India Legal 30 November 2016

NDIA EGALL
November 30, 2016 `100
www.indialegalonline.com
I
TheSecond
American
RevolutionDoes the US political system have
enough checks and balances to
prevent the Trump presidency
from misuse of executive power?
by Kenneth Tiven,
former vice-president, CNN
TheSmogScourge:Canweoutlawpollution?
NovembN

THE
DEMONETIZATION
REALITY SHOW
INDERJIT BADHWAR
relied on the web. Now the net is a dangerous
place. You have to navigate your way through a
web of lies and deception, and journalists can
easily be misled by plagiarized material thinking
they are looking at original stuff. Remember,
always, that the net produced America’s viral
President—Trump.
But not in this case. In surfing around, I found
and read with interest the most credible and voice-
loaded chain mail on this subject which fulfilled
the need of what I was looking for without having
to run around anymore. It was the ghost of the
India Today of yore speaking to readers as it used
to do. This specter of wisdom appeared in the por-
tal EX-IT (an acronym for ex-(former) India
Today, a closed Facebook chatroom of reporters
and editors who once worked at the magazine
which was said to have “quickened the pulse” a day
before each issue hit the newsstands. It is web-
mastered by the fiery-eyed Sardar Harpal Singh,
who worked with me as India Today’s news coordi-
nator and later became Day & Night TV’s editor.
He guards the contents of his chatroom with the
same religious fervor with which he protected
India Today’s newslist.
What follows is an online reality web-show
which tells the story. The characters are real. All
the action takes place in Act One Scene One. The
people are all real. So sit back and enjoy:
HARPAL SINGH: Don’t know how all of you, my
learned friends, are reacting to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s drastic decision to declare invalid
the Rupees five hundred and one thousand notes
from midnight tonight, to curb black money & ter-
ror funding. Before I share my thoughts with
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Y colleague Dilip Bobb, now senior
managing editor of India Legal, and I
had just wound up a popular talk
show on APN news channel, our sister
concern, on the day that Narendra
Modi conducted what his spin doctors described
as twin surgical strikes on black money and terror
funding. In one fell swoop, shrouded in secrecy
matching the Pokhran nuclear test, paper legal
tender became rubbish overnight as `500 and
`1,000 notes, with which most cash transactions
are conducted across India, were demonetized.
In addition to the heated TV discussion in
which senior chartered accountants, journalists, a
former chief justice and Supreme Court lawyers
participated, Dilip thought that this huge national
story, suddenly competing for headlines with the
Donald Trump victory, deserved healthy space in
the magazine as well. We were in the process of
putting the issue to bed with Donald Trump and
air pollution already on the cover. So we decided to
enshrine the editorial importance of the demone-
tization story in the leader.
It needed research, voices, legal background,
opinion, weight, a point of view, the right mix of
irreverence and rage, verisimilitude, balance—the
editorial alchemy which bubbled with zing, sting
and eyeball-grabbing urgency, once the gold stan-
dard of magazine writing pioneered decades ago
by India Today. I mention this magazine because
both Dilip and I once edited it, a large part of the
India Legal–APN senior staff are its alumni, and
because it will feature, albeit indirectly, in the larg-
er part of this editorial which is to follow.
But, briefly, back to my story. In researching the
story, I read the papers, talked to experts and also
M
3INDIA LEGAL November 30, 2016

Committee on Economic Affairs? If yes, then why
has it not been disclosed to the citizens? If not,
then why not? There are other questions which
arise: Was it not necessary to take the Parliament
into confidence on such a drastic step? Which law
of the constitution has empowered the central
Government to go ahead with this decision?
I am absolutely sure that our legal luminaries
will rush to the Supreme Court first thing in the
morning with these and other legal challenges to
this decision. And it would be interesting to see
how the top court deals with these.
Meantime, I would love to hear what you think.
ROHIT BANSAL: Appreciate your courage in
conveying the sentiments of us, honest taxpay-
ers. To criticise this madness means inviting the
wrath of people who support everything the gov-
ernment does.
MANISH KUMAR: Boss, let’s not take pressure
on this issue and celebrate the plight of those who
were hoarding black money all these days.
VIJAY JODHA: In India we have a long tradition
of finding quickfix solutions for pressing issues (in
this case black money, but could be dowry deaths,
atrocities on dalits, terrorism etc.) and ramming
you, I must make this disclosure: I do not have any
unaccounted money. I am a salaried professional
and I have recently received a scintillating com-
mendation from the CBDT for continuously filing
my I-T returns on time.
On the face of it, it looks like a bold move on the
part of the central government which will cripple
all those who have wads of currency stashed away
in their cupboards and elsewhere and who do not
pay their taxes. But as a regular tax-payer, why
should I go through the inconvenience of not hav-
ing any liquidity for two days—and then restricted
liquidity—just because the central Government
hasn’t thought things through to save me the pain?
Also, why should I be put through the process
of returning/ exchanging whatever currency in
these two denominations I have through my
bankers because it is no longer valid after two days
of forced bank holiday?
After all, what is the legality of the central
Government’s move to render currency of two
denominations invalid when each note carries a
solemn legal assurance under the RBI Governor’s
signatures: “I promise to pay the bearer the sum of
five hundred rupees” — a pledge which is “guaran-
teed by the central government”?
Also, we follow the Cabinet system of Govern-
ment. Was this proposal put before the Cabinet
4 November 30, 2016
PRECIOUS
TIME LOST
(Left and facing
page) The common
people had to brave
long queues at
banks following the
demonetization
move
“In a parlia-
mentary
democracy,
the prime
minister is the
head of the
executive who
is duty-bound
to consult
the Cabinet
and the
Parliament.
His powers
are not
supreme.”
—Harpal Singh
UNI

tomers before Tuesday, the 15th. Once they do, the
invalid currency can be deposited in one’s own
account after showing an ID proof. The thing is
that the supply of money should have been
ensured before creating a demand. The banks
should have been kept open beyond normal hours
and there shouldn’t have been a break of two days
which has got extended to five days because of the
weekend and Guru Nanak birthday (this was the
situation at the time of this chat). I have already
mentioned above how the effects could have been
partially mitigated.
FARAHEEM MOHD: It may be a good step... but
executed in a very poor management. They should
have liquidated `100 notes well in advance thr-
ough ATMs. I am upset as work is suffering and we
are losing our hard-earned money... does it not
need approval from parliament?
Power of government to devalue currency:
The Government of India u/s 24(1) & 24(2) of
Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934 may introduce
new currency up to denominations of 10k and may
devalue the currency of any value, and for any such
devaluation government shall publish such order
in its official gazette.
Section 24 (of the Act). Denominations of notes.
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section
them down people’s throats regardless of how
poorly they may be drafted or going against some
other provision of our constitution.
NAYAN PADRAI: It is a big move and sacrifices
are needed by all. They could not have publicly
declared it earlier.
HARPAL SINGH: Nayan, there is no provision for
such sacrifices in the Indian constitution. The
issue is serious inconvenience to citizens and legal-
ity of the decision, not the intent to curb black
money. In a parliamentary democracy, the prime
minister is the head of the executive who is duty-
bound to consult the Cabinet and the Parliament.
His powers are not supreme; they are deliberately
fettered and subordinated to prevent absolute
authority of an individual. I know the move could
not have been declared publicly earlier but the
pain to the law-abiding citizen should have been
anticipated and addressed. Also, I still think it is
an arbitrary and illegal decision. The solemn
pledge on each currency note cannot be suspended
even for a minute.
These notes—`1,000 and `500—are already
invalid since midnight last night. The ATMs have
gone out of service for two days starting midnight
last night. The banks won’t entertain any cus-
“I shudder to
think what
people in
local bazaars
and residents
of small towns
will go
through.”
—Ranjit Mongia
UNI

“It is a big
move and
sacrifices are
needed by
all. They
could not
have publicly
declared it
earlier.”
—Nayan Padrai
RANJIT MONGIA: Exactly my thoughts Harpal
Singh. I shudder to think what people in local
bazaars and residents of small towns will go
through. What about lower middle class, the elder-
ly, the infirm, how will they get their currency
exchanged?
SONALI GHOSH: Why not clean up the dirty
black air first before a late night attempt to clean
up black money. And don’t think 2000 rupee note
can’t be counterfeited! I’m sure a 2000 rupee note
in the absence of 500 and 1000 rupee notes is a
bigger invitation. Also, why not leave poor working
class people out of it? I mean people who are
laborers, domestic staff, who don’t have bank
accounts and are below the tax paying bracket…
they could be allowed to keep and use their cash at
least. This does not feel thought out or makes
sense, I’m afraid.
INDERJIT BADHWAR: Guys, if you have Tata
Sky, pls watch a very spirited and informed discus-
sion on Modi’s demonetization on my TV Channel
APN 542) at 10.30 pm. (Also on DD Direct, Airtel,
Videocon, Hathway). Veteran Dilip Bobb is also
on it.
Here’s link to my APN news TV channel (Dilip
Bobb and me) on this vital, demonetization issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V05Fi6Na2Q
0&feature=youtu.be
(2), bank notes shall be of the denominational val-
ues of two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees, twenty
rupees, fifty rupees, one hundred rupees, five hun-
dred rupees, one thousand rupees, five thousand
rupees and ten thousand rupees or of such other
denominational values, not exceeding ten thou-
sand rupees, as the Central Government may, on
the recommendation of the Central Board, specify
in this behalf.
(2) The Central Government may, on the rec-
ommendation of the Central Board, direct the
non-issue or the discontinuance of issue of bank
notes of such denominational values as it may
specify in this behalf.
Section 26(2) of the Reserve Bank of India Act
empowers the central government to declare bank
notes as ceasing to be “legal tender”: -
26. Legal tender character of notes.
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2),
every bank note shall be legal tender at any place
in India in payment or on account for the amount
expressed therein, and shall be guaranteed by the
Central Government.
(2) On recommendation of the Central Board
the Central Government may, by notification in the
Gazette of India, declare that, with effect from
such date as may be specified in the notification,
any series of bank notes of any denomination shall
cease to be legal tender save at such office or
agency of the Bank and to such extent as may be
specified in the notification.
6 November 30, 2016
GUEST
APPEARANCE?
Rahul Gandhi
spotted at a bank
even as people
were jostling to
exchange the
currency notes
editor@indialegalonline.com
Amarjeet Singh

