“May you live in interesting times.” – Thus goes a Chinese wish
from the ancient times. Thanks to the surprise thrown by the electorate, on the
unsuspecting and entitled cosy club of the Congress in 2014 assembly election,
catapulting Narendra Modi to the throne of Prime Minister of India, much to the
dismay of puzzled Pundits; we have been living in absolutely interesting times
since them as Congress keeps struggling to claw back to what it believes is
their divine right to rule. Anything short of absolute power of the dynastic
despot over the unwashed masses of India is for the Congress, a threat to
democracy. With multiple avatars failing and multiple take-offs nose-diving
into the dust, the ecosystem was put to task of getting the legitimate heir (if
we can use the term in a democracy) back into the power.
From
the crafty designs of caste conflicts, failed attempts at engineering riots,
Global shaming of the country on account of the fake narrative of growing
intolerance, Congress has possibly played its last hand with the mutiny in the
highest judiciary.
For
the first time in the history of Independent India has the judiciary come out
in public as a disjointed structure. Well, if we ignore the resignation of Justice
Hans Raj Khanna, on being superseded for the appointment as Chief Justice
of India, by Congress PM, Mrs Indira Gandhi, also famous for imposing Emergency
on our proud democracy in which entire opposition was thrown into the
prisons. Since I mention, Justice HR
Khanna, I think it is important to briefly tell that story, since the currently
four musketeers are being positioned as defenders of democracy by the media and
Congress, which if it has not scripted the whole sordid affair, is at least
blatantly trying to the gain most out of the unfortunate affair.
Justice
HR Khanna was a Judge in Supreme Court from 1971 to 1977. During the Emergency,
in a bench of five Judges, he was the lone dissenting voice opposing the view
of Four judges who agreed with the Government’s view that the right to life and
liberty stand suppressed during emergency. He contended that the Constitutional
Right to Life and Liberty is not dependent on the Executive Decree. Justice
Khanna was also the part of judgment defining the Basic Structure Doctrine
which defines portions of Constitution as unalterable (primarily related to
fundamental rights) in the Kesavanand Bharati vs. State of Kerala.
Congress today wants to ride on the discontent among the Supreme Court Judges,
inherent or cultivated, calling the current situation a danger to democracy.
The submission of the judiciary in the aftermath of Emergency, in front of a
vindictive government, with Justice Khanna as lone crusader speaks volumes
about Congress’ own record in terms of judicial freedom. When we today mock
Pakistan’s human right records on missing citizens, we must remember that we
were saved from the dictatorial designs of Congress Prime Minister and Rahul
Gandhi’s Grandmother, by a lone judge who stood tall. The New York Times in
those dark days of Indian democracy, wrote on 30th of April, 1976
titled, Fading Hope in India (Link)
“If India ever finds its way back
to freedom and democracy that were proud hallmarks of its first Eighteen Years
as an independent nation, someone will surely erect a monument to Justice HR
Khanna of Supreme Court.”
The article further added:
“..Indian democrats are likely to
remember only infamy the four judges who obediently overturned the decisions of
a half-a-dozen lower courts scattered across India, which had ruled in defiance
of the Government that the right of Habeas Corpus could not be suspended, even
during the emergency that Mrs. Gandhi declared last June.”
Justice HR Khanna was the lone
judge who stood his ground insisting that the Government had no right to
imprison the citizens without legal recourse being made available to them. I
was a child then, but I was a young student in early Nineties, and I am so glad
today that we had a judge like Justice Khanna once. Even if his voice was
lonely; it was firm, fearless and unforgiving, when he responded to his
colleagues’ contention that the Government had right to arrest people without
giving them opportunity to defend themselves, under the laws of Emergency with
memorable-
“In a purely formal sense, even
the organized mass murders of the Nazi regime qualify as law.”
The same article further lamented
the fall of judiciary under the Fascist Congress Government stating-
“The submission of an independent
judiciary to absolutist government is virtually the last step in the
destruction of a democratic society; and Indian Supreme Court’s decision
appears close to surrender.”
