The Brave Pedestrian

It is against natural justice to punish a citizen for breaking a law if he cannot understand the law. But such injustice is happening everyday in India. Not only are citizens kept in the dark about the laws, they are kept in the dark about the structure and rules of the government’s law enforcement machinery (such as police), and of the judiciary. It is simply impossible for any citizen to defend himself and his legal rights, because… 1) Laws are so complex that citizens cann ot understand them. 2) Why only citizens? Even police, lawyers and judges don’t properly understand them. 3) Judges’ interpretations of various laws are at best roundabout and confusing, and at worst self-contradictory and perverse. 4) Clarificatory circulars issued by government, and also previous judgments of higher judiciary, are ignored or misinterpreted by many judges. Therefore, justice remains a theoretical thing in India. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Each and every judge carries the guilt of having been elevated to his current position by doing favours to government officials, politicians, senior counsels, etc. in exchange for recommendations to the collegium. His entire career is controlled by the collegium of judges at High Courts and Supreme Court. There are no rules, no benchmarks, no due process to be followed, and no reference to any institution created by any law; the words of the collegiums -- which are illegal -- are the only law. How can such judges and chief justices safeguard our fundamental rights against encroachment by the powers-that-be? And that is why the public finds that judges usually avoid taking action against corrupt government officials and politicians. That is because, as the saying goes, those who live in glass houses avoid throwing stones. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Mohd Azazur Rahman, an electrical engineer from Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, was forced to come to Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital last month. It turned out that he was a great fan of Pehelwan brand of bidis all his life, smoking 2-3 packs per day. Even today, although his disfiguring oral cancer is painfully evident, he is having a hard time kicking the habit and still ends up smoking 4-5 Pehelwan bidis every day.