NOVEMBER30,2016
Don of a New World Order
Donald Trump as US president has evoked worldwide apprehension. Former
CNN vice-president Kenneth Tiven analyzes whether there are enough checks
and balances to prevent misuse of power
18
LEAD
The MP government has been forced to order a judicial probe into the killing of
eight SIMI undertrials by the police and could face a protracted legal battle
30A Jailhouse Rocks
8 November 30, 2016
STATES
With the apex court ruling in favor of Haryana in the contentious Satluj-Yamuna
Link case, parties are competing with each other to milk it for the Punjab polls
22Canal of Controversy
SUPREME COURT
Our men in uniform are locked in a crusade for pension parity ever since the
incumbent government came to power promising to implement it in 100 days
24The Bullet-Less War
DEFENSE
A Madras High Court directive to YouTube and Google to provide the IP address
of a user uploading defamatory content has rattled Tamil Nadu’s online activists
33Blow against Net Freedom
OWNED BY E. N. COMMUNICATIONS PVT. LTD.
A -9, Sector-68, Gautam Buddh Nagar, NOIDA (U.P.) - 201309
Phone: +9 1-0120-2471400- 6127900 ; Fax: + 91- 0120-2471411
e-mail: editor@indialegalonline.com
website: www.indialegalonline.com
MUMBAI: Arshie Complex, B-3 & B4, Yari Road, Versova, Andheri,
Mumbai-400058
RANCHI: House No. 130/C, Vidyalaya Marg, Ashoknagar,
Ranchi-834002.
LUCKNOW: First floor, 21/32, A, West View, Tilak Marg, Hazratganj,
Lucknow-226001.
PATNA: Sukh Vihar Apartment, West Boring Canal Road, New Punaichak,
Opposite Lalita Hotel, Patna-800023.
ALLAHABAD: Leader Press, 9-A, Edmonston Road,
Civil Lines, Allahabad-211 001.
Editor Inderjit Badhwar
Senior Managing Editor Dilip Bobb
Managing Editor Ramesh Menon
Deputy Managing Editor Shobha John
Executive Editor Ajith Pillai
Associate Editors Meha Mathur,
Sucheta Dasgupta
Deputy Editor Prabir Biswas
Staff Writers Usha Rani Das,
Karan Kaushik
Senior Sub-Editor Shailaja Paramathma
Principal Correspondent Harendra Chowdhary, Mathura
Reporters Alok Singh, Allahabad
Gaurav Sharma, Varanasi
Art Director Anthony Lawrence
Deputy Art Editor Amitava Sen
Senior Visualizer Rajender Kumar
Graphic Designer Ram Lagan
Photographers Anil Shakya, Bhavana Gaur
Photo Researcher/ Kh Manglembi Devi
News Coordinator
Production Pawan Kumar
CFO
Anand Raj Singh
VP (HR & General Administration)
Lokesh C Sharma
Advertising
Valerie Patton
Mobile No: 9643106028, Landline No: 0120-612-7900
email: marketing@encommunication.org
Circulation Manager
RS Tiwari
Mobile No: 8377009652, Landline No: 0120-612-7900
email: indialegal.enc@gmail.com
PublishedbyProfBaldevRajGuptaonbehalfofENCommunicationsPvtLtd
andprintedatSuperCassettesIndustiesLtd.,C-85-86&94,Sector4,Noida,Distt.
GautamBudhNagar,UP-201301. Allrightsreserved.Reproductionortranslationinany
languageinwholeorinpartwithoutpermissionisprohibited.Requestsfor
permissionshouldbedirectedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.Opinionsof
writersinthemagazinearenotnecessarilyendorsedby
ENCommunicationsPvtLtd.ThePublisherassumesnoresponsibilityforthe
returnofunsolicitedmaterialorformateriallostordamagedintransit.
AllcorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.
VOLUME. X ISSUE. 6
Managing Editor (Web) Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr
Convergence Manager Mohul Ghosh
Senior Content Writer Punit Mishra
(Web)
Technical Executive Sonu Kumar Sharma
(Social Media)
Technical Executive Anubhav Tyagi

The Bombay High Court has pulled up Pune Police for tardy progress
into plaints of embezzlement of funds belonging to the mystic’s trusts
Quest for Osho’s Will 70
FollowusonFacebook.com/indialegalmedia
andTwitter.com/indialegalmedia
72Canadian writer and broadcaster Tarek Fatah explains why he thinks
India should end the water treaty with its belligerent neighbor
“Cut All Water Ties with Pak”
Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCE
Cover Photo: UNI
PROBE
FACE-TO-FACE
Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who headed the first HC-level e-court,
shares his experience regarding digitization of the legal profession
48“Reluctant to Accept Tech”
INTERVIEW
POLLUTION
Surgical Strikes II?
The jury is still out on whether the demonetization move by the
government to crack down on black money was a wise one
The battle between the LG and the Delhi CM has hit Kejriwal’s image.
How will it affect AAP’s political fortunes?
Kejriwal’s Dented Image 38
46
66The law has brought women on par with men with regard to family prop-
erty but discriminates against them when it comes to inheriting farmland
Law’s Agri Loophole
Britain’s High Court of Justice has demanded the June 23 referendum
be passed through parliament, delaying the country’s exit from the EU
Bumpy Road for Brexit
GLOBAL TRENDS
76
Arnab Goswami’s surprise exit from Times Now will change the lives of
assorted camp followers, fans, studio guests, the BJP and myriad others
Goodbye, Newshour
SATIRE
82
FOCUS
ROUNDTABLE
Delhi is the world's worst polluted
city and the smog post Diwali
has highlighted the dangers.
With the Supreme Court stepping
in, can pollution be outlawed?
52Every Breath You Take
36Twenty-four years after the police branded four Punjab women for
being pickpockets, a CBI court has let them off lightly
The Scarlet Letter
LEGAL EYE
Though arbitration is a most effective method of solving commercial
disputes, its potential has not yet been fully utilized in India
62A Long Way to Go
REGULARS
Ringside .................................................................... 10
Quote-Unquote ......................................................... 11
Courts........................................................................ 12
National Briefs........................................................... 16
International Briefs ....................................................75
Wordly Wise .............................................................. 80
Images........................................................................81
Going Up in Smoke
Despite raising taxes and stringent laws, India's tobacco control
program has failed to curb the habit. What is the road ahead?
42
SPOTLIGHT

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that
conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly
accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse
the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in
reality expressing the highest respect for law.
—Martin Luther King Jr
VERDICT
10 November 30, 2016

Trainee CM ne itna
kaam kiya hai, anub-
havi CM aur achchha
kaam karenge (if the
trainee CM has done
so much work, an
experienced CM will
do much more).
—Kannauj MP and UP CM
Akhilesh Yadav’s wife
Dimple Yadav, speaking to
Mail Today
QUOTE-UNQUOTE
I will forever be grateful to the media.
Otherwise, who knew me? After
Independence if any politician has
received this kind of special attention, I
think I am the only one.
—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the
Ramnath Goenka Awards function in Delhi
I have been subjected to sexual harassment
in the corridors of the Supreme Court. It is a
busy place and it is normal for people to
bump into you. But, you know when it is
accidental and when it is deliberate. I had to
experience it, despite my seniority in the
profession and despite my age.
— Senior lawyer Indira Jaising, in The Week
For the first time, we are not being
allowed to meet the families of
our soldiers. Kaisa Hindustan
banaya ja raha hai? (What sort of
a country are we creating)?
—Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi,
on being stopped from meeting the family
of veteran Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal
who committed suicide over OROP
I know how disappointed you feel,
because I feel it, too. And so do
tens of millions of Americans who
invested their hopes and dreams
in this effort. This is painful, and it
will be for a long time.
—Hillary Clinton, at the Concession
Speech after losing the US Presidential
election
Certain politicians are making a hue and cry
for these terrorists but not lending a word of
solace for the martyred jawans. I condemn
such leaders and the dirty politics they are
doing. But for the government and the
public, the nation and the state is foremost
and I appeal everyone to stop playing dirty
politics. Patriotism is important.
—Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan, following the killing of eight SIMI undertrials
who escaped from Bhopal jail, in FirstPost
You say a lot of nice things about journalists
which makes us nervous. Mr Ramnath
Goenka sacked a journalist when he heard
the CM of a state tell him “aapka reporter
bahut achha kaam kar raha hai” (your
reporter is doing good work).
—Raj Kamal Jha, chief editor, The Indian Express,
addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi at
the Ramnath Goenka Awards function

