which Pakistanhas unrestricted use. Among other uses,India is permitted to construct hydro-electric power facilities on these riverssubject to constraints specified inAnnexures to the Treaty.’’

India wants a neutral observer tolook into Pakistan’s complaints, whilePakistan wants to take up the matter forarbitration. Pakistan took up the case ofthe Kishanganga project for arbitrationin 2010. The ruling was given in 2013.The project was allowed with certainmodifications. India had to ensure thata minimum of nine cusecs of water isdischarged into the river. Pakistan com-plained about the dam to be built for the

Ratle project and is now fighting overboth issues.

Islamabad accuses New Delhi of notfulfilling its Treaty obligations. A leadingPakistani English daily quoted a closeaide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assaying: “Pakistan will not accept anymodifications or changes to the provi-sions of the Indus Waters Treaty. Ourposition is based on the principlesenshrined in the Treaty. And the Treatymust be honoured in letter and spirit.”

POLITICAL ROWThe deteriorating political ties betweenthe two arch rivals have added to theproblems. Ever since the Uri attack andthe unrest in Kashmir (which Delhibelieves is fuelled by Pakistan), sharingof the Indus waters has become a majorissue. Prime Minister Modi had saidthat “blood and water cannot flowtogether’’. India was threatening to pullout of the Treaty and send Pakistan themessage that unless terror was stopped,all cooperation, including water sharing,will stop. Prime Minister Modi, himself,sat through high-level meetings review-

IndusWatershed

ing the Treaty and considering hisoptions. Many hardliners in Indiabelieve that the Treaty should be abro-gated. They blame India’s first primeminister Jawaharlal Nehru of havingbeen over-generous and giving Pakistanmore than its share of the Indus waters.For a while it seemed as if the govern-

ment would actually pull out. But therehas now been a rethink.

With the Partition of India, thewaters of the five Punjab rivers had tobe divided between the two countries. Itwas not an easy task negotiating thedeal and took nine years to complete. Itwas brokered by the World Bank andthe final agreement was signed in 1960by then prime minister JawaharlalNehru and president Ayub Khan. TheWorld Bank is also a signatory to theTreaty. At the time the deal was signed itwas hailed by the international commu-nity as a major achievement. Former USPresident Dwight Eisenhower describedit as “one bright spot ... in a verydepressing world picture that we see so often”.

DETAILS OF THE TREATYThe Treaty gives India control over thethree eastern rivers of the Indus basin—the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej—whilePakistan has the three western rivers—the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum.A mechanism was set up to oversee theworking of the Treaty. This was the


Permanent Indus Commission, whichincludes a commissioner from eachcountry. The commissioners meet atleast once a year in alternate capitals tosmoothen out the workings of theTreaty. Since the signing of the Treaty,officials of India and Pakistan have met112 times.

Having decided to punish Pakistanby boycotting last year’s SAARC summitin Islamabad and trying its best todiplomatically isolate that country, theabout-turn on the Indus Treaty is sur-prising. The External Affairs Ministry isplaying down the planned visit of offi-cials to Lahore, saying a meeting had tobe held between both sides once a year.

Perhaps with the UP elections out ofthe way, the government has decided togradually re-engage with Pakistan. TheMEA remains defensive and is takingcare to point out that this meeting doesnot in any way suggest the resumptionof bilateral dialogue.

“This does not amount to talksbetween the two governments. The talksare not concerned with political aspectsbut only with the technicalities of thecommission,” Gopal Bagley, the newspokesman of the External AffairsMinistry says. Bagley was earlier thenumber two in the Indian HighCommission in Islamabad. His last jobwas as Joint Secretary incharge ofPakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

The India-Pakistan meeting inLahore may help both sides review theirrespective positions. But the IndusWater Treaty is under dire threat aswater is likely to be used as a diplomatictool in future. Unlike other prime minis-ters, including the BJP’s Atal BehariVajpayee, Narendra Modi will have noqualms about turning off Pakistan’swater supply, if necessary. Vajpayee wasprovoked during the Kargil war andafter the parliament attack of 2001.With Modi this can be a legitimateweapon of retaliation.

