This document summarizes a presentation on areas where checks and balances are lacking in India. It discusses how the legislature has become less effective at lawmaking due to the merging of executive and legislative powers. It also notes weaknesses in mechanisms for ensuring judicial accountability and addressing judicial misconduct. Large business entities are discussed as gaining too much influence through practices like tax avoidance and monopolies. In general, it argues that more robust external checks are needed like strengthening of anti-corruption agencies, audit functions, and ensuring media acts as a watchdog rather than being influenced by government and corporations.

1. National Seminar on “Checks and Balances”
Amity University, MP
“Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
By: Shivaraj S. Huchhanavar, Faculty, National Judicial Academy of India, Bhopal
Email- shivashk100@gmail.com or shivaraj.huchhanavar@nja.gov.in

2. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
I. Introduction
• We are into a new world order- A Economic Macrocosm!
• Changing dimension of “Power” Structure
• Transition of State power from Constitutional entities-via-Administrative
Agencies-to-denationalised entities.
• Tripartite constitutional arrangement-still very important.

3. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence, Cont…
II. Westminster system
• Commingling of executive and legislature
 Are there legislators in India?
 Do they legislate? (MP-31, only 4)
(http://www.prsindia.org/mptrack/16loksabha/).
• Out of 790 around 100 MPs found to engaged in law making
• Only 14 private members bill have been passed by both Houses and become
law in the history of Indian Parliament.
• No private members bill has become law since 1970.
• Bills are passed without discussion and referral to standing committee.

4. II. Westminster system, Cont…
 Do they really wish to be the lawmakers?
 Are they efficient and effective ministers?
Yes.
They minister their self-interests and narrow agendas very effectively and efficiently!
Why?
- Rigged election system (divide et Impera)
- Power yields power- so- criminalization, communalism, castesim and corruption are must! (invincible
network of narrow interest).
- Combination of legislative and executive power effectively triumphs over the candidates who do not
possess them. (this is because we live in an fragmented society).

5. II. Westminster system, Cont…
Benefits of Separating Legislature and Executive
(i) Power hungry people will not contest elections!
(ii) There will be scope for value loaded, society-oriented and visionary politics
(iii) The Laws will not be Skelton!
(iv) Sub-constitutional checks and balances will fill the gap- Lok-pal, Lokayukta, and
other regulatory mechanism get strengthened.
(v) Scope for executive manoeuvring of administrative agencies (police, CBI, Civil
Servants) stands minimized.
(vi) It will also reduce the party sentiments in the law-making.

6. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
II. The Judiciary
• Judicial accountability
• Accountability is the quintessence of balance of power
• The aim of separation of powers and checks and balances is to achieve the maximum
extent of accountability of each branch of the Government
• Perception of Judicial corruption in India
• Mechanisms combating judicial corruption, misbehaviour and indiscipline
• Vigilance Cell
• Weaknesses
 Lack of clearly defined rules regarding the powers and functions of vigilance cell and the officers
working there under
 No functional autonomy to the Vigilance Cell
 Lack of uniformity in practices among all the High Courts
 Absence of normative indicators or exhaustive or inclusive definition of ‘misconduct’, corrupt
practices, judicial indiscipline, and ‘conduct unbecoming of a judge.’

7. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
Vigilance Cell
• Weaknesses…
 Absence of Rules relating to procedures to be followed after receiving complaints
 Lack of clear guidelines on nature of complaints to be accepted, further probed or referred for
investigation or to be rejected
 De facto and de jure subordination of Vigilance Cell to high court judges
 Lack of adequate infrastructure
 Burdened with additional responsibility like inspection, protocol, Rules, etc.
Complaints against SC and HC judges
 The Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 and the Constitution of India
 “In-house mechanism” Additional District and Sessions Judge ‘X’ v. Registrar General, High Court of
Madhya Pradesh.
 Self-serving, unconstitutional, anti-democratic and violation of separation of powers and
legislative privilege.

8. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence…
III. Administrative juggernaut
• Growth
• Control (Parliamentary, Executive, Judicial, Regulatory Framework (external & internal), Civil Societies, Citizens)
• Weaknesses
• Way Forward- (Balance)
Administr
ative
efficiency
Judiciary
Civil
Servants
Civil
Society
Executive

9. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence…
Power in wider perspective
Influence
Power Constitutional
Sphere
Legislature
ExecutiveJudiciary

10. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
IV. Big Business Entities and Privatization
A. Introduction
• Decline of Administrative Agency Governance
-Choked in files, shrouded in secrecy, breeding ground for corruption, time consuming,
nonresponsive, and inefficient.
• Need for Privatization
B. How and Why BBE and Privatization needs to checked and
balanced?
• Influence of economic entities on our lives
Google- $ 498 Billion, (57,100 employees) (= to MH-$250b,+TN-$ 150b,+ Raj.
$84b+ JK $ 13b).
Apple- $ 495 Billion, (116,000 employees)
Walmart- $ 482 Billion

11. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
Cont…
Reliance $ 91.5 Billion =(<Miz+Sik+AP+Man+Nag+Paud+Meg+Tri+Chan+Goa+HP+JK+
UK ).
TATA $ 200 billion, (660,800 employees).
B. Growth with inequality and exclusivity (data retrieved from Oxfam Reports)
 1% the population has wealth more than the rest of world combined!
 Wealth of 62 (8) individuals is equal to the wealth of bottom 3.6 bn people.
(in 2010, it was 388, 2014-85, 2015-62 and 2016-8)
 Since 2010- wealth of these 62 risen by 45%, while wealth of 3.6 bn has
fallen by 38% in real terms.
 Cumulative share of wealth of the poorest 50% is 0.2%.
 The 10 most profitable corporations in US made a collective $226bn in profit
(2015) ($ 30 for every person on the planet).

12. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
Cont…
 Thomas Piketty shows that over the last 30 years the growth in the incomes
of the bottom 50% has been zero, whereas incomes of the top 1% have
grown 300%.
 Over the next 20 years, 500 people will hand over $2.1 trillion to their heirs –
a sum larger than the GDP of India, a country of 1.3 billion people.
India
 Richest 1% own 58% total national wealth (Rank 2nd for wealth
concentration after Russia 74.5%)
 57 Indian Billionaires own Wealth Equal to Bottom 70% of Country’s
Population.
 CEO-to-average pay ratio is 439:1 (416:1, IT sector)
 India, with a score of only 3.38, ranks 60th among the 79 developing
economies on the IDI (2017). Nepal-27, Sri Lanka-39, China-15, Pakistan-52,
Bangladesh-36.

13. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
How did this happen?
 Pay less to worker and more to shareholder
• In the UK, 10% of profits were returned to shareholders in 1970; this figure is now 70%. In India, the figure is lower but is growing
rapidly, and for many corporations it is now higher than 50%.
• Labour cost of Apple is just 5.3% of its total expenditure
 Avoiding Tax
Tax holidays/duty exemptions and other concessions
Apple had paid a tax rate of 0.005% on its European profits in 2014.
Tax concession
- 52,911 Profitable Indian Companies Pay 0% Tax (Rs 62,000 crore, 2014-15)
-India spends 1.3% of budget on health care
BRICS- B:8.1%, R:7.1%, SA:8.8% C: 5.5%. Afghanistan- 8.2%, Nepal- 5.8% and Maldives-13.7%.
Tax havens
• $ 7.6 Trillion
• World biggest companies: 9 out 10 have at least one tax heavens.
• Almost 30% of African’s wealth (500bn) is held offshore in tax heaven
• In 2012, for example, US MNCs reported $80bn of profits in Bermuda – more than their reported profits in Japan, China,
Germany and France combined.
Discounted/free land, water, energy and raw material supply

14. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
Cont…
 Monopoly
Google (69%)- dictate data protection laws around the world.
Monsanto- (Agro company) Dominates global research agenda for GM crops.
 IPR: International Plunder Rights!
Daraprim- (parasitic infection toxoplasmosis) ($13.5 dollar to $ 750 dollar per tablet).
They prefer profits over the health and well-being.
 A Influence of Wealth
“Funding politics”.
 Crony capitalism
Partner with Government-PPP: A New Zamindari!
Extractives, Financial Sector, the Garment Sector, etc.
 Austerity economics
-We are witnessing global economic feudalism.

15. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
Impact
It is not just about money!
1. The poorest half of the global population are responsible for only around 10% of total global emissions. The
average footprint of the richest 1% globally could be as much as 175 times that of the poorest 10%.
2. Destroys wellbeing: Hurts health, education, labour market etc.
3. Absolute inequality is always in increase
4. There is no link between productivity and prosperity
5. Rewarding for nothing- No real productivity and value addition to the society.
6. A sense of ‘what for this democracy, constitution, rule of law…?
7. Corrupts democracy…(American election example) and makes democracy a worst form of government.
8. Loot of natural resources with least benefits to the humanity. Iron Ore Scam-2.98 crore tonnes smuggled, at an
average of Rs. 4,103 per tonne.
9. Brands criminals as successful human being!
10. Widening income disparity is one the dangerous threats to the orderly society. It paints a sordid picture of
bribes and scams.

16. Big Business Entities and Privatization, Cont…
Way forward
Checks and Balances are must.
Why?
 Otherwise, political institutions will be undermined and governments overwhelmingly serve the interests
of economic elites to the detriment of ordinary people.
 ‘We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we cannot
have both.’
-Justice Louis Brandeis, SC, US.
V. Sub-constitutional Checks and Balances
Checks and Balances within each of State Apparatus
External Checks
CBI
LOKPAL and LOKAYUKATA
RBI
Audit (internal, social and government)
Police, etc. Anti Corruption Bureau, ECI etc.

17. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
Subsidiary stakeholders of “Balance of Power”
• International organizations
• Union-State relations
• Provincial and municipal governments/local authorities
• Institutions
• Media
Fourth burden of the State!
75% of mainstream media news is pure government and corporates propaganda.
Paid and false news
Sensationalizing and manipulating information
Media is not ‘voice of the people’ but ‘vice for the people’.
India is the most ignorant country in the world!

18. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
Constructive and rationalized academic critique is an instrument
of checks and balances!

19. “Checks and Balances”: Areas of Silence
Vision
Transforming a Pollution, Poverty and Population ridden
country in to a Prosperous, Peaceful and Powerful Nation for
all.

20. National Seminar on “Checks and Balances”