The LDF government
in Kerala went back
to its 2007 position on
allowing women to
enter Sabarimala
Temple in the state.
It told the Supreme
Court that women
aged between 10 and
50 years mustn’t be
debarred from going
inside the temple.
The stand was dia-
metrically opposite to
the erstwhile UPA
government’s view-
point that the age-old
tradition of restricting
women shouldn’t be
disturbed as it was “an
integral part of practic-
ing religion”.
Interestingly, after
coming to power this
year, the LDF govern-
ment had suppor-
ted the UDF’s stand
in July.
The counsel for the
Travancore Devas-
wom Board strongly
opposed the govern-
ment’s stand, contend-
ing that the state gov-
ernment couldn’t be
allowed to do a flip-flop
on the issue to suit its
interests.
After taking into
account both the pleas,
the court observed that
it will delve into all
angles and even con-
sider whether a five-
judge constitutional
bench should take up
the issue.
It deferred the next
hearing to February 13,
2017.
COURTS
Sabarimala issue
still in a deadlock
In a scathing observation, the
Supreme Court recently pulled up
the Bombay High Court for failing to
provide in time copies of its verdict
related to regularization of unautho-
rized structures to the petitioner and
the other side. The Court’s reaction
came in during the last week of
October while it was hearing a plea
that had challenged the High
Court’s judgment.
The Court took a serious note
that although the High Court had
delivered the judgment on August 8,
the hard copies were yet to
be delivered.
The counsel for the peti-
tioner had drawn the cou-
rt’s attention to the state of
affairs when it could not
abide by the apex court’s
order to produce a copy.
The apex court ordered that
the chief justice of the High
Court look into the matter and
“see if something can be done”.
However, it allowed the petitioner to
file the Special leave Petition.
MLA’s election quashed
The election of a Congress
MLA, Mairembam Prithviraj,
was declared null and void by
the Supreme Court on the
ground that he had furnished
false information about his edu-
cational qualifications. Prithviraj,
who represented Manipur’s
Moirang Assembly seat, had
declared in his affidavit at the
nomination stage that he was an
MBA, which was not correct.
The Court did not buy
the argument of the
MLA that the error
was clerical and
made by his
lawyer and agent
who, according
to him, had filed
the nomination
on his behalf in
2012. He even
contended that
the mistake was
a minor one. But
the Court took
into account that
he had submitted
the same information in 2008 as
well and ruled that he could not
be spared.
Observing that voters could
not be misled and had every
right to know the background of
a candidate, including education
qualifications, the Court ruled
that candidates were duty-
bound to provide correct infor-
mation as laid down in law.
SC pulls up Bombay HC

The Supreme Court refused to
issue instructions for making
yoga a must in school curriculum. It
observed that the onus was on the
government and the academicians
to take a call on the issue.
The Court felt that yoga should
be taken up voluntarily rather than
be enforced. The Court’s response
came while it was dealing with a
petition filed by advocate Ashwini
Upadhyay. He wanted the Court to
enquire of the government why
yoga had not been made mandatory
in schools.
The Court, however, allowed
Upadhyay to present his arguments
in another plea on the same matter
filed by advocate JC Seth which is
likely to be heard on November 29.
Areview petition by social activist
Harsh Mander in the Supreme
Court was rejected recently. Mander
had earlier challenged the acquittal of
BJP president Amit Shah in the
Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case
in the Supreme Court, but did not
receive a favorable response.
The top court took the stand that
a person could not be “interminably
prosecuted”. It had questioned his
right to interfere in the matter when
he was not a party to it in any man-
ner. Shah had been pronounced not
guilty by a lower court in Mumbai.
After going through all the
documents, the Court stood by
its earlier judgment observing
that there was no “error” in it.
Sohrabuddin and his wife
were killed by the Gujarat police
in 2005. Later it was alleged
that both were killed in a fake
encounter orchestrated by the
state government and Shah
was involved in it.
Review petition on Sohrabuddin rejected
The Bombay High Court in a scathing
observation pulled up the
Maharashtra government for its apathy
towards providing infrastructure and
staff for the judiciary. It lamented that
the prevalent attitude was a major bott-
leneck in reducing pendency of cases
in the state and affecting the justice
delivery system in the state’s judiciary.
The Court’s response came in dur-
ing the hearing of a petition filed by the
Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal Bar
Association, which had pleaded for
providing the requisite infrastructure
and staff.
The state government’s counsel
informed the Court that the slot for the
judicial member of the Tribunal would
not remain vacant for long. Affidavits
assuring efforts being made to recruit
the essential support staff for the Tri-
bunal as well as according priority for
providing accommodation to judicial
officers were also submitted.
Accord priority to judiciary’s concerns
Yoga can’t be enforced

COURTS
Questions on Tipu Jayanti
The Karnataka High Court asked a
petitioner, who had raised objections
to the state government observing Tipu
Jayanti on November 10, to make his
case before the state chief secretary.
It also asked the latter to arrive at a
decision by November 8, but at the
time of going to press, the state
government was in no mood to review
its stand.
In its last hearing, the Court, too,
had wanted to know why the state gov-
ernment was celebrating the birth
anniversary of the “Tiger of Mysore”.
It felt that Tipu was only a monarch
guarding his own territory and
disagreed with the contention of the
state government that he was a free-
dom fighter.
The PIL was filed by KP Manju-
nath, who pleaded that the govern-
ment’s decision to celebrate the occa-
sion by using money from its consoli-
dated fund was ill-conceived. He con-
tended that Tipu had killed Kodavas of
the Coorg region.
The Madras High Court ordered
topmost officers of the municipal
administration and water supply
department as well as town planning,
Chennai, to furnish reasons as to why
they did not attend a critical meeting
on floods caused by the North-east
monsoon every year.
It did not even spare the CMD of
Chennai Metro Water Supply and
Sewerage Board, who was the chair-
man of the panel.
A PIL filed by an NGO, Change
India, wanted the Court to order the
concerned bodies to desilt storm
water drains and other water bodies
which may lead to floods this year. In
response, the Court had directed that
a special meeting be held to discuss
the issue. However, it learnt that sen-
ior-most officers did not deem it
important to attend the meeting.
Sajjan Kumar’s plea dismissed
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s request
for removal of a judge from the Delhi
High Court bench hearing the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots’ appeals was turned down by the Delhi
High Court. The Court did not find any basis
for his objections. The plea was also filed
by his co-accused.
The judge in contention was Justice
PS Teji. Kumar and his co-accused
pleaded that it was Justice Teji who, as
an Additional Sessions Judge in a Delhi
court, had refused to grant bail to him in
2010. They contended that Justice Teji
was anti-Kumar, and as a result, could not do
justice to the latter. They argued that he was
also taking undue interest in the matter.
Kumar was held not guilty by a trial court
in 2013 in a case related to killing of Sikhs in
the Delhi cantonment area. However, the CBI
had raised objections on the verdict and
moved the High Court. The Court’s order
against Kumar’s petition came while it was
hearing the CBI’s plea.
The Court observed that already more
than 30 years had passed and there was a
feeling that justice had not yet been done.
—Compiled by Prabir Biswas, Illustrations: UdayShankar
Civic authorities pulled up

The widely condemned govern-
ment’s move to ban NDTV India
for a day was put on hold by
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Venkaiah Naidu after the
Supreme Court agreed to hear the
channel’s application for a stay on the
ban. An inter-ministerial committee of
the Information and Broadcasting
Ministry had recommended that
NDTV India should be shut down for
a day for revealing strategically sensi-
tive details during its coverage of the
Pathankot attacks in January this year.
The move had left the media fraternity
outraged and the Editor’s Guild
termed it as “direct violation of the
freedom of the media.” While veterans
said that the ban was reminiscent of
the Emergency, various Press Clubs
also demanded an immediate with-
drawal of the ban.
The Supreme Court has
reprimanded the center
for allowing bull-fighting,
jallikattu and bullock cart
races stating that such
sports could not be permit-
ted on grounds of cruelty.
The apex court held that it
is the government’s consti-
tutional obligationto show
compassion towards ani-
mals. The bench questioned
the validity of the center’s
notification which allows
bulls to be trained or exhib-
ited as a performing animal
at events such as the bull-
taming festival of Tamil
Nadu jallikattu and bullock
cart races in Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Punjab,
Haryana, Kerala and
Gujarat. The
court referred
to Article 48
and 51A of the
Constitution
and said the
government
should show
compassion
towards ani-
mals.
SC pulls up center
After a Supreme Court bench
headed by the Chief Justice
of India recently observed that
the government was trying to
decimate the judiciary by hold-
ing back appointments, the first
lot of High Court judges has
been appointed. The govern-
ment has notified
the appointment of
five judges for Delhi
High Court. Three
additional judges
have also been
appointed as perma-
nent judges of the
Bombay High Court.
Among the Delhi
High Court judges
are Anil Kumar
Chawla, Vinod Goel,
Chander Shekhar,
Anu Malhotra and Yogesh
Khanna. According to a sepa-
rate notification, Kalidas
Laxmanrao Wadane, Indira
Kanahaiyalal Jain and Shalini
Shashank Phansalkar Joshi have
been appointed as judges of the
Bombay High Court.
Delhi HC gets five new judges
NDTV fights for its freedom
NATIONAL BRIEFS
In a surprise move intended
to eliminate black money and
the growing menace of coun-
terfeit currency notes, the
Union government on
November 8 withdrew curren-
cy notes of `500 and `1,000
denominations. These account
for over 80 percent of all cur-
rency in circulation by value.
Banks and ATMs remained
closed on November 9 and
people faced difficulty in carry-
ing out their daily shopping.
Newly designed notes of `500
and a new `2,000 currency
was made available from
November 10. The move was
welcomed as a bold one by
people on social media.
The old notes of `500 and
`1,000 can be deposited in
banks and post offices till
December 30.
Second surgical strike