DISREGARDING AGREEMENT?The Kishanganga Project

Ex-high commissioner to PakistanVivek Katju (left) says the World

Bank didn’t handle the issue wellwhile MEA spokesman Gopal

Bagley (right) says the talks are notconcerned with political aspects.

Global Trends/ Trump’s UK Visit

46 March 20, 2017

EAL-ESTATE baronDonald Trump’s dream ofstaying at BuckinghamPalace in London as aguest of Queen Elizabethhas been dashed, thanks to

a newly constituted e-petition scheme.Over 1.8 million British citizens peti-tioned the UK government not to hold astate visit for President Trump as itwould embarrass their beloved Queenwho would have to host him. The peti-tion cited Trump’s “well documentedmisogyny and vulgarity” as the reasonwhich disqualified him from beingreceived by either the 90-year-oldQueen or Prince Charles, the heir to theBritish throne.

Worried by the depth of resentmentshown by the huge number of petition-ers as well as threats by a variety of civilactivist groups to hold mammoth

protests during Trump’s impending visit, he told British Prime MinisterTheresa May that he would like to post-pone his visit and save himself someembarrassment.

May, in her desperation to cosy up tothe new US President, invited Trump ona state visit when she went to the US onJanuary 27. Pictures of May walking outof the White House holding hands withTrump to announce the visit disgustedmost Britons on this side of the Pond.

HIGH HONOURA state visit invitation is considered bythe UK as a high honour that is not eas-ily bestowed on heads of states. May’squick invitation to a president who isreviled by many Britons offended thepeople’s sensibilities. Most of the mediacriticised May’s hasty step and protestswere held across the country. Lindsey

German, speaking on behalf of the“Stand Up to Trump” movement, threat-ened that the protests during Trump’svisit would be even bigger than the threelakh people who came out to demon-strate against George W Bush’s visit tothe UK in 2003.

Though no official date had beenannounced for the visit, it wasrumoured that it would take placesometime in June this year. The contro-versy around Trump’s visit continued tomount with him making one bad deci-sion after another with no signs of achange of heart. Finally, at the begin-ning of March, the news of the visitbeing postponed was leaked to theBritish press.

A senior government source told TheSun newspaper: “Trump still reallywants to come this year but he wantsthe heat to die down a bit first. The

NothingStatelyHere!

An online petition signed by 1.8 millionBritishers has urged their government not tohold a state visit for the US president for his“well documented misogyny and vulgarity”.Anger over his policies seems to be growingBy Sajeda Momin in London

R

UNITED FIGHTCampaigners hold placardson a “Stop Trump” busbefore touring London tourge Americans livingabroad to register and vote


White House don’t want to create ascene for our sake either.” Apparently, afresh date in October has been pencilledin to both leaders’ diaries, but it is quitepossible that the dates may changeagain depending on the situation.

GATHERING STORMThe heat that finally burnt Trump’s visitwas from the debate in the House ofCommons that was the result of an e-petition by a member of the public.Previously citizens could only petitionparliament by expressing their concernsto a Member of Parliament and hopethat he or she would represent it to theHouse. This public paper petition onlyneeded to be signed by one petitioner.However, its fate was left to the discre-tion of MPs and whether they thought itimportant enough to table in the House.

In July 2015, a new e-petition system

under the guidance of a CommonsSelect Committee was started, making iteasier for members of the public tolobby the House of Commons and pressfor action from the government. AnyBritish citizen and UK resident can startan e-petition on the parliament websiteon an issue which they would like tobring to the government’s attention.Once it has garnered five signatures, it isestablished as an e-petition which willremain open for six months for moresignatures.

