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marymosley · 5 years ago

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Column: Daring Resolve taken by Centre on Jammu And Kashmir

It is not Sanjeev Sirohi or my best friend Sageer Khan or any of my other friends or any layman who has termed Centre’s latest decisions on Jammu and Kashmir as a daring resolve. It is senior Congress leader and former Union Law Minister who is also one of the eminent, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court – Ashwani Kumar who has called the move on Jammu and Kashmir by Centre as “a daring resolve in line with the mood of the nation”. How can anyone ignore when such an eminent senior lawyer of Supreme Court and former Union Law Minister who hails not from ruling party BJP or its ally party but from the main opposition party which is the Congress says so openly with full confidence? It is reliably learnt from many news channels that even another eminent and most experienced senior lawyer of Supreme Court who has also served earlier as Additional Solicitor General and is also a senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has also expressed his support to this bold decision taken by Centre!

To be sure, Ashwani Kumar further reiterated that, “The J&K gamble by the Central government has received popular national support and seems to be consistent with the national mood although history and future alone can attest to its wisdom.” He also clarified that he can’t work by diktat! Very rightly so!

There are a galaxy of other senior and eminent Congress leaders who too have hailed this daring resolve of Centre in taking steps to ensure the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India by virtually eliminating all the key provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and abolishing most controversial Article 35A! I support the move on Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh and its full integration into Union of India. There is no valid reason to oppose what Centre has done which according to me was the crying need of the hour!

No doubt, even though Congress is fulminating against revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A yet it is most heartening to note that many prominent faces of Congress party including Janardhan Dwivedi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda, Jiten Prasad, Salman Khurshid, Milind Deora among many others have expressed their solidarity with this latest move by Centre! Senior and eminent Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi minced no words in saying that a historic blunder has been remedied today after the scrapping of Articles 35A and 370! Jyotiraditya Scindia said that he supported the Narendra Modi government’s proposed move to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He tweeted minutes before the Lok Sabha voted on the resolution that, “I support the move on Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh and its full integration into union of India. Would have been better if constitutional process had been followed. No questions could have been raised then. Nevertheless, this is in our country’s interest and I support this.”

As things stand, Congress senior leader Janardhan Dwivedi said happily that, “It is a very old issue. After Independence, many freedom fighters did not want Article 370 to remain. I had my political training under Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, who was against this Article. Personally, this is an issue of a matter of satisfaction for the nation. This historical mistake that happened at the time of independence has been rectified today, even though late, and is welcomed.” Mumbai Congress Chief – Milind Deora said that it was “very unfortunate” that Article 370 was being converted into a “liberal vs conservative debate”. He said in a tweet that, “Parties should put aside ideological fixations & debate what’s best for India’s sovereignty and federalism, peace in J&K, jobs for Kashmiri youth and justice for Kashmiri Pandits.”

Not stopping here, another Congress leader Deepender Hooda who is a three-time MP from Haryana’s Rohtak constituency said that, “I’ve always maintained that Article 370 should be scrapped. It is irrelevant and has no place in the 21st century. Abrogation of this article is in the interest of national integrity and the people of J&K which is an integral part of India. Senior Congress leader Anil Shastri also openly came out in support of Centre’s move and said that the the people are totally with the government on this issue! There can be no denying it! Kuldeep Bishnoi who is a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee also welcomed the removal of Article 370 calling it a “good decision”. He said that, “When this Article was implemented, then Nehru called it temporary. My personal view is that it is a welcome step. This amendment will be successful only when we are able to convince Kashmiris that they are a part of Akhand Bharat.” Former Union Minister RPN Singh too has backed Centre’s daring move!

Above all, even the Congress’s chief whip in the Rajya Sabha – Bhubaneshwar Kalita strongly protested against his party’s stand and said emotionally while quitting his membership in Rajya Sabha after the party asked him to issue a whip to all members for opposing the bill that, “I was asked by the party to issue a whip but this is against the mood of the nation. The party as it is on its way towards destruction and I can’t be a contributor to it.” Even Congress MLA from Rae Bareli Aditi Singh said on Twitter that, “United we stand! Jai Hind. #Article 370”. She termed it a historic decision and urged people not to politicize it. When someone reminded that she was a Congress leader, she boldly retorted that, “Main ek Hindustani hoon (I am an Indian).” Absolutely right!