—Compiled by Karan Kaushik
Dargah Aala Hazrat in UP has not
invited any cleric from Pakistan to be
a part of its annual Urs-e-Razvi to be held
from November 24 this year in the wake
of the recent terror attacks and tension
along the India-Pakistan border. Six
Pakistani clerics had sent requests to the
dargah for allowing them to participate
but the authorities have decided not to
issue sponsorship letters to any of them.
Last year, 12 clerics from Pakistan were
invited by the dargah, and five had partic-
ipated in the Urs. The seminary’s
spokesperson said that local clerics would
request other foreign clerics attending the
festival to ask Pakistani leaders to con-
demn terror and create an atmosphere of
friendship between the countries.
To bring in transparency in judicial
functions and to help in the effective
tracking of judicial work, the govern-
ment has issued unique identification
numbers to 16,795 judges of district and
subordinate courts across the coun-
try. The government is modernizing
the courts as part of the e-courts
project monitored by the Supreme
Court. The judges have also been
provided digital signatures so that
they can sign orders which can then
be uploaded in real time. To facilitate
this task, laptops, printers and internet
connections have also been given to the
judicial officers. Supreme Court and
High Court judges have been exempted
from this exercise.
Making judicial functions transparent
India took a strong stance
on terrorism and security
issues with the UK during
Prime Minister Theresa
May’s recent visit to New
Delhi. According to sources,
the two countries also talked
about financial defaulters
Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi,
who have made the UK their
home and are wanted by the
Enforcement Directorate in
money laundering cases. In
this context, both the leaders
have directed the officials
dealing with extradition
matters from both sides to
meet at the earliest and
develop a better understand-
ing of the legal processes and
requirements of the two
countries.
India asks for Mallya, Lalit from UK
The National
Commission
for Women has
strongly opposed
instant divorce
and polygamy
practiced by
Muslim men. The
commission has
told the Supreme
Court that triple
talaq is an uncon-
stitutional prac-
tice which has
ruined the lives of
many women and
should be strictly
prohibited. “NCW
is supporting the
stand of the
union govern-
ment and is
adapting the affi-
davit filed by it,”
the commission
said in its affi-
davit filed in
response to a
bunch of petitions
moved in the
apex court by sev-
eral women. The
Center had filed
its affidavit in the
Supreme Court
on October 7 and
had requested the
court to abolish
triple talaq and
polygamy,
terming them as
unconstitutional
customs hurting
gender equality
and women's
dignity.
NCW opposes
triple talaq
No Pak clerics
The University Grants
Commission’s Saksham
report rules state that no educa-
tional institution can issue gen-
der biased orders and that the
institutions should ensure
women’s safety without curbing
their freedom. However, women
students at the government-run
Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical
College in Pune have been
banned from using the college
library after a set deadline.
No such deadline has been
issued for the male students. The
college is implementing the
order so strictly that guards with
batons come to the library every
night and ask the female stu-
dents to leave.
Deadline only for women

Donald Trump as the 45th president of the US evokes fear
and apprehension. Will he have the foresight to take everyone
forward and are there enough checks and balances to
prevent the worst excesses?
By Kenneth Tiven
BOLD AND SWEEPING
US President Donald Trump points out
falling balloons to his wife Melania (left)
and son Barron (second left) as he
stands with running-mate Governor Mike
Pence (right) at the end of the final
session of the Republican National
Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
LEAD
DividedState
UNI

E
XPLAINING how American
voters went from the first
black American president
with high approval ratings, a
high Dow-Jones Market
Index and global adulation to
a president-elect with the
backing of the Ku Klux Klan is not easy. This
is, in some respects, the second American
Revolution, 240 years after the first. In the
1776 event, the British were sent packing and
a democracy created. This election sends the
world packing—you are on your own now—
and we don’t care what happens outside the
walled enclave of North America.
Where is there joy now? Try Moscow and
Beijing. A narcissist with no grasp of truth
who can’t be trusted with a Twitter account
will have the nuclear war codes in his small
hands. If this event is a prelude to global
chaos, there is plenty of blame to go round.
In 1976, the movie Network, about a mad
raving anchorman was considered over-the-
top by journalists, politicians and viewers. It
came to be considered prescient with the
arrival of news channels with ideological
positions and scant regard for truth.
Prescient doesn’t do it justice, as a reality TV
show host with an inflated net worth and
more bravado than business skill attains the
office of president of the United States.
While several states’ votes will have to be
re-counted because the percentage differ-
ence is so close, nothing is likely to change.
The Al Gore-George Bush race in 1990
ended only when the US Supreme Court
(dominated by Republican appointees)
seized jurisdiction to decide as a matter of
convenience that Bush was the winner. The
demographics of this unexpected Trump
sweep helped convince the Democratic lead-
ership that their energy was better spent on
introspection regarding their future direc-
tion. They were stunned, much as the
Congress Party in India in 1976 after their
first loss post-Independence.
REALITY SHOW
This election was a reality show waged on
social media, which one can conclude now
has replaced mainstream journalism and
media as the primary conduit of political dis-
course. The internet technology acclaimed as
the great democratizer at its inception has
become a highway for conspiracy theories
and outright lies, told big and frequently.
Scoring likes and dislikes has not proven
itself a replacement for considered discus-
sion of policy and its ramifications. In this
election, vague assertions of policy—build a
wall, deport immigrants, fix the world’s
biggest and most expensive military, asser-
tions that the nation is dystopian—were
accepted as an adequate substitute for how
to deal with domestic and global issues.
In what was expected to be a big night
STUNNING DEFEAT
Democratic presidential
nominee, Hillary Clinton
of America
UNI

for women in American politics only two
Democratic women triumphed: Kamala
Harris, the California Attorney General and
an Indian-American, winning that state’s
senate seat as Hillary Clinton swept up
California’s 55 electoral votes. In the state’s
predicted to go for Clinton it became clear
that men for Trump—mostly white without a
college education—brought along their
womenfolk. Sisterhood finished second to
harmony in the bedroom. And so did any
Democratic hopes of controlling the Senate.
Harris is the first Indian-American sent to
the US Senate. She leaves for Washington.
Hillary Clinton skips Washington and stays
in New York. At 68 years, she is unlikely to
compete for office again, but her career sug-
gests she will not disappear from view.
Immigration issues will be a major con-
cern for those wishing to emigrate to
America and immigrants already here legal-
ly. Indian families in the US will be dealing
with anxious children, worried that their
family and their futures are not secure, espe-
cially if Trump’s campaign demonization of
immigration continues once he takes office.
India and other nations have supplied sever-
al generations of new Americans, helping
breathe innovation into our business and
social life. Crucial to this are H1B visas and
Green Cards. Presidents cannot change laws
at will, but Executive Orders provide a way
for them to impact the way laws and regula-
tions are applied by federal agencies. The
already tortuous path to get into the US
could be slowed and made more byzantine.
RELUCTANT AMERICANS
One of the initial reactions is how could
polling of voters’ attitudes and leanings be so
far off the mark. It’s not satisfactory to blame
pollsters as biased. For several reasons, it has
become increasingly difficult to get a repre-
sentative sample together. People today in
America are reluctant to talk to pollsters.
Social media can be downright anti-social. A
friend told me he was unfriended on
Facebook because he was a Trump support-
er. More than that perhaps, phones are no
LEAD
T
echnology has a greater impact on
elections in India and America than
ideology. There is empirical as well
as anecdotal evidence that a changing
communications environment supports a
changed political situation. Consider the
mobile phone impact of burst SMS,
WhatsApp, Skype, as well as the social
media phenomenon of Facebook and its
clones in vernacular languages. In the
US, all of this has been applied on behalf
of candidates at all levels, plus using the
video wall for visual advertising on televi-
sion. In the 2014 election in India, the
BJP adopted a new motif to print adver-
tising and campaigning to offset the
absence of political adverts on TV.
FOCUSSED ADVERTISING
Amit Shah and the BJP brain trust used
the media in ways that India had never
seen before. They adapted the TV con-
cept of being pervasive--by optimizing
the still relevant newspapers of India. The
way this was done implied a wave of BJP
enthusiasm among readers. Morning
after morning, the main newspapers
were wrapped with advertising for the
election. The plethora of news channels--
some of which I helped build and train--
were well-used, amplified by a better-
trained cadre of politicians. Social media
apps provided Indian voters with the illu-
sion of being connected and not just a
face in the crowd.
In this endless year of Donald Trump
as the main Republican Party figure, I
sometimes ask: “Are there more crazy
and stupid people today than there used
to be?” I don’t think so, but the ease with
which people can find like-minded peo-
ple to hang out with is vastly simpler than
it used to be. And hang out they do...
creating dangerous bubbles of informa-
Gettingwiredinpolitics
The use of social media during elections has changed the fortunes of many
politicians and given voters the illusion of being connected and counted
TORN IN THE USA
Indian Americans will
be keeping a close
watch on the new
dispensation
Twitter

IL
longer landlines attached to an address.
Ascertaining socio-economic data to balance
the polling sample is difficult when so many
people now use just a mobile smart phone.
This may sound like a lame excuse, but it is a
reality. Urban voters are probably oversam-
pled compared to rural voters. All of this is a
short and simplistic explanation of the
polling issue; however, the actual voting
behavior seems to suggest it is real.
Once the media organizations took
Trump seriously and probed his taxes, his
business affairs, his 3,000-plus law suits
over treatment of vendors and contractors,
stories appeared that would have discredited
a candidate in the past. As an avatar for
morality in personal and business life, his
appeal to evangelical Christians should have
collapsed. It did not. Opposition to abortion
and gender equality trumped everything
else. When Donald Trump left the safety of
the Republican primaries and started to rant
about things, he would have disappeared in a
previous generation. He did not. For many
voters, their feelings were more critical than
facts. The Trump approach treated opposing
facts as lies and it worked.
It is easy to now package Trump in the
same sentence as Hitler, Mussolini, and
Berlusconi, although Trump seems to con-
sider Putin as the ideal style of a leadership.
The Republican Party’s initial ambivalence
to Trump will not be forgotten by a man who
believes such behavior requires revenge.
Assisted by a core of hard right-wing advi-
sors, it is logical to think he will take total
command of the office, dictating to Senate
leader McConnell and House Speaker Ryan
as if they were functionaries at his real estate
company. Perhaps since Franklin Roosevelt
in 1936, few have arrived at the White House
with so much power divorced from the polit-
ical party apparatus.
Are there enough checks and balances in
the political system to prevent the worst
excesses? Half of America and all of the word
hopes so. Perhaps Trump has enough self-
awareness to rise to the challenge in ways
consistent with the leadership of a large
nation, which is quite different from being a
tax-dodging landlord and builder. Yet, every-
thing in Trump’s history suggests this may be
something he cannot fake. Those of us in the
US who have a differing view will have to do
our best to make sure it doesn’t spiral out of
control. The rest of the world will have to be
patient in dealing with a government run by
someone with no experience in public policy
and consensus leadership.
The writer has been a journalist in
American media for more than 50 years
with stints at The Washington Post, NBC,
ABC and CNN and was involved in the start
up of Aaj Tak and continues to work with
several Indian news channels
Indian families in
the US will be
dealing with
anxious children,
worried that their
family and their
futures are not
secure,
especially if
Trump’s
campaign
demonization of
immigration
continues once
he takes office.
tion and thinking. It’s not all lies. Look
closely at Fox News--much of the crimes
they commit against journalism are of
omission, failing to state half of what
someone said or to ignore the context of
a story.
So for millions of short attention span
Americans, this fine mesh of half-stories
and half-truths forms the basis of what
they think is happening. And yes, there is
an underlying racism, a pervasive dis-
trust of people who don’t look like you
that amplifies the discussion to danger-
ous levels. When the Make America
Great Again slogan appeared, those of
us with strong, progressive and left-wing
leanings knew exactly what it said: Make
America White Again. I have strong fami-
ly connections with media and Wall
Street--back in the early 1980s almost
everyone knew that
Trump was not terribly
smart, a classical grifter
with a few extra zeros
on the money line.
MEDIA BASKET
Today, television is
more realistic with
blacks, Hispanics,
gays, straights, vam-
pires, paranormals: a
divergent and much
larger pool of choices than ever before.
Some people tell me this is evidence that
the nation has gone to hell in a media
basket and it should be returned to what
it was. So in the US, we have people
between 50 and 70 years who have dis-
covered that life didn’t play out the way
they saw it on TV and believed they were
entitled to inherit. Today they are angry!
All of this helps explain why people—
some of them smart and my friends—
think that Trump is an acceptable choice
to lead the nation.
By Kenneth Tiven

