The Brave Pedestrian

Justice (Retd) Swatanter Kumar is like MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN – amazing wizardry, plus massive legal muscle acting like bouncers to protect him from media glare. On 10 January 2014, former Supreme Court Judge Swatanter Kumar was named by the media as accused of sexually exploiting a law intern. The intern, with the help of senior counsel Harish Salve and Indira Jaising, and advocate Vrinda Grover, filed a PIL on 14 January. The prayer: Supreme Court must reconsider its policy of not inquiring into the allegations against judges. With lightning speed, WITHIN SIX DAYS, Delhi high court passed a temporary order in the Rs 5 crore defamation suit (CS(OS) 102/2014) slapped by Swatanter Kumar against Indian Express, Times Now and CNN-IBN (and, for good measure, the anonymous intern, the Indian Express reporter and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting). The order restrained the media from publishing or telecasting the allegations levelled on Swatanter Kumar, or even using his photos. A...

Judges selected by the collegium for higher judiciary are sometimes worse than useless, according to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. Rohatgi gave the instance of Justice Cyriac Joseph. As a judge of Delhi High Court, Justice Joseph performed miserably. He reserved more than 100 judgments and went out on being transferred without delivering the judgments, so that all the cases had to be reheard. Later, as Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, Cyriac Joseph delivered 162 judgments of which 89 "cannot be even called orders as they did not decide rights of the parties. These are merely stating that the petition has become infructuous or allowing the petition to be withdrawn. Of the 162, only two could be called judgments... But both these were authored by the other judge who was part of the bench," the AG said. Justice Cyriac Joseph was very successful at climbing the career ladder. Only one month after being appointed as permanent judge of Kerala High Court in July 19...

The judiciary as an institution is only as good as its judges... and judges, being human, can easily be offered temptations by government. Judges nearing retirement age hear PILs against government, knowing that after retiring, they may be given lucrative & prestigious jobs by government. So they openly favour government and politicians, and frown at public interest litigants and activist citizens. Judicial independence can exist under ideal conditions... but conditions in India are far from ideal. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Remember: Many litigants seeking remedies in court for HEADACHES, develop HEART ACHES after going to court, thanks to their lawyers. Many lawyers take on scores (or even hundreds) of cases, charge a chunk of money upfront, take the original documents, put the matter in court... and then completely lose interest. Then they start taking tareekh pe tareekh to suit their own busy timetable, or alternatively, fail to turn up in court. Some enter into needless or wrong procedures, and misinform the client about the case status. And some turn up in court and accept consent terms that are completely not in favour of the client. Or they keep quiet at critical junctures and lose the case. Many small and cheap lawyers behave like this. But reputed lawyers and senior counsels are also no exception; in fact, they are well-known for this. Many reputed lawyers speak rudely to the clients from the very start of their relationship! Nevertheless, they have a steady flow of bu...

Dear friends, January 30, 2012: Yesterday, I saw a movie about a puppy named Bolt, who is conned into believing that he has super-powers that he uses for protecting the little girl who owns him. Midway through the movie, he realizes that he has no super-powers; he is just an ordinary, helpless puppy. He feels crushed by this realization.  So Bolt faces a choice: to quit? Or to believe that he is still a hero, and keep struggling against the forces of evil? The thought that his little girl still needs a hero helps him make the right decision: keep fighting. I think we activists face the same choice. India needs a hero; are you willing to try? Am I willing to try? Yes, we are not cut out to be heroes. Yes, as individuals, we are full of weaknesses and limitations. But India needs heroes now. She cannot wait another 10 years for someone better to emerge. You and I are the only ones currently available. So we will have to say, “My motherland needs a he...

Seeking judicial remedy is almost impossible for the common man. It is not just an uphill task, it is a Himalayan task. Our courts are NOT a viable option for dependent persons. It is also NOT for the poor, the very young, the elderly, and other disadvantaged sections. Judiciary is therefore accessible to a very small proportion of Indian citizens; arguably, less than 5% of India’s population can actually hope to get some remedies from the courts. Surely, this is NOT how the  Constitution intended it to be! So, must we still maintain a respectful silence, while we suffer without any hope of improvement in court functioning? Is this what is expected of us now? No. Never. Discussion about the need for judicial reform CANNOT be the sole preserve of eminent jurists. The unavailability of judiciary to the common man and his family members deeply concerns their Life & Liberty. If nothing else, this alone gives common people every right to discuss the deficiencies of the ...

The money-power and clout of corporates distorts our governance and judiciary. The common man's fundamental rights go for a toss wherever they are in conflict with the commercial interests of companies. For a variety of reasons, the entire judicial mechanism works in favour of corporates, leaving citizens with no genuine judicial remedies. Generally, courts are against "piercing the corporate veil" -- a handy excuse for not entering into the many wrongdoings of a company, its subsidiaries, associates and its holding companies. If courts started doing that, many false claims being made would stand unveiled! Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

The biggest problem for litigants is judges who knowingly allow lawyers (and other parties, witnesses etc.) to misrepresent facts, present forged documents and openly tell lies in court. Judges who don’t take action against those mislead the court derail the course of the entire case, give an unfair advantage to crooks, and deprive honest litigants of justice. The damage is often permanent, as neither appealing nor complaining is sufficient to undo the damage. Approaching hig her courts is costly, time-consuming and usually not feasible. For most people of India (and also the lawyers representing them) who stay in the rural areas or small towns, travelling to the capital cities for High Court or Supreme Court hearings is not feasible. Appealing is an imperfect remedy in our judicial system. Some things such as recording of evidence is done only in the lower courts, and the higher judiciary does not review the evidence or call for a retrial. Like  ·  Com...

“Go to court” is nowadays a challenge and a taunt from wrongdoers, both in civil society and in the administration. They know how difficult, how frustrating and how fruitless litigation generally is... and this makes them confident to flout the law. Contracts and agreements are not worth the paper they are written on; for a common man, they are unenforceable. It’s like saying, “Go to hell". Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Successful lawyers usually have many more cases than they can handle. So they behave callously and unprofessionally. If you are unlucky enough to get stuck with one, your lawyer can easily become your biggest nightmare – far bigger than the original “cause of action” for which you went to court. Sadly, there is no realistic remedy against profiteering lawyers. In fact, some lawyers with the strongest reputations are the worst offenders. Complaint to the bar council or bar associations are rarely effective. A big chunk of Indian judiciary's backlogs is caused by lawyers who take cunningly take multiple adjournments, multiply litigations and complicate matters in order to maximize profits. Because of them, the court's valuable time is lost in hearing needless matters, and the whole nation suffers from loss of justice. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Appoint Regulators for Redevelopment Industry Download PIL in Word format:  http://tinyurl.com/PIL-against-Redevelopers Also Read: Building Redevelopment: Gaps in Legal Framework & Constitutional Validity SYNOPSIS For the common man, a house is not just the place where he lives. People’s houses are their entire life savings, and the foundation of domestic harmony. It is their security, and the economic foundation on which they base their entire life. The livelihood of many families, the quality of the children’s education and the peaceful lives of retired people, are entirely dependent on their houses. So houses are a matter of life-and-liberty. In the name of de-licensing and liberalization, the government over past decades has withdrawn from its role of providing affordable housing, and has given free play to private developers whose projects are driven purely by profit motive. Also, it has abdicated from its supervisory and regulatory role, and allowed private bu...