Interestingly enough, even veteran Congress leader Karan Singh who is son of J&K’s last ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh who signed the Instrument of Accession in 1947 and who was a Union Minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet in 1967, has been a member of CWC and worked with four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family took a divergent stand from that of his party and said that he did not agree with a “blanket condemnation” of the government’s decision and said that it has “several positive points”. He welcomed the government’s decision to make Ladakh a Union Territory and reminded that, “In fact, I had suggested this as far back as 1965, when I was still Sadr-i-Riyasat of J&K, when I had publicly proposed reorganisation of the state.” He said that he hoped the hill councils of Leh and Kargil would “continue to function, so that in the absence of the Legislature, the grassroots opinion of the people of Ladakh are duly represented.” He minced no words to reiterate his support to scrap Article 35A and the government’s plan to initiate an exercise to redraw the contours of the Assembly constituencies. He said that, “The gender discrimination in Article 35A needed to be addressed as also the long-awaited and enfranchisement of lakhs of West Pakistan’s refugees and reservations for Scheduled Tribes which will be welcomed. There will also be a fresh delimitation which, for the first time, will ensure a division of political power between the Jammu and Kashmir regions.”

Be it noted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah who tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 and the statutory resolutions in Rajya Sabha around 11 am after the Union cabinet met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at 9.30 am to grant the go-ahead said that, “Article 370 was a temporary provision…how long can a temporary provision be allowed to continue…After abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir will truly become an integral part of India.” Saying Article 370 was at the root of terrorism, Amit Shah told the House that full state status will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time when normalcy returns. He rightly said that the decision to do away with the special status of J&K and to bifurcate the state into two UTs was in the supreme national interest! No denying it!

Honestly speaking, PM Narendra Modi very rightly summed up by saying that, “Nobody could pinpoint what benefit these Articles had brought to the people. These Articles only gave terrorism, dynasty politics and widespread corruption to J&K.” He also rightly said that, “Who voted in Parliament or who did not, who supported the Bill or who did not; we must move beyond all this and work together for the people of Jammu and Kashmir-Ladakh.” He also clarified that the new UT arrangement for J&K would be required for some time “but not indefinitely”. He indicated that the arrangement could change if development works happen at a quicker pace than he has envisioned.

What’s more, even Ahmad Al Banna who is the UAE’s ambassador to India was outspoken in observing that, “The reorganization of states is not a unique incident in history of independent India and it was mainly aimed at reducing regional disparity…It is an internal matter as stipulated by the Indian Constitution.” China and US have also advised Pakistan to come to terms with what has happened and not to overreact or do anything that spark more tension in the entire region! Very rightly so! Even Russia has backed India and termed it as internal matter with India having right to amend its Constitution!

Why is it that so many opposition parties like AAP, BJD, BSP, TDP, AIADMK, YSR-Congress and many others extended their unstinted support to Centre? It is because this most historic decision reflected the true sentiments of every Indian! This alone explains that why so many top leaders of Congress party also which opposed this landmark decision came out in open support of it! Why even JD(U) which initially walked out in protest has now endorsed Centre’s move to scrap Article 370? It is because many senior party leaders came out in full support of Centre’s bold move! There were rumblings of discontent even within TMC led by Mamata Banerjee and many leaders openly voiced their unstinted support for Centre’s bold move!

More importantly, another eminent and very senior Supreme Court lawyer who is also the former Attorney General of India Soli J Sorabjee too has clarified that, “The opposition has condemned the legislation as murder of democracy and betrayal of the people of J&K. In my opinion the charge is exaggerated and not tenable. The J&K Reorganization Bill and the resolutions moved by Amit Shah have been passed by both the Houses. The result is that Jammu and Kashmir now has no special status and all laws applicable to people of India including fundamental rights guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution shall be available to people of J&K. In short, J&K is now constitutionally recognized as an integral part of India.” He also sought to make it clear that, “The other favourable points are that people from other states can buy land in Kashmir which they could not do before. RTI which was not applicable before cannot now be denied. There will be no separate flag for J&K, but only one flag, the Indian tricolor.” If this is not a daring move, then what else can it be? Can anyone please tell me?

Truth be told, the first statutory resolution stated: “That this House recommends the following public notification to be issued by the President of India under Article 370(3): ‘In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of the Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from 5th of August, 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative except clause (1).”