SUPREME COURT
I
T may sound rather strange that the
two main political rivals in Punjab, the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the
Congress, had at one point or the oth-
er endorsed the construction of the
contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal
and had worked towards its completion. For,
now the parties are vying with each other to
oppose its construction, tooth-and-nail.
The issue of sharing the Ravi-Beas waters
with Haryana had been pending since the
Reorganization of States 50 years ago. Ever
since the construction of the canal was
abruptly stopped in the early 80s after mili-
tants attacked and killed a senior engineer
and workers, it has remained a dormant yet
emotive issue which is always revived during
election time.
This time round, with assembly elections
just two months away, it was bound to be-
come a major issue as the Presidential Ref-
erence before the Supreme Court was sched-
uled to come up before the retirement of one
of the judges on the five-member bench.
PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE
The apex court gave its decision in favor of
Haryana on all the four points for which
Presidential Reference was sought. These
points related to the Punjab Termination of
Agreements Act, 2004, which had sought to
scrap all inter-state agreements unilaterally.
SYL’sChoppyWatersWhile the apex court has ruled in
favor of Haryana and not Punjab in the
Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute, it
is sure to become a poll issue
By Vipin Pubby in Chandigarh
WATER WAR
The dilapidated
SYL Canal at
Ropar, Punjab
Courtesy: The Indian Express

IL
While the Haryana government had moved
courts against the Punjab legislation, Pun-
jab’s governor had sent the Bill for the con-
sideration of the President. He had subse-
quently referred it to the Supreme Court.
As expected, all major political parties in
Punjab reacted sharply to the apex court de-
cision. Punjab Congress chief Captain Ama-
rinder Singh was first off the block with his
resignation as a Lok Sabha member. He also
said that all party MLAs would be submit-
ting their resignations from the assembly
and the party would launch an agitation.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Ba-
dal reiterated his stand that “not a drop” of
water would be allowed to flow out of Punjab
even if that meant defying the country’s top
court. He announced convening of a special
meeting of the assembly to pass a resolution
against the Supreme Court's response to the
Presidential Reference.
AMARINDER’S MOVE
Politics over the issue was revived in 2004
when Captain Amarinder Singh was the chi-
ef minister. He piloted a bill to scrap all
agreements on the water issue. Badal was
then the leader of the opposition and his
party fully supported the move and the
assembly passed the Bill unanimously.
Twelve years later, on March 14 this year,
there was a role reversal. The SAD-BJP gov-
ernment led by Badal moved the contentious
Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal Land
(Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill 2016
seeking to return the land acquired for con-
struction of the SYL canal. He and his gov-
ernment got the unstinted support of the ri-
val Congress with Captain Amarinder Singh
hailing the move.
Immediately after the Bill was passed, the
state government encouraged farmers to
level off the constructed parts of the canal.
Some Congress leaders too joined in the
effort by arranging earth-moving equip-
ment. However, the High Court intervened
after Haryana complained and the execution
code was stopped.
BJP IN A FIX
This issue could become a major one in the
election campaign as Punjab goes to polls
early next year. Although, the stand taken by
SAD is well-known, for the first time, the
BJP will find itself in a bind.
While the BJP is the junior coalition part-
ner in Punjab, it is the ruling party for the fi-
rst time in Haryana. Haryana Chief Minis-
ter Manohar Lal Khattar has been pushing
hard for getting SYL waters for Haryana,
while the party’s Punjab unit does not favor
water flowing outside Punjab.
The new entrant on the scene, the Aam
Aadmi Party, is blaming both the Congress
and SAD over the SYL issue and for not get-
ting “justice” for Punjab. The party had given
an affidavit in court favoring the flow of wa-
ter from Punjab. However later, party supre-
mo Arvind Kejriwal said the affidavit was fi-
led by a junior advocate after Haryana re-
minded Delhi that it too was getting water
from Haryana.
While political parties in Punjab will rake
up this issue, most people seem convinced
that it is now a dead one. Only the use of
force to complete the canal can lead to ten-
sion. But even that is highly unlikely and cer-
tainly not during the run-up to the impend-
ing assembly elections.
The President may or may not accept the
Supreme Court's views, but it is certain that
he will not take any decision on the matter in
the near future.
While political parties in Punjab will rake up the issue,
most people seem convinced that it is now a dead
one. Only the use of force to complete the canal
could lead to tension. Even that is highly unlikely.
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS
(From left) Punjab
Congress chief Captain
Amarinder Singh, chief
minister Parkash Singh
Badal, Haryana chief
minister Manohar Lal
Khattar
Photos: UNI

DEFENSE
T
HE LoC between India
and Pakistan is not the
only hotspot for the armed
forces right now. Another
battle, albeit bullet-less
thank God, is heating up
in our own backyard.
Here, our men in uniform, represented by vet-
erans, are once again engaged in a crusade for
what they believe is justly theirs. And this
political war has already produced a hero—
veteran Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal of the
105 Infantry Battalion. He recently commit-
ted suicide.
This tragedy, which has caused nationwide
anguish and an outpouring of street and social
media protests from ex-servicemen, has re-
ignited the One Rank, One Pension (OROP)
debate. You thought it had all been settled,
and the pitiable sight of ageing vets protesting
at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar had evanesced like a
bad dream? Not by a long shot.
Subedar Grewal killed himself because he
was incensed over what he perceived to be a
gross injustice and breach of faith by the
government. He did not receive what he
was informed he was entitled to under the
OROP scheme passed by the Narendra Modi
government.
What’s going on here? Why is the BJP
squandering the goodwill of the fauji commu-
nity, a large chunk of which rallied around
Modi to give him and his party one of the
largest landslide victories in recent electoral
memory?
Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi,
Arvind Kejriwal and Jyotiraditya Scindia
found the gallant subedar’s tragic suicide the
perfect theatre for street drama as they court-
ed arrest (Rahul with a bunch of supporters
screaming “Rahul Gandhi ki jai”) near Ram
Manohar Lohia Hospital in a lachrymose dis-
play of public sympathy for the deceased and
his bereaved family.
Unfortunately, this whole issue of pension
parity for retired servicemen, going back
decades, has become a political drama. It
bounced on to center-stage on September 15,
2013, in Rewari, Haryana. Modi began his
national election campaign debut here imme-
diately after being anointed the BJP’s prime
ministerial candidate.
At this mother of all rallies attended by
1,00,000 people, the aspiring PM, accompa-
The CurseThe faujis are unflinching in their commitment to protect our border. Why
HE DIED FOR JUSTICE
Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal

High Court, has submitted its report to the
government, which, sources say, validates
many of the grievances of the protesting vets.
But for some strange reason, it is being kept
under wraps.
Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), chairman of
Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM),
has said for the record: “Justice Reddy has
submitted the report on Oct. 25, then why is it
kept confidential? It is not about operations
details. It is about the welfare of soldiers. Let
them put it out.”
As The Hindu succinctly put it: “The major
demands of the veterans are equalization of
pension annually and not five years, personnel
opting for Pre-Mature Retirement (PMR)
nied by former Army Chief General VK Singh
and former Army officer and Olympic medal-
ist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, pledged
to implement the decades-old demand by
India’s vets for OROP within 100 days of
assuming office.
T
he gap between promise and perform-
ance is what is causing today’s
upheaval. In a nutshell, the faujis are
peeved with what they say is a total falsehood.
Government spin doctors have blitzkrieged
the media with the assertion that OROP has
been implemented as promised. But the
aggrieved pensioners argue that this is blatant
dissimulation: All that has happened is a one-
time enhancement of the pension
with a revision every five years
instead of a yearly increase.
To rub more salt into the
wounds, spokesmen supporting
the government have decried the
protestors’ demands as “greed”.
This, above all, has devastated the
faujis’ sense of honor—their
izzat—which many consider more
important than life itself. The
judiciary entered the fray when
Justice Dipak Misra of the
Supreme Court asked the govern-
ment to answer the assertion that
the Modi government had
watered down the OROP scheme
to the detriment of the vets.
In the latest development,
Justice L Narasimha Reddy,
retired chief justice of the Patna
of OROPthen do political parties deny them their due? BBy Inderjit Badhwar
DEMANDING
THEIR DUE
Ex-servicemen
returning their medals
in protest against the
non-implementation
of OROP
UNI