From the hallowed ivory towers,
today’s political commentators are somehow trying to implicate the government
in what they call is never-before act of defiance by conscientious judges, but
then they just need to go back some four decades in Indian history to find the
real voice of democratic guardianship. And Justice Khanna did not call a
press-conference. He respected his right as well the rights of his colleagues,
even when they had, as per the quoted article, chose submission over
uprightness. He silently resigned. He did not want a particular case assigned
to himself, nor did he on record, distrusted his colleague, let alone the CJI.
We as citizens do not care how CJI is appointed, we know, this CJI was not
appointed through skewed preferences of the Government. Therefore, I would say,
he stands for the nation which has no say in his appointment.
However, it is important to consider
what Congress did to the Judge who defended the democratic right of freedom. Since
the two judgements went against the Mrs. Gandhi’s plan to cripple and stifle
democracy, her government superseded Judge HR Khanna when the time came.
Justice Khanna was eventually superseded by Justice Beg when the time for his
appointment came by a vengeful Congress Government of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. We
must not cast aspersions on other judges like Congress spokespersons of today
who are demanding heads of earlier CAG, Mr. Vinod Rai and now of CJI, Mr. Deepak
Misra, but the fact remains that Mr. PN Bhagawati, one of the judges
on the bench did make a statement which came as close to an apology as possible
on the said judgement.
The
hallowed corridors of judiciary, in which anachronistic fashion and language
prevails has always been hidden away from the commoner’s sight, tucked away
nicely in its own myth and mystery, what with almost family-enterprise
structure of the higher courts, which has escaped democratization of appointments
for such a long time. We have suffered strange judgements like banning of
festivals, questioning of the History and matter such in silence. In a
democracy, being independence is as important as appearance of independence and
neutrality. We have seen what was happening, and we suffered in silence to keep
the hope of democracy alive. India survives on that solemn hope of the society
in which the last man, in his humbled existence keeps the faith in men he
elects and sends to the parliament, and keeps immovable trust in the men he
never gets to elect, but watches from a distance getting appointed in the
Judiciary as guardians to his civil rights.
For
a Citizen, Judiciary is not a person. It is not the Chief Justice of India, nor
is it the Senior and Junior Judges. For her, the Senior and Junior judges are
trustworthy, equally and without any difference. When four judges come out and
claim they are coming to the People’s court because sensitive cases are given
not to them but to junior judges. And don’t get me wrong, junior judges
mentioned here are not inexperienced apprentices. One wonder if one should not
have trust in the judicial ability and probity of the judges who fall lower in
rank to the four senior Judges. The Judges must introspect and put this sorry
episode behind themselves for the good of the nation. When you go to so-called
People’s Court, you validate the mob. You cannot then escape its wrath. There
is nothing more damaging to a nation than the people whose trust has been
broken. Opposition parties jump into this water muddied by the ambition of the
senior judges who are at war, at once with both, those above and below them, in
action and in implication. We do not hate your hallowed chambers, toga and
wigged glory, even when we toil in our own destitute existence. We love stating
at you like the Gods, but we do want you to stay true to our respect which
borders on worship. I borrow from Dr. Seuss-
“I know, up on top you
Are seeing great sights;
But down here at the bottom, we,
too,
Should have Rights.”
The letter of judges refers to Anglo-Saxon Jurisprudence. For a rule of law to prevail, it is important that the judges ought to be respected and the respect ought to be absolute. But if that were the principle, let me remind people who call themselves reporters and are baying for the blood of Chief Justice, that He too is as much as a Judge as the Four judges who came out to the so-called Public Court. The four judges have, in my opinion, as a citizen hit above their weight. They have struck at the idea of justice in a democracy. They have also in an implied manner offered the man in the market a glimpse into the mechanization of the courts and the sight is not good. As for Congress, thanks to your unease with being out of power, we have had enough of interesting things for the year already. Please settle down in those damn Forty-four seats of Parliament you could cobble. Don't lean on the short memory of the people. People can remember Justice Khanna, if they are pushed enough.
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