To put things in perspective, Article 370 will survive on paper but will now read “All provisions of this Constitution, as amended from time to time, without any modifications or exceptions, shall apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir notwithstanding anything contrary contained in Article 152 or Article 308 or any other article of this Constitution or any other provision of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir or any law, document, judgement, ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having force of law in the territory of India, or any other instrument, treaty or agreement as envisaged under Article 363 or otherwise.”

Going forward, the second resolution pertaining to the Bill said that the President has referred the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 to the House “under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constituion of India for its views as this House is vested with the powers of the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir, as per proclamation of the President of India dated 19th December, 2018.” Amit Shah who is Union Home Minister tabled the Bill and the statutory resolutions after Ram Nath Kovind signed the official notification, The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019, superseding the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954 under which the Constitution was applied only selectively to the State. The notification said that, “All the provisions of the Constitution, as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the state of Jammu and Kashmir…”

It would be pertinent to mention here that the government has added in Article 367 of the Constitution a clause 4 which makes four changes. The order said references to Sadar-i-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir shall be construed as references to the Governor of J&K. Similarly, references to the Government of J&K shall be construed as reference to the Governor of J&K acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers. With Opposition members expressing their dismay that the Bill to bifurcate was not even circulated, Shah introduced the Bill and statutory resolutions again promptly. Shah also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 providing for 10 percent reservation for SC, ST and OBCs in J&K which now after being passed and having received President’s assent have become a law.

In essence, this daring resolve which many term as biggest surgical strike since independence will ensure that Jammu and Kashmir will have no separate flag or Constitution. The tenure of Assembly will be for 5 years and not for 6 years. Article 356 under which President’s rule can be imposed in any state will become applicable to J&K as well. Now people from other states would be free to buy land and properties and settle down wherever they want! Those who don’t hail from J&K can now be employed in any state government job. There can now be quota for minorities like in other states. Those lakhs of people who had come from Pakistan and settled down in Jammu and who earlier could not vote in elections can now vote and also apply for any government job which they like unlike earlier when they were wrongly forbidden! RTI Act will also be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir thus empowering people in the real sense!

Now coming to its legality, many eminent lawyers have concurred with Harish Salve according to whom “Article 370 confers powers on the President to issue orders with the concurrence of the state government where the subject matter is not covered by the Instrument of Accession. Here the President has obtained the concurrence of the government of J&K. So, the order is valid.” Supreme Court Judge NV Ramana rightly refused to entertain a plea of urgent hearing by senior Supreme Court lawyer ML Sharma who said that Pakistan would move the United Nations against the Presidential order and said that, “If they go to the United Nations, can the UN stay the constitutional amendment of the Union of India?” Who is UN to meddle in the internal affairs of India? Just no one! Has UN done anything to compel Pakistan to vacate LoC and China to also vacate the territory of PoK illegally ceded by Pakistan to China? It has just been a mute spectator all these years! So how can it interfere in India’s internal matters?

In summary, it may well be said that this daring move will help the Kashmiri Pandits and other Hindus and Sikhs to return to the Kashmir Valley and settle down there and once again lead a normal life! Many benefits accruing from it have already been pointed exhaustively! Now Jammu and Kashmir women are free to marry a men of their choice residing in any part of India without losing their rights in any manner!

It may well be said that Kanwal Sibal who is India’s former Foreign Secretary rightly sums up by saying that, “India has succeeded in outflanking Pakistan. There is now no scope to discuss the issue of Kashmir with Islamabad in any “comprehensive dialogue”. All in all the Modi government has taken a risky but much needed step in the long term interest of the country and deserves applause for this.” Can any sane person question this? Certainly not!

It is now that India can confidently say that, “Jammu and Kashmir which is now a Union Territory along with Ladakh who also has been made a separate Union Territory are an integral part of India in the real sense.” What Sardar Patel was not allowed to do in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh what he did to other 562 princely states has now been done by the incumbent government in Centre led by Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and Amit Shah as Home Minister! Those who criticize the government’s move must remember that the governments in the past had affected 44-45 amendments to this article beginning with replacing Maharaja with Sadr-e-Riyasat in 1952. On all such occasions we find that the same Presidential Order route was adopted and this time also the same has been done!