If the petition manages 10,000 sig-natories, then it will definitely get aresponse from the government.However, if signatures cross the onelakh threshold, then a debate in parlia-ment becomes mandatory. A PetitionsCommittee has been set up by theHouse of Commons comprising 11 back-bench MPs from the government and

opposition parties, representative oftheir strength in the House. ThisCommittee reviews petitions, selectsthose of interest even if they have notgot 10,000 signatures and finds outmore about the issues raised. TheCommittee has the power to press for action from the government or parliament.

Of the more than 28,000 e-petitionsstarted so far, 18,731 have been rejectedby the Petitions Committee because theywere either frivolous or did not meetstated criteria. From the rest, 419 havereceived a reply from the governmentand only 52 have been debated in theHouse of Commons.

PARLIAMENT DEBATEAt 18,62,002 signatures so far andcounting—it’s open till May 29, 2017—the “Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the UK” petitionhas garnered the second highest numberof signatures for any e-petition. At onepoint, the petition was being signed bymore than a thousand people a minute,and quickly reached the one lakh magic figure needed for a debate in parliament.

Last year’s petition calling for a sec-ond European Union Referendum fol-lowing the Brexit vote was the largestparliamentary petition on record. It wassigned by four million people. A rivalpetition demanding that “Trump shouldbe invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a freeworld” managed to get just over threelakh signatories.

On February 20, a packed House ofCommons held a three-hour-long pas-sionate debate on the e-petitions, withMPs queuing up to pour scorn on a “sex-ist and racist” Trump and urging May towithdraw her invitation. Paul Flynn ofthe Labour Party—who started thedebate because he is on the PetitionsCommittee –pointed out that only twoUS presidents had been accorded a statevisit to Britain during Queen Elizabeth’s65-year-long reign (George W Bushin 2003 and Barack Obama in 2011)

Photos: UNI

Global Trends/ Trump’s UK Visit

– and it was “completely unprecedentedthat Trump had been issued his invitewithin seven days of his presidency”.

As the MPs debated inside theHouse, thousands of demonstratorsdescended on Parliament Square out-side chanting and waving placards read-ing “no to racism; no to Trump”. He wascalled a “bully and a bigot” by MPs whocondemned Trump’s travel ban onMuslims and migrants. Jeremy Corbyn,Leader of the Opposition, demanded thevisit be postponed, arguing that “Trumpshould not be welcomed to Britian whilehe abuses our shared values with hisshameful Muslim ban and attacks on

refugees’ and women’s rights”.The House of Commons Speaker, John

Bercow, added fuel to the fire by declar-ing that he would not invite Trump tospeak at Westminster because of theBritish parliament’s long-held opposi-tion “to racism and to sexism”. Bercow, aConservative Party MP, pointed out thatthe opportunity to speak in the presti-gious Westminster Hall during a statevisit “is not an automatic right, it is anearned honour”.

Sarah Wollaston, another Tory MP,argued that Westminster Hall ought tobe reserved for leaders who had made alasting and positive difference to the

world and “that does not include MrTrump”. British state visits do not always include an invitation to addressparliament.

Westminster Hall tends to be limitedto coveted guests like the Pope, NelsonMandela and Barack Obama. Otherworld leaders who wish to address par-liamentarians are allowed to use a sec-ond smaller room called the RoyalGallery. This is where Prime MinisterNarendra Modi gave a speech on hismuch-touted trip to the UK in 2015.

There are no plans at the moment onthe part of Downing Street to give intopublic sentiment and retract the contro-versial invitation as that would be reallyembarrassing. However, the decision bythe White House to postpone a visit thatthe President would have cherished isevidence that Trump is feeling bruisedby the flak he has got from British MPsand ordinary people in the UK.

