While A Journalist Is Jailed For Doing His Duty, An Old & Ailing Man Unable To Even Sip Water Dies Behind Bars! What happened To Article 21? Justice Rekha Sharma

During the seminar hosted today by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) at ISIL, Delhi, former Delhi High Court Judge Rekha Sharma lamented that the Supreme Court has lost its credibility in the eyes of the public. She further expressed concerns that while powerful people are getting bail "on experimental basis", commoners are "withering away unwept, unheard and unsung".“Imagine when a judgment like in the Electoral Bonds matter comes protecting the rights of citizens; they were not only pleasantly surprised but feel so relieved as to hail and thank the Supreme Court even when it has only performed its constitutional duty….but the fact that such was the reaction shows how much the Supreme Court has lost in terms of credibility in the field of justice delivery system” said the Judge, while addressing a gathering of former judges of Supreme Court and High Courts, senior advocates and members of society assembled for the seminar.The seminar was on "Supreme Court Judicial Administration & Management- Issues & Concerns" and it was moderated by Alok Prasanna, co-founder of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.Endorsing the views of other panelists, Justice Sharma had started by saying that she was personally not privy to the working of the Roster system in the Supreme Court. However, over the years, she had heard and observed enough to have a fair idea.Recalling her advent into the legal field as an Advocate, she recounted that she had once witnessed an elderly lady lawyer appearing before a Court, when the Bench merely looked at her and said "dismissed". The lady lawyer had left the courtroom at the time red-faced, murmuring to herself. Later, Justice Sharma joined her as her junior. Today, she contrasted the incident with present times, saying, "what was earlier being said in whispered tones, in present times, is being talked about openly and it is something called Bench Fixing".While seemingly hinting at the death of Father Stan Swamy as an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case after 270 days of incarceration, the Judge said, “a journalist spends time in jail for the crime of performing his duty, an old and ailing man unable to even sip his water is denied his basic medical aid and is made to suffer and die behind bars. What has happened to Article 21?”Referring to Umar Khalid's withdrawal of his impending bail application from the Supreme Court, she further stated that coming out of the Court's corridors was considered a relief in the said case. To quote her, “What we find today is that a powerful person gets bail on an experimental basis, men like Umar Khalid are withering away unwept, unheard and unsung and so fed up that coming out of the corridors of the SC is itself considered a relief” . Without mincing any words, Justice Sharma went on to ask, "Is our judiciary putting down who deserve to be pushed down and putting up who deserve to be pulled up, or is it just becoming a gilded tomb of failed talent?" before adding, "The question is not who is making them dance, the question is who is dancing and why?” The former High Court Judge also took the occasion to express dismay at how, because of the Roster system, important constitutional matters were only being assigned to judges elevated from the Bar. She said that such cases were never assigned to the 'so-called Service judges.' "None of the so-called Service Judges was ever assigned important constitutional matters, habeas corpus petitions. All such cases went to judges elevated directly from the Bar as if the judges from Bar were paragon of knowledge", the Judge commented. State Of Affairs In Supreme Court & Electoral Bonds Judgment Talking about the state of affairs in the Supreme Court, she highlighted that it took the Court more than 5 years to decide the Electoral Bonds petition, which pertained to 'the very existence and fairness of the election process.' Justice Sharma voiced discontent over the top court not realizing the urgency of the matter, inasmuch as one general election and many state legislature elections had been held by the time the matter came to be decided. “One may ask why no urgency was felt or realized by one Chief Justice after the other in the electoral bonds case, another similar matters involving the rights of the citizen. In the interregnum much water has already flown under the bridge. One general election and many state legislature elections have already taken place meanwhile.” She also stated that people's reaction of thanking and hailing the Supreme Court after it passed the Electoral Bonds judgment and performed its constitutional duty shows how much the top Court has lost its credibility regarding the dispensation of justice. Taking the chain of thought ahead, Justice Sharma opined how the Supreme Court is no longer taken as the final authority on important pronouncements. "It is already being talked that the government may move the Supreme Court for ...

While A Journalist Is Jailed For Doing His Duty, An Old & Ailing Man Unable To Even Sip Water Dies Behind Bars! What happened To Article 21? Justice Rekha Sharma

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While A Journalist Is Jailed For Doing His Duty, An Old & Ailing Man Unable To Even Sip Water Dies Behind Bars! What happened To Article 21? Justice Rekha Sharma

Debby Jain & Gyanvi Khanna

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