Yes, what is extraordinary this time is that Pakistan which was gaining because of the wrong effects of Article 35A and Article 370 will now stop gaining and this alone explains that why it is so frustrated that it approached the UN Security Council which refused to meddle in between and same is the case with US and China who too advised Pakistan to behave cautiously with India! Yet Pakistan has resorted to heavy firing along border which India is responding effectively and has decided to recall its ambassador and also send India’s ambassador back to India because it is Pakistan which was directly gaining by the operation of Article 35A and Article 370 which is indisputable as is evident from Pakistan’s belligerent approach also! But now Pakistan must reconcile with the ground reality and accept that Jammu and Kashmir will henceforth be always treated as an integral part of India in the real sense! Thanks to the daring resolve by Centre to proceed ahead for integrating Jammu and Kashmir along with Ladakh with India even though many questioned its utility and some criticized it most bitterly! We must also accept that whenever something great happens, it is initially criticized as done by JD(U) initially by staging a walkout and then accepting it after seeing the groundswell of public support it received from the people cutting across party lines, religion lines, caste lines and community lines! No denying it!

Disclaimer: This is a column article and the views expressed in above article is of author and necessarily represent the views of Legal Desire Media & Publications.

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divyabhashkar · 3 years ago

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congress: RPN Singh latest Congress leader to join BJP, SC notice on poll sops: Today's top election news | News

congress: RPN Singh latest Congress leader to join BJP, SC notice on poll sops: Today’s top election news | News

Jan 25, 2022, 06:59PM ISTSource: TOI.in Congress leader and former Union Minister RPN Singh quit the party ahead of the UP Assembly polls and joined BJP. RPN Singh was an MP from the Padrauna constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh between 1996 and 2009 and the most prominent Congress face in the region. Source link

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hellopulakesh · 6 years ago

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Today #MeToo's first hearing, Akbar has done the case on Priya.

Challenging the ongoing #MeToo wave in the country, Union Minister M.J. Akbar and actor Alok Nath filed a defamation case against the women accused of sexually harassing him by going to the court. There may also be a hearing on MJ Akbar's case on Tuesday. MJ Akbar filed a criminal case against journalist Priya Ramani, while Alok Nath filed a civil suit against writer-director Vinta Nanda in Mumbai. The two women have termed it as a threatening strategy adopted by the accused. It is reported that Akbar had filed a criminal defamation case against Priya Ramani in the Patiala House Court of Delhi on Monday, under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Priya Ramani released the statement in this matter and kept her opinion. After returning from Nigeria, the State Minister of State dismissed allegations of sexual harassment against many women on Sunday, calling them "false, fabricated and extremely tragic". On Monday he joined the Foreign Ministry meetings while taking charge. Akbar will descend from a long firm! Significantly, the firm which is fighting the case from MJ Akbar has 97 lawyers in it. However, not all lawyers will fight the case together, but any of these lawyers can take part. After which Ramani said that he would not be scared of these things. Not only that many people, including lawyers, offered Ramani help, and many also demanded to crowdfund on social media. BJP defends BJP spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao asked in a press conference whether the ruling party agreed on behalf of many women about their allegations against Akbar's allegations against him. Rao said, "The matter is not about agreeing or disagreeing. He has put his side in front. " is surrounded by the minister Congress has asked in this matter whether the Prime Minister is behind Modi's filing a case of defamation against a woman journalist who accused Akbar? Congress spokesman RPN Singh said that a person of the Prime Minister's Cabinet has accused of such serious allegation, not one person but 14 women have accused the minister. Do we want to ask the Prime Minister what is his view on this matter? What does he think? What does he have to say to the women who oppressed? Wahab reiterates his allegations Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Female journalist Gajala Wahab, who accused Akbar of sexual harassment. She said on Monday, "Yes, there are no footsteps of lies". And they cannot walk very far. One day before this, Akbar had described the accusations of sexually assaulting him as baseless. He had said - 'There is no leg of lies'. Read the full article

#MeToo #case #hearing #Priya #today

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wionews · 7 years ago

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Sonia Gandhi turns 71, Congress leaders & workers throng residence

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is set to handle over the party's mantle to her son Rahul Gandhi after steering it for 19 years, today turned 71 and party leaders and workers thronged her residence to greet her on her birthday.

Gandhi also met a number of leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and accepted their greetings.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and several former chief ministers and officer bearers also greeted Gandhi.

Congressmen gathered outside Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence since morning and celebrated her birthday by dancing to the beats of drums. Many carried posters and placards wishing Sonia Gandhi.