ROYAL SILENCEAs usual, Buckingham Palace has main-tained a dignified silence throughout thecontroversy. However, privately the royalfamily must be heaving a sigh of relief atthe postponement. Trump and PrinceCharles do not see eye-to-eye on climatechange, compassion for refugees, pop-ulism and persecution of minorityfaiths. Charles’ two sons, PrincesWilliam and Harry, may not be too keeneither to meet a man who claimed in aradio interview just a few days aftertheir mother’s death that he could havehad sex with Diana. And worst of all,imagine the Duchess of Cambridge’sanger at having to show respect to theman who had tweeted this about her:“Who would not take Kate’s picture andmake lots of money if she does the nudesunbathing thing.”

The petition is right—a Trump statevisit will embarrass the Queen, personally.

48 March 20, 2017

CHANGING DISPENSATION(Left)Trump with May in the White House;(Below) The Obamas with QueenElizabeth II at Windsor Castle


The bloodletting hasnot quite stopped atthe Hindustan Times

group. After closing downseveral editions and wind-ing up offices in severalcities in January in its pushtowards a “Digital Future,the HT Group is now seeingmore staffers exit its busi-ness paper, Mint. While thepaper has been goingthrough a process of down-sizing in recent months, lastweek its weekend paperLounge saw a flurry ofactivity with severalreporters putting in theirpapers. The trimming ofstaff seems to go hand-in-hand with several austeritymeasures introduced bythe HT management.

Media Watch

The fire at The Times ofIndia’s Delhi office onBahadur Shah Zafar

Marg last week is more seri-ous than was reported bythe paper. The internal dam-age to at least two floorshas destroyed valuable filesand records, apart from fur-niture and fittings. The interi-ors will need to be rebuiltand staff, including that ofThe Economic Times, will beshifting to Noida during therebuild. Meanwhile, some-

one needs to befired for theextraordinaryclarification TheTimes issuedwhich showssome seriousproblems incopy process-

ing. It apologised for aMarch 1 panel which carriedquotes of Sitaram Yechury,D Raja, Yogendra Yadav andKanhaiya Kumar. The clarifi-cation read: “Yechury’squote was attributed toRaja; Raja’s quote wasattributed to Yadav and apart of Kumar’s quote wasattributed to Yechury.Yadav’s quote was not carried!” Apart from theembarrassment to thesefour, such a glaring lapse in India’s leading Englishdaily is a sign of falling edi-torial standards.

There is confirmation that Republic TVmay take at least two more months tolaunch after having missed two dead-

lines—Republic Day (January 26) and theassembly election results (March 11). Thiswas confirmed by none other than its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami who said at a recentevent organised by the Chennai chapter ofthe Federation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry’s LadiesOrganisation (FICCI Flo) that he would be“back in two months”. His speech on toler-ance was not without the trademark histrion-ics we associate with Arnab. “Every night Imissed you… during Jalikattu I missed you,when Jayalalithaa passed away I missed you,when some anchors were trying to be politi-cally correct I missed you…” There was also

a diatribe against Delhi journalists. Well, those who miss the Newshour have to bepatient for some more time. Meanwhile, thechannel’s patron, Rajya Sabha MP RajeevChandrasekhar has forced the news websiteThe Wire to pull out two allegedly defamatoryarticles about him and Republic TV. The MPsecured an ex parte injunction in a defamationsuit filed against the website in a civil court in Bangalore. The Wire will be contesting the court order.

The interconnectbetween theModi government

and India’s richest man,Mukesh Ambani, keepsgrowing and also get-ting inadvertentlyexposed. Last week,the Highway Authorityof India took along agroup of journalists toBharuch in Gujaratwhere the PrimeMinister was inaugurat-ing a new cable bridge,India’s longest. Thebridge was actuallyconstructed by Larsen& Toubro and themedia trip was co-sponsored by theGujarat governmentand Highway Authoritybut the journalists werea bit surprised whenthey opened the mediapack they were given tofind it contained,among the brochuresand PR briefs, giftcoupons for RelianceRetail, owned byMukesh Ambani!