should also be eligible for the OROP, imple-
mentation from April 2014 and not July 2014,
take the highest pay scale of 2013 for revising
pension and not the average of the maximum
and minimum as intended by the government
and not to link the OROP with the Seventh
Pay Commission.”
Perhaps Rajya Sabha MP and business-
man Rajeev Chandrasekhar should make the
Reddy report public. There is no reason why it
should be treated as a national security secret.
C
handrasekhar, who is an activist for
defense personnel causes, also rightly
points out that the OROP mess is not
entirely the creation of the Modi government.
It has deeper roots, some of which germinated
during the Congress regime. So he finds the
Rahul Gandhi protest at which his followers
were screaming his praises, an example of
crass exhibitionism.
On November 4, Chandrasekhar penned a
personal “Dear Rahul” letter to the Gandhi,
excerpts of which are worth reproducing
because they shed considerable light on
the background of the vexatious OROP
controversy:
“Most Indians are anguished about the sad
and tragic suicide of Veteran Subedar Ram
Kishan Grewal of 105 Inf. Btn TA and DSC. I
suspect you were trying to convey your deep
feeling and concern by visiting the family of
the Veteran at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital
along with an entourage shouting ‘Rahul
Gandhi ki Jai’.
“However, may I respectfully suggest that
going with an entourage shouting ‘Rahul
Gandhi ki Jai’ to a hospital full of patients and
worrying relatives may not be the best way to
show your recently discovered concern for
Veterans.
“I say recently discovered because you and
your successive UPA Government’s actions
and conduct on One Rank, One Pension
(OROP) are there in the public domain and
worth reiterating.
“L
et me jog your memory. While I
have raised the demand for OROP
since I stepped into Parliament in
2006, it was during the terms of the Congress-
led UPA-1 and UPA -2 that I wrote several let-
ters to and had several meetings on the matter
with the then Prime Minister, Defence
Minister, Chairperson UPA and also to you
urging for implementation of the long pend-
ing OROP. All of them were met with either a
‘can’t do it’ or a stony silence. There was even
DEFENSE
POLITICAL
MILEAGE
(L-R) Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind
Kejriwal and
Congress vice-
president Rahul
Gandhi near Ram
Manohar Lohia
Hospital in Delhi to
meet the deceased
subedar’s family
(Facing page)
Narendra Modi had
promised OROP at
a rally in Rewari,
Haryana, in 2013 as
he flagged off his
election campaign
for the 2014 polls
UNI

a Parliamentary Committee of Petitions under
Shri Koshiyari that studied a petition that I
was instrumental in submitting and even its
report submitted in 2011 was ignored by the
UPA government.
“I had first written to you on OROP and
other Armed Forces related issues way back in
2011, but you neither replied to it nor took any
action. It probably wasn’t politically ‘interest-
ing’ enough for you then. It took you years to
even mention and get to that issue—and even
then it was only before Elections 2014 as a
pre-poll election stunt. It was then that I
wrote to you in February 2014 where I lauded
your belated interest, reminding you of how
belated it was with a list of all my letters writ-
ten to then Prime Minister, Defence Minister,
Congress Chairperson and yourself requesting
you to address the serious issue and prevent
further alienation and disenchantment in the
Veteran community.
“Even when the OROP was hurriedly
announced by your Government prior to
Elections, adding insult to injury was your
Finance Minister allocating a mere `500
crore—a cruel joke which would not have been
enough for enhanced pensions for even 10%
of the Veterans.
“It took the current Government, despite
serious objections from the Finance Ministry
about the fiscal implications, to announce and
implement OROP—costing almost `8,300
crore per annum and a one-time cost of more
than `20,000 crore—correcting a four-
decade-old injustice perpetrated on our
Veterans. Because, as its worth reminding
you, in 1972-73 it was Smt. Indira Gandhi,
then Prime Minister who in one stroke termi-
nated OROP after the 1971 Indo-Pak War. In
2002, Congress President Sonia Gandhi
spoke and advocated for OROP at a political
rally, but then followed it up with being in
power until 2014 and not having it imple-
mented. The Congress in 2004 even included
the OROP in its manifesto promising a solu-
tion, but spent the entire term and then the
next denying the same to the Veterans.
“Perhaps you also need to be reminded that
in 2008 the then Defence Minister Shri AK
Antony stated that the UPA Government had
not found the OROP demand acceptable! The
UPA Government had rejected the OROP
demand, holding that it would be a huge
financial cost of over `3,500 crore then.
“When I joined the Veterans in their
protest in December 2008 as they sat for a
relay fast at Jantar Mantar or when the
Veterans marched to Rashtrapati Bhawan
“I had first written
to you on OROP
and other Armed
Forces related
issues way back
in 2011, but you
neither replied to
it nor took any
action. It probably
wasn't politically
'interesting'
enough for you
then. It took you
years to even
mention and get
to that issue….”
—Rajeev
Chandrasekhar,
Rajya Sabha MP,
in a letter to
Rahul Gandhi

in 2009 surrendering their medals to the
President for non-implementation of OROP,
I do not recall you or anyone in your party
saying a word in support or doing anything
about it.
“You may want to be reminded that it was
this refusal to implement OROP by the
Congress-led UPA Government that led me to
facilitate a petition by citizens and Veterans to
the Committee of Petitions, Rajya Sabha, that
resulted in the Koshiyari Committee report of
2011, tabled in Parliament only to have your
UPA Government respond thus—‘Not possi-
ble because of administrative, financial and
legal complications in implementation of the
OROP scheme.’
“My repeated letters and interventions in
Parliament continued through the regime of
Congress-led UPA -1 and UPA -2 and never
once do I recall you showing solidarity with
the struggle of the Veterans. In August 2010, I
declined to accept the salary hike given to
MPs until the OROP issue was settled
completely.
“There’s much to be reminded of
on the larger aspect of welfare of
Armed Forces and Veterans— like the
UPA Government’s track record on
welfare and key issues like lack of vot-
ing rights for Armed Forces, lack of
adequate housing for serving forces
and families, etc. or maybe these are
issues that are not currently politically
interesting enough.
“R
ahul—I accept the prem-
ise that yours may be a
case of belated wisdom
and compassion dawning. That is a
good thing. But it’s a bit trite to
assume that past records of political
parties will be forgotten and that the
country doesn’t realise how far we
have come in the cause of serving and
repaying our Veterans in the past two
years compared to the past four
decades.
“Yes, there are some pending com-
plex issues in OROP, including some
fundamental issues to ensure consis-
tency with the definition of One Rank,
One Pension. These were referred to the
One-Man Judicial Committee set up to look
after these anomalies. This Committee has
only recently submitted its report and we
should look to them.
“The death of Subedar Grewal is a terrible
blot on a nation that takes pride in its Armed
Forces and the tradition of service and sacri-
fice they represent. It is indisputable that over
the past several decades, the Defence Ministry
and bureaucracy has become apathetic and
uncaring to the plight of our Veterans, widows
and serving forces and their families.
“There is no doubt that this needs chang-
ing and transforming and that must be where
the genuine political anger, if any, must be
focused. Grandstanding and political oppor-
tunism tends to stale rapidly and hypocrisy
even faster.”
Point taken, Mr Chandrasekhar. But your
letter further strengthens the belief of those
whose comment on this issue is a terse, “a pox
on both their houses”.
DEFENSE
JusticeDipakMisraofthe
SupremeCourt
The judiciary entered
the fray when he
asked the govt to
answer the assertion
that the Modi
dispensation had
watered down the
OROP scheme.
JusticeLNarasimha
Reddy,retiredCJ,Patna
HighCourt
His report to the govt
validates many of
the grievances of the
protesting vets, as
per sources. But
it’s being kept
under wraps.
AKAntony,Defense
MinisterinUPA-IandUPA-II
He had said that the
demand for OROP
was unacceptable to
the UPA as it would
entail a cost of `3,500
crore, Chandrasekhar
in his letter to Rahul
Gandhi claims.
IL

STATES
W
ITHIN 48 hours of the
controversial police
encounter where eight
suspected SIMI under-
trials were gunned
down in Bhopal on
October 31, the Shivraj
Singh Chouhan government went from
chest-thumping to damage-control. Joint
teams of the Bhopal police and Anti-Terro-
rism Squad (ATS) had killed these undertri-
als on a hilltop, 10 km from the highly forti-
fied Bhopal jail. Since then, conflicting ver-
sions have surfaced from the police and state
home minister, leading to allegations that it
might be a fake encounter.
JUDICIAL PROBE
Three interventions forced the state govern-
ment to order a judicial probe into the “cold-
blooded murders”, according to the defense
lawyer of the slain undertrials, Pervez Alam.
On November 2, Bhopal-based journalist
Awadhesh Bhagrava filed a PIL in the
Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking a judi-
cial inquiry. The same day, the Jabalpur
High Court issued notices to the government
advocate and ATS seeking a detailed report
on the “encounter” of these suspected SIMI
members. Bail applications of some of the
slain undertrials were scheduled for hearing
before the bench headed by Justice CB
Sirpurkar. “We petitioned for a detailed
report about the encounter, including the
autopsy papers,” said Naeem Khan, counsel
for several of the alleged SIMI members. The
National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and state’s human rights commis-
sion (MPHRC) also issued notices to the
state government, police and prison authori-
ties. MPHRC sought a report within 15 days
from IG (Bhopal range) over the encounter.
Although the defense lawyers are opti-
mistic about getting justice from the Court,
they are unhappy about the state govern-
ment instituting a judicial commission head-
ed by retired high court judge SK Pandey. As
for the other three probes ordered by the
state government, the defense lawyers are
not hopeful of unearthing the truth behind
MP’s
Jailhouse
RockThe killing of eight SIMI undertrials by the
Bhopal police has raised many
uncomfortable questions and could lead to
a protracted legal battle
By Rakesh Dixit in Bhopal