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat tried his hands at the drums as folk dancers performed outside Gandhi's house.

Former chief ministers Sheila Dikshit, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Union ministers including Anand Sharma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and RPN Singh, and party general secretaries including Janardan Dwivedi, Ambika Soni and Mohan Prakash were also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wished Gandhi with a tweet, saying "Birthday greetings to Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi. I pray for her long life and good health.

Many Congress leaders also wished her with bouquets.

"I extend my warm birthday greetings to Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi ji. Wish her a healthy, happy and long life,? said Ashok Gehlot, party?s general secretary in-charge of Gujarat.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also greeted Gandhi, saying, Warm birthday greetings to Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji. On the occasion of your birthday, I wish for your good health and long life."

Sonia Gandhi was born on December 9, 1946 in Louisiana, Vicenza in Italy.

She has held the post of Congress President since 1998 and has been a Lok Sabha MP since 1999. She is all set to hand over the party's reins to Rahul Gandhi.

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marymosley · 5 years ago

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Why Should UP Have Least High Court Benches In India?

Let me begin on a bitter note by expressing my profuse disappointment and utmost disenchantment with the continuous and callous disregard of more than 19 crore people living in different parts of UP which is more than 10 small states put together by Centre since 1947 till 2019! Why is it that only Eastern UP has high court at Allahabad and a single bench at Lucknow and all the other regions like Western UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal etc have been completely disregarded and denied their legitimate share by giving them at least one high court bench? Why no government in Centre has ever taken any initiative to correct this worst injustice since 1947 till now in 2019? It is UP where maximum cases of crimes takes place and West UP alone owes for more than half of the total cases in UP and yet it has not even a single bench of high court even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Jaswant Singh categorically recommended bench for West UP in early 1980s even though on its historic recommendations benches were created in Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Madurai in Tamil Nadu and other places!

Which state has maximum districts in India – 75? UP! Which state sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80? UP! Which state sends maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 31? UP! Which state sends maximum members to Vidhan Sabha – 404? UP!

Which state sends maximum representation to Vidhan Parishad – 100? UP! Which state elects maximum Mayors? Which state elects maximum representatives at all levels? UP! Which state has maximum population which is more than 19 crore as per 2011 census even though in public rallies UP CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi keep saying more than 22 crore? UP!

Which state has maximum villages more than one lakh even though no other state has more than few thousand villages at the most? UP! Which state has maximum poverty? UP! Which state has maximum cities which is more than 700? UP!

Which state has maximum crime to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki moon had slammed UP as the “rape and crime capital of India”? UP! Here too which part of UP owes for more than 52% of pending cases of UP and yet has no high court bench? West UP! Which state has maximum pending cases which is more than the cases of 10 states put together? UP! Which state owes for maximum dowry deaths? UP! Which state owes for maximum custodial deaths? UP! Which state has maximum pending cases in lower courts more than 65 lakhs? UP!

Which state has maximum pending cases of communal violence and riots as we saw in Muzaffarnagar in 2013, Meerut riots in 1988, Bareilly riots, Agra riots etc all in Western part? UP! Which state has maximum pending cases of rape, molestation, murder and other crimes against women? UP! Which state has maximum strength of Judges both in high court at 160 and in lower courts at 5000? UP! Which state has maximum vacancies of Judges? UP! Which state has sent maximum PM which includes Narendra Modi from Varanasi? UP!

The larger point that I want to make here is this: Why is it that Allahabad High Court tops among all states when it comes to the number of pending cases which is more than 10 lakhs whereas most of other states have not more than one lakh cases and still Centre is busy creating more and more high court benches for them with latest at Jalpaiguri for just a handful of districts! Assam till a few years ago had 7 high court benches but after Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were given separate high courts, it now stands reduced to 4! But Allahabad High Court which is the biggest court not just in India but in whole of Asia with so vast a jurisdiction and also one of the oldest high court in India has just one! This is certainly most shameful!

Lamentably, even small states like Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, etc with just about 6 lakh population, 29 lakh , 36 lakh, 27 lakh have high courts but West UP with more than 9 crore population has not even a single bench of high court! Even Andaman and Nicobar islands with just 3 lakh population has bench but not West UP with more than 9 crore population!

