The Brave Pedestrian

9th January 2020: This is a serious warning to all the andh-bhakts -- the blind followers out there who insist on defending the Modi-Shah government on its indefensible decisions to thrust CAA and NRC on our proud and happy nation. The blind followers of RSS and BJP's Hindutva ideology are now at the forefront of the force defending Narendra Modi, with illogical arguments, false beliefs and blind faith in Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The true patriots are not the bhakts, but the aware and awake citizens who are steadfastly opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 98215881124 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

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 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

[I wrote this in June 2011, when Arvind Kejriwal, Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Baba Ramdev were together in India-Against-Corruption or the Lokpal Movement. I think it still holds today.]  Dear All, I have asked this question before, a couple of years ago, to the activist  junta . And I am asking this question afresh in the context of Anna Hazare’s campaign Jan Lokpal Bill, as well as Baba Ramdev’s campaign for bringing back money stashed abroad, because I smell the stench of self-righteous pride in our midst. Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare may be well meaning citizens, but their speech and actions — and the actions of their followers — are increasingly marred by an arrogance that is self-defeating and ridiculous. They are deluding themselves and the people of India into taking an untenable stand. In recent years, I have visited several municipal offices, government offices, police stations, State Information Commissions etc. to collect replies to RTI...