the jailbreak-encounter. These probes are by
former DGP Nandan Dubey, by a Special
Investigation Team and by a magistrate.
“How can the culprit (the state govern-
ment) unilaterally order a judicial probe by a
retired judge into the extrajudicial killings
without consulting the chief justice of the
High Court? This militates against the very
spirit of natural justice,” Alam told India Le-
gal. He demanded a judicial probe by a sit-
ting High Court judge instead. He also mo-
ved petitions in the High Court on behalf of
family members of the slain undertrials. The
Congress too is contemplating filing a PIL in
the Supreme Court to seek direction for a ju-
dicial probe by a sitting judge. “Our lawyers,
Vivek Tankha and Kapil Sibal, are examining
details of the extrajudicial killings,” said state
Congress president Arun Yadav.
The prospect of multiple judicial scruti-
nies into the controversial police encounter
has added to the state government’s worries.
It is already rattled by a series of audio-video
clips of the encounter that went viral in
social media and news channels.
PUBLIC ENDORSEMENT
A day after the encounter, Chouhan sought
public endorsement of the killings in a func-
tion to mark Madhya Pradesh Founding Day
on November 1. A 10,000-strong crowd at
Bhopal’s Lal Parade Ground comprising
mostly of BJP and RSS supporters and gov-
ernment employees saw Chouhan exhorting
the crowd to raise their hands if they app-
roved of the deaths of the “dreaded terror-
ists.” The crowd obliged with lusty chants of
“Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
Justifying the encounter, Chouhan told rep-
orters that the “timely killings” had saved the
nation from many possible terrorist strikes
and the loss of innocent lives in future.
The scene evoked memories of previous
election rallies in Gujarat where Narendra
Modi, then the state’s chief minister, sought
a similar public endorsement for the deaths
of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin, victims of
controversial police encounters in Gujarat
between 2004 and 2008.
State BJP president Nand Kumar Singh
Chouhan said that it was the chief minister’s
desire to nab the escapees dead or alive
which had enthused the police to eliminate
the terrorists. Neither the BJP nor the police
seemed unduly concerned over the damning
audio-video evidence about the encounter. It
was only after the Court intervention that
the government’s and BJP’s rhetoric gave
way to damage control. Police officers
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
(Above) Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan on Madhya
Pradesh Founding Day urged
the crowd to applaud the
killings of suspected SIMI
undertrials
(Facing page) Bodies of the
undertrialsUNI

IL
were told to keep shut and a judicial probe
ordered. Excited BJP cadres were asked to
cancel plans to facilitate police officers and
the government withheld the cash award it
had announced for the police personnel who
were part of the encounter till the judicial
probe was complete.
SC GUIDELINES
On September 23, 2014, the Supreme Court
while hearing an appeal by the People’s Un-
ion for Civil Liberties against the State of
Maharashtra laid down 16 guidelines in case
of death due to police firing. One of them
stated that it must be ensured that rewards
are given or recommended to the police per-
sonnel only when gallantry is established be-
yond doubt. Cash rewards to four villagers
who claimed to have provided first informa-
tion about the escapees were also withheld.
The swift damage control may have pre-
vented further taint on the state govern-
ment’s image but it has to brace up for a long
legal battle ahead. Unanswered questions
about the controversial jailbreak and subse-
quent encounter are too many and too dis-
comforting to answer, aver the SIMI opera-
tives’ defense lawyers. Those killed in the en-
counter include Sheikh Mujeeb, Mohammad
Salik, Khalid Ahmad, Majid, Amjad, Ma-
hboob alias Guddu, Aqeel Khilji and Zakir
Husain. Of them, Zakir, Amjad and Ma-
hboob had escaped from Khandwa jail too in
October 2013. The SIMI operatives were fac-
ing sedition charges. They were arrested for
running the banned outfit’s activities in Ma-
dhya Pradesh and robbing banks to finance
their operations. They were accused of kill-
ing two policemen in the past, and of rob-
bing banks, including Manappuram Bank in
Bhopal. However, in one of the bank robbery
cases, some of them were acquitted.
ALMOST ACQUITTED
According to defense lawyers Alam and Tha-
havur Khan, none of the slain undertrials
was a SIMI operative. Secondly, trials agai-
nst them for the last three years had turned
futile as the prosecution failed to corroborate
charges against them. “Four of them were
near acquittal and it defies logic to believe
they would do a jailbreak,” Alam added.
Thahavur Khan said: “The trial was going
on and there were only 18 to 20 witnesses
who remained to be questioned. There was
no ample evidence against them, factually or
legally. There was no reason for them to
break jail. The court judgment was expected
to come out in weeks.” All the accused were
booked under multiple sections of the Un-
lawful Activities Prevention Act. The main
charge slapped against them was Section
153A (promoting enmity between different
groups on grounds of religion, race, place of
birth, residence, language, etc. and doing
acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony).
Two slain undertrial prisoners—Khilji
and Amjad—were in police custody even
before they were formally declared arrested
under terror charges on June 13, 2011. Advo-
cate Javaid Chauhan of Khandwa, who rep-
resented Khilji, said: “In some cases, the evi-
dence of guilt is identical. For example, the
same copy of a magazine has been produced
in at least four different cases across the sta-
te. The same receipt of contribution to SIMI
funds has been produced as evidence in two
different cases.”
The state government has not countered
these allegations. Nor has the prosecution or
the ATS come out with any explanation on
the progress that was made in collecting evi-
dence against the SIMI undertrials who
were in Bhopal jail since 2014. A total of 29
alleged SIMI undertrials are in Bhopal jail.
There is more to this than meets the eye,
it seems.
PRISON TALES
Bhopal’s central jail
from where the SIMI
men allegedly escaped
STATES
“The trial was
going on and
there were only
18 to 20
witnesses who
remained to be
questioned.
There was no
ample evidence
against them,
factually or
legally. There
was no reason
for them to
break jail.”
—Thahavur Khan,
defense lawyer

STATES
C
AN an Indian court demand
the identity of the person
who uploaded a particular
content on an internatio-
nally accessible website? This
question has gained signifi-
cance after the Madras High
Court passed multiple orders, the latest on
October 27, directing Google and its sub-
sidiary YouTube to provide the IP address
and details of a user accused of uploading
defamatory content on the video sharing
site. However, Google and YouTube are hes-
itant to reveal the identity since this will
breach the privacy clause which they have
with the concerned user and
make them vulnerable to privacy
lawsuits in other countries.
Along with Google and You-
Tube, online activists of Tamil
Nadu are also concerned. Reason:
they fear that they can no longer
seek refuge behind the anonymity
offered by the internet and would
stand expose not only to the sta-
te’s scrutiny but also to a barrage
of litigations if the order is imple-
mented and sets a precedent.
But what is the genesis of the
court order? Lebara Foundation,
a Chennai-based organization
fighting child poverty, petitioned
the Madras High Court to direct
YouTube to remove what it called
an objectionable and defamatory
video against it uploaded by MS
Marupakkam Seithigal.
Hearing the petition, Justice
MM Sundresh on May 13, 2016, not only
directed YouTube to remove the objection-
able content but also provide the IP address
and other user details of Seithigal. Both
YouTube and Google filed a modification
petition and the same were heard by the
same judge and he passed an order on June
23, 2016, reiterating his earlier ruling.
MODIFICATION PETITIONS
YouTube and Google then filed another
modification petition and after hearing elab-
orate arguments from both sides, Justice
Sundresh passed a detailed 18-page order on
August 29, 2016. The judge dismissed
A recent Madras High Court’s directive to YouTube and Google to
provide the IP address and details of a user uploading defamatory
content has rattled online activists in Tamil Nadu
By R Ramasubramanian in Chennai
BlowagainstNetFreedom
Bhavana Gaur

YouTube’s contention that it had complied
with the single judge’s order by blocking the
viewing of the video in India but couldn’t do
the same outside the country.
The Lebara Foundation contended that
it wants the IP address and the details to file
a civil defamation suit against MS
Marupakkam Seithigal. “The major part of
the order passed by this court has been com-
plied with. However the direction issued to
furnish the correct IP address along with the
name of the author of the offending URL
outside the country has not been furnished
with. The offending video of the website was
available in the website of YouTube which
could be accessed by anyone from outside
the country and hence the respondent/plain-
tiff (Lebara Foundation) wants to have the
IP address so as to proceed against these
persons who are responsible for the same,”
it said.
Interestingly, the court dismissed You-
Tube’s two major arguments: (a) YouTube
and Google are only facilitators and no direc-
tion can be sought for against them and (b)
furnishing the user details would expose the
user to the rigor of any law that would be
available in other countries. In support of his
arguments, YouTube’s lawyer also cited the
YouTube and Google privacy and community
guidelines.
The judge also mentioned that the aver-
ments made by Google through an email to
YouTube’s counsel on July 25, 2016, did not
hold: “As per Section 1782 of Title 28 of the
United States Code and by filing a ‘John Doe’
lawsuit in Santa Clara County, California or
even invoking diplomatic procedure such as
Hague Evidence Convention, which provides
a mechanism for non US persons and enti-
ties who wish to obtain evidence to do so
through US Department of Justice, Office of
International Judicial Assistance in Wash-
ington, DC one can get the details. But this
has to be done through the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of International Judicial
Assistance in Washington, DC”.
For this Justice Sundresh observed the
following: “Sub Section b of Section 1782 of
Title 28 of United States Code is as follows:
‘(b) This chapter does not preclude a person
within the United States from voluntarily
giving his testimony or statement, or pro-
ducing a document or other thing, for use in
a proceeding in a foreign or international tri-
bunal before any person and in manner
acceptable to him’.”
JUDGES COUNTER
The High Court order also speaks about how
“A John Doe Law Suit is filed if the true iden-
tity of the defrauder is unknown. A civil suit
is filed using a John Doe for the Defendant’s
name. It is necessary to provide all emails;
letters wire transfers etc. that show that the
identity or location of the Defendant is not
known. The purpose of such a suit is to ob-
tain a subpoena (it’s a document that req-
uires its recipient to appear in court as wit-
ness) and of the unknown fraudster in order
to obtain the person’s name and address in
order to file a civil suit”. Quoting this section,
Justice Sundresh said: “If a person is agg-
rieved by the offending video uploaded by an
unknown Phantom, then the identity will
have to be known or else there will not be
any remedy in the eye of law.”
Likewise, on the privacy policy, the judge
quoted Google’s own provisions: “We will
share personal information with companies,
organizations or individuals outside of Goo-
gle if we have a good faith belief that access,
use, preservation or disclosure of the infor-
mation is reasonably necessary to: meet any
applicable law, regulation, legal process or
IN A FIX
Google and YouTube are
hesitant to reveal the
identity of users as it will
breach a privacy clause
STATES