Not just this, Centre has always ensured that this high court has maximum vacancies of Judges which is highest in country with more than half of seats which stands at 160 keep lying vacant! Is this fair? Is Centre not aware that Allahabad High Court needs “special attention” and not “special neglect”? Allahabad High Court is biggest court not just in India but in whole of Asia with maximum High Court Judges and maximum District Judges and also Judges at lower level still it has the least bench in India – only one!

Is Centre not aware that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had categorically pointed out that West UP owes for about 57% of the total pending cases which is more than half of the total pending cases in UP still why its landmark recommendation to create a bench here to take care of nearly 40 districts at Agra with circuit benches at Nainital and Dehradun overlooked? Why not a single bench approved for UP? It must be investigated by a retired CJI or a retired Judge of Supreme Court!

Why when Sampoornanand recommended a high court bench to be created at Meerut in 1955 after more than 100 elected representatives met him and convinced him of the dire need of the same did Nehru refuse? Why when even other UP CM like ND Tiwari, Rajnath Singh and others recommended was bench not approved? Why when bench could be created at Lucknow in 1948 could a bench not be created at Meerut which is more than 700 km away? Why when Kapil Sibal wanted a high court bench to be created at Meerut when he was Union Law Minister as another Union Minister RPN Singh had disclosed but the then UP CM Akhilesh Yadav objected did Centre not listen to its own reputed and one of the most reputed jurist of India? Why Centre said that the recommendation made by Law Commission in its fourth report in 1955 recommended against creating more benches and so West UP could not be given a bench conveniently overlooked everything when it came to other states and kept on creating benches there and also overlooked that the Law Commission in its 230th report in 2009 recommended creation of more benches yet West UP and other parts of UP like Bundelkhand were overlooked for benches?

Why Centre took no time to create 2 more high court benches for Karnataka with just 6 crore population which is less than even West UP population alone and which already had a bench at Hubli for just 4 and 8 districts at Gulbarga and Dharwad respectively but for 26 districts and more than 9 crore people of West UP not a single bench was approved even though the lawyers here keep going on strike as they did thrice like once in 2001 for 6 months from July to December and for 3 to 4 months as they did in 2014-15 and for one month as they did in 2010 and for many weeks as they keep doing every year apart from the strikes on Saturdays for last 38 years and many times even on Wednesdays? Why Centre disregarded the most commendable recommendation made by one of the most eminent jurist of India – Soli J Sorabjee who as Attorney General in 2001had categorically recommended that, “Centre is empowered to create a high court bench in West UP without any recommendation from the Chief Justice or Chief Minister or anyone else in this regard”? Why Centre even disregarded what former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association BN Krishnamani said that, “Only by the creation of a high court bench in any of the districts in West UP will the people living there get real justice”?

Why Centre approves one more bench for Mumbai high court at Kolhapur for just 6 districts which already had 3 benches at Panaji, Aurangabad and Nagpur just recently in 2018 itself but cites 100 reasons for not creating a single more bench for Allahabad High Court in any hook and corner of UP leave alone West UP? Why Centre from 1947 till 2019 has taken the stand that, “Ask anything for UP but not a high court bench as only Lucknow deserves it”? What rubbish!

If Lucknow is capital then so are Bhopal which is capital of Madhya Pradesh, Dehradun which is capital of Uttarakhand, Bhubaneshwar which is capital of Odisha, Dispur which is capital of Assam, Raipur which is capital of Chhattisgarh and Thiruvanathapuram which is capital of Kerala yet they have neither high court nor bench! Also, Lucknow’s area jurisdiction is just 62,00 square km and that of West UP is 98,933 square km! The number of districts which come under the jurisdiction of Lucknow bench is just 12 and that of West UP is 26! The population of districts under Lucknow jurisdiction stands nowhere as compared to West UP whose population at more than 9 crore is more than any other state except UP of which it is itself a part, Maharashtra and Bihar and here too areawise West UP has 98,933 square km and that of Bihar is just 94,000 square km!

Why catchy slogans like “speedy justice”, “justice at doorsteps” and “cheap justice” not implemented for West UP and other remote areas of UP by creating more benches here? Why Mayawati wanted high court itself for West UP by recommending to Centre that it be made a separate state way back in 1995 but Centre is not ready to concede even a bench for West UP? Why is BJP a blind follower of Congress in this regard and till now has ensured that not a single high court bench is created in any hook and corner of UP except the one created already by Nehru 70 years ago in 1948 at Lucknow?