TailpieceThe WaitingGame

Fresh Out ofthe Mint

Ordeal by Fire

Personal attacks and invectivehave become today’s lingua fran-ca. Or lingua franker, going by

the lowering levels of public and politi-cal debate. Whether in parliament, onthe campaign trail, the cricket field oreven university campuses, we are learn-ing a heap of new phrases or old oneswrapped in contemporary language and meaning. The campaign forthe assembly elections producedsome unique verbal volleys and it seems to be catching. Here’s a sampling.

Brain Fade: It would suggestdementia, memory loss or amedical condition associatedwith ageing, but as we have dis-covered, it’s more to do with theins and outs of modern cricket.Specifically, whether a batsmanis in or out and the face-savingtechnology referred to as DRS.When Aussie Captain SteveSmith turned his face to wherehis teammates were sitting,while awaiting a DecisionReview, it just wasn’t cricket, orso his Indian counterpartthought. Smith’s Dressing RoomReview, or DRR, is a new one aswas his explanation that it was a“brain fade moment”. Clever lawyersuse it in court to save their clients byciting “temporary insanity”, but it isnow a convenient cover for the equivalent of underarm bowling or ball tampering. All is fair in love, war and cricket.

Harvared: The Indian Prime Ministerhas come up with the most uniquetwists and tweets in language and hid-den invective. Sometimes they workand other times, they fall a little flat, asdid his latest counter to those critical of

demonitisation and his economic poli-cies, namely Nobel Laureate AmartyaSen and P Chidambaram. Both have aHarvard connection—Sen taught thereand Chidambaram has a Harvarddegree—which prompted Modi tomock the celebrated Ivy LeagueUniversity. He failed, for multiple rea-sons. He was addressing an election

crowd in rural India which has neverheard of Harvard. At the time he madethe remark, his own union minister(Dharmendra Pradhan) was speakingto Indian students in Harvard askingthem to contribute to nation-building.There is also the small matter thatanother minister, Jayant Sinha, gradu-ated from Harvard as did some officialsin the PMO. As Confucius said:“Heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.”

Hormonal Outbursts: Gynecologists andmedical researchers are scrabbling

through their medical dictionaries tofind the meaning of the phrase used byMinister for Women and ChildDevelopment Maneka Gandhi whenshe suggested a curfew time for collegehostels, using the phrase as justifica-tion. Coming from any of her male colleagues, it would have raised no eyebrows. She, however, is not known

for moral policing except when it comes to pets and animals. A generous view would be that maybe she was confusingthe two.

Women’s Day: Usually the one dayin the year when we rememberto celebrate womanhood andpay tribute to their contribution.Some do it with roses, others,like filmmaker Ram GopalVarma, prefer thorns. His “brainfade” moment came when hetweeted: “I wish all the womenin the world give men as muchhappiness as Sunny Leonegives.’’ It was not just a below-the-belt insult to Leone but towomen in general. Maybe heshould do a remake of his 2006film Darwaza Bandh Rakho, andtitle it Munh Bandh Rakho.

Dynasties: This is a classic case ofbiting the hand that feeds you—literal-ly. The hand is the Congress symboland Karti Chidambaram, son ofCongress heavyweight P Chidambaram,expressed his view that parties like theCongress have become “family limitedcompanies’’. Conveniently ignored wasthe fact that he himself had contestedelections from his father’s constituency,which laid him open to charges ofhypocrisy and double speak. Or, anoth-er Confucian saying: “Man who shootoff mouth must expect to lose face.’’

The Phrase Book

Satire/Dilip Bobb

50 March 20, 2017

Anthony Lawrence

BrainFade

blahBLAH

blah blah

blah

blah

DynastiesWomen’s

Day

HormonalOutbursts

Harvared

blah

blah

blah

blah

BLAH

blah

BLAH

.

RNI No. UPENG/2007/25763 Postal Regd. No. UP/GBD-197/2014-16

india legal 20 march 2017

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