This despite the fact that former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had thundered in Parliament way back in 1986 as Opposition Leader demanding the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP and Yogi Adityanath who is now UP CM also himself thundered while demanding for a High Court Bench at Gorakhpur way back in 1998 right inside Parliament but 20 years later we don’t see any High Court Bench anywhere being created in UP! One can understand that Vajpayee didn’t enjoy majority but Modi has it but we see no action forthcoming on this so far even though he is taking other steps for UP like pompously inaugurating the 14 lane highway connecting Delhi with Meerut and other districts of West UP in which many crores of rupees have been spent which will reduce the time limit from Meerut to Delhi from 2 hours to just 45 minutes which is commendable but what about high court bench in West UP which is affecting the litigants of 26 districts most adversely due to which they are still compelled to travel more than 700 km all the way to Allahabad whole night without reservation many times and bear all sorts of inconveniences? When will action be taken on this score? Why can’t few crores be spared for creating a bench in West UP and other needy areas of UP like in Jhansi in Budelkhand and in Gorakhpur?

It is not for nothing that Union Minister Satyapal Singh demanded in Parliament the creation of 5 high court benches at Meerut, Agra, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Varanasi but the real tragedy is that his own PM is not listening to him and not creating even one more bench anywhere else in UP other than the one which already exists at Lucknow! Similarly many other BJP MPs like former Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan, Union Minister Gen VK Singh, Mahesh Sharma and other MPs like Rajinder Agarwal keep demanding benches but to no avail!

As per the Section 51 of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the Centre can create a high court bench in any of these 3 states – UP, Bihar and J&K directly by bringing it up in Parliament. Centre does not need any recommendation from State Government or the Chief Justice as has been very wrongly propagated for many decades! What a national disgrace that these very 3 states – Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar keep on grabbing the national news headlines for all the wrong reasons as crime incidents keep multiplying very rapidly and what is worst is Centre’s stupid and crazy determination to not allow a single more bench in all these 3 states!

It is incomprehensible why Centre can approve 3 or 4 or 5 benches for peaceful states like Maharashtra, Karnataka among others but not more than one for UP which has maximum pending cases which is more than 10 states put together! Allahabad High Court must be given its due honour and it must have maximum high court benches and not minimum! Disband all high court benches in India if Allahabad High Court cannot be given more benches, West UP cannot be given a bench nor can Bundelkhand or Gorakhpur (which is CM Yogi’s constituency and where BJP just recently lost) for people living so far away who face maximum sufferings because of this but which no PM has ever dared to address for reasons never disclosed!

This all-important issue directly affecting billions of litigants coming from all sections of society is lying largely unattended and untreated since many decades! But now not any longer! Allahabad High Court must get its due by creating more benches for it!

No one is safe in UP! Even lawyers and those in police are themselves not safe! Criminals know that it take ages for cases to be decided in UP as UP has least benches in India and maximum pending cases in India! Former UP High Court Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale in a case involving rape of few women on national highway in Bulandshahr in West UP rightly said that there is total lawlessness in UP as compared to Maharashtra where women can travel alone in night anywhere without any fear and this I have also seen myself at Pune from where I did LLB but see the difference that Maharashtra has four high court benches with latest at Kolhapur for just 6 districts and Pune is all set to get another as CM Devendra Fadnavis has approved it for which we all must applaud him but Centre must create benches in UP also! When Maharashtra can get benches in no time then why Allahabad High Court in UP which has maximum pending cases be denied its due share? Why in last more than 70 years has a single bench more not been added for UP?

Why can’t Centre take serious steps to address this cancerous problem root and branch and not just resort to baby steps and bandaid measures like reducing time limit to reach Delhi by spending many crores of rupees on creating 14 lane national highways but doing nothing at all to create more benches anywhere in UP so that people are not compelled to travel whole night to Allahabad? Why can’t this be done? Is it such a big deal? Certainly not! Only political will needed! What a crying shame that Yogi Adityanath government has the ability to bear Rs 36,000-crore for construction of 600 km Ganga Expressway for better connectivity of Allahabad with western districts of the state and which will be the longest expressway in the world but it can’t spare just few crores for creating a high court bench in West UP for which people numbering more than 9 crore are ready to bear the expenses also!

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marymosley · 5 years ago

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Why Should UP Have Least High Court Benches In India?

The post Why Should UP Have Least High Court Benches In India? appeared first on Legal Desire.

Why Should UP Have Least High Court Benches In India? published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

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