enforceable governmental request, enforce
applicable Terms of Service, including inves-
tigation of potential violations, detect, pre-
vent or otherwise address fraud, security or
technical issues ….”
YouTube and Google appealed against
this ruling and a division bench of the
Madras High Court headed by Chief Justice
Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahe-
devan on October 27, 2016, dismissed it. The
bench said it is not some secret information
affecting the personal rights of the undis-
closed second respondent (MS Marupakkam
Seithigal). It is only the identity and address
of that person so that the Court can take
appropriate process to determine the rights
of two respondents (Lebara Foundation and
MS Marupakkam Seithigal). The bench also
gave two weeks time to YouTube and Google
to disclose the IP address.
ONLINE ACTIVISTS CONCERNED
This judgment has jolted online activists in
Tamil Nadu. Speaking to India Legal, they
expressed fear that this would terribly affect
their work. “Anonymity is the charm and
strength of internet. There may be 5 to 10
percent misuse which is negligible. This rul-
ing will have a cascading effect on the work
of online activists in Tamil Nadu wherein the
state government has been hell-bent upon
filing defamation cases right, left and center
against media persons and politicians. There
are 213 defamation cases filed by Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa alone and no one
knows the count in the districts. By using the
net’s anonymity, online activists were able to
bring out leads in many corruption cases and
these were later picked up by the main-
stream media,” said A Shankar, a Chennai-
based on-line activist.
Another online activist, Sam Ponraj, reit-
erated this apprehension. “This ruling will
definitely affect our work. For example, on
platforms like Facebook, the identity of the
page administrator is not known. Now, this
will expose them. For a country like India,
and especially in Tamil Nadu where getting
credible information from the government
on any issue is extremely difficult, anonymity
is a tool to bare the truth and place the same
in the public domain.”
Another online activist however has a
slightly different take. “Indian IT laws are
strong enough to elicit the relevant informa-
tion from the service providers. So the Mad-
ras High Court is well within its rights in
passing an order like this. But if there is a
clash between any law and Article 19 (which
ensures freedom of expression) then the lat-
ter should prevail. I feel this is one case
where there is a clash between Indian IT
Acts and Article 19.”
He cited the recent case involving Jaya-
lalithaa’s health. “The police have arrested 10
people for spreading ‘rumors’ on Jaya-
lalithaa’s health. Still, hundreds of posts are
regularly appearing in social media about
her condition and this is crucial when the
traditional media is just parroting monoto-
nous medical statements of the hospital. If
anonymity is not preserved, then not a single
social media post on sensitive and important
issues will be possible.”
It is not clear whether YouTube and Goo-
gle will comply with the High Court’s orders
or go for appeal. But the final outcome of the
case will be watched closely by those who
support and oppose internet freedom. IL
The ruling will have a
cascading effect on
online activists in Tamil
Nadu where there are
213 defamation cases
filed by Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa alone.
Justice MM Sundresh on
May 13, 2016 directed
YouTube to remove the
objectionable content
and provide the IP
address of the person
who uploaded it.

STATES
T
HE 1975 blockbuster Deewar cata-
pulted Amitabh Bachchan to star-
dom and immortalized some of his
dialogues from the film. Among
these were: “Jao jaake pehle us
aadmi ka sign lekar aao, jisne mere haath
par yeh likh diya…(Mera baap chor hai).”
Bachchan had the benefit of being a hero
and his director, Yash Chopra, made sure
that he generated huge public sympathy with
the disclosure about how his arm was tat-
tooed with the words “mera baap chor hai
(My father is a thief)” and how it impacted
his life. In real life people are not so lucky.
Eighteen years after the film’s release, a
few policemen from Punjab appeared to
have taken all the wrong lessons from the
film. They caught hold of four women, whom
they suspected of being pickpockets, and tat-
tooed the word jebkatari (pickpocket) on
their foreheads. The crudely inscribed tattoo
on these women, who belonged to the Sansi
tribe which is considered a criminal one,
ruined their lives and those of their children
but failed to evoke the kind of public sympa-
thy the case deserved.
Now, 24 years after the gruesome
incident at Rambagh police station in
Amritsar, a CBI special court has awarded
three year’s rigorous imprisonment (RI) to
Superintendent of Police Sukhdev Singh
Chinna and Sub-Inspector Narender Singh
Brand of ShameTwenty-four years after four women from Punjab were branded on their
foreheads as pickpockets, the guilty policemen have got away with a
mild punishment by a CBI court
By Vipin Pubby in Chandigarh
OVER-STEPPING THE LINE
The three women who
were branded
Facebook

IL
investigation which later took place. The
case lingered for 24 years and the perpetra-
tors of the atrocity finally got away with a
comparatively mild sentence.
In the meantime, the trauma that the vic-
tims underwent not only affected them, but
their children and extended families as well.
It took them nearly one-and-a-half years to
undergo surgery for removal of the tattoo but
the scars remain even today.
One of the victims, Parmeshwari Devi,
65, says her family life was disrupted after
the word jebkatri was inscribed on her fore-
head. “Two of my married daughters faced
divorce while no one was prepared to marry
my third daughter.” She said that her only
son, who was humiliated by his peers, died of
depression. She admits that she was involved
in petty crimes but asks whether it is justi-
fied for anyone to brand her forehead.
Another victim, Mohinder Kaur, 64, said
the incident still haunts her. She recalls that
shopkeepers would tease her and all her
neighbors would keep away from her and her
children. She said her husband died due to
the humiliation meted to the family. Her son,
33-year-old Pappu, who was in Class VI
when the incident happened, recalled that
he was always the suspect if anyone lost a
stationery item or pencil in his classroom.
He said his classmates made fun of him and,
later in life, police from neighboring areas
would pick him up for questioning if any
petty crime took place in the area.
Although the victims have expressed
shock and dismay at the courts letting off the
accused so lightly, there is little likelihood of
the sentence getting challenged. The victims
are too poor to hire a lawyer to challenge the
verdict and the CBI has shown no inclina-
tion of taking it up further. No human rights
organization has come forward to pursue the
case. Some newspapers in the region did
carry a few stories in the inside pages but the
story was completely ignored by the elec-
tronic media. It would not have fetched any
TRPs as it was not related to the national
capital, the middle class or celebrities.
Unlike the character played by Amitabh
Bachchan in Deewar, the victims will have to
forget about the incident and learn to live
with it.
Malhi who was then the Station House
Officer (SHO) of Rambagh police station.
The court of CBI judge Baljinder Singh also
awarded one year RI to ASI Kanwaljit Singh.
They denied that they had branded the fore-
heads of the women and said that it was
done by the women’s neighbors who were fed
up by their habit of pickpocketing.
MILD CHARGES
The policemen were prosecuted by the CBI
under Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing
grievous hurt), 342 (Wrongful confinement),
346 (Wrongful confinement in secret) and
34 (Common intention) of the IPC.
Obviously the charges slapped against them
were too mild, which helped them get away
with a comparatively minor penalty. The vic-
tims neither had the means nor the support
to pursue the case, argued a CBI lawyer.
As per the victims, they had a spat with
some local policemen over the running of an
illegal distillery. This annoyed the then SP
and SHO. The women were caught on
December 8, 1993, from near the Golden
Temple and taken to the police station. They
alleged that Malhi, the then SHO, ordered
some policemen to tie them to chairs and
wrote the word “jebkatari” on their fore-
heads with a black pen. He then ordered his
colleagues to get a machine used for inscrib-
ing utensils and got the word branded on
their foreheads.
After about a week, they were presented
before a local court in Amritsar with their
foreheads covered with cloth but one of the
women displayed the tattoo in the court.
Though the court did not take cognizance,
the local media picked up the story and high-
lighted the atrocity committed on the
women who were then in their 30s.
HC ORDER
The National Human Rights Commission
took up the case and approached the Punjab
and Haryana High Court on January 17,
1994. It sought compensation for the victims
as well as a CBI investigation into the inci-
dent. The High Court subsequently ordered
a compensation of `50,000 each towards the
cost of plastic surgery for removal of the tat-
too on their foreheads. It also ordered a CBI
“Two of my
married
daughters
faced divorce
while no one
was prepared
to marry my
third
daughter.”
—Parmeshwari Devi,
one of the
branded victims

STATES
I
S the young Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) losing its sheen fighting
on many fronts? It appears so
even though Delhi chief minister
and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal
has claimed that while his legal
battles are still on, his party’s
expansion plans to Goa, Punjab and other
states are on track.
Ever since he took over as Delhi CM for
the second time on February 14, 2015,
Kejriwal has been courting controversies
on administrative, legal, political and other
fronts. The chief minister has tried to
make villains of the center, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi’s
Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung for every failure of
his government.
LOGGERHEADS WITH JUNG
The tussle for Delhi’s reins began within days
of Kejriwal taking over. He instructed offi-
cials to route all policy files through him and
not the L-G. Jung struck back. Kejriwal
claims that the administrative measures
needed to implement government policy
have also been routinely blocked by the L-G.
The AAP government has been at logger-
The Delhi CM’s
ding-dong battle with
Lt-Governor Najeeb
Jung and others have
often seen him
vanquished. Will this
have an impact on the
forthcoming polls in
Punjab and Goa?
By Kalyani Shankar
Kejriwal’s
Dented
Image
WHO’S THE BOSS?
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal (left) and
L-G Najeeb Jung (right)

heads with Jung over appointments, trans-
fers, file clearances and control of the police.
First, when Kejriwal passed an order
against the removal of illegal encroachments
in Delhi, Jung let him know that the chief
minister had no power to issue it. In March
2015, when the chief secretary of Delhi went
on leave for 11 days, Jung forced Kejriwal to
accept Shakuntala Gamlin, the power secre-
tary, as acting chief secretary. The Anti-
Corruption Bureau (ACB) became another
sticking point with the agency being headed
by two people at the same time. The L-G
appointed MK Meena, while the Delhi gov-
ernment appointed SS Yadav. The conflict
came to a head when Jung ordered that the
ACB would report to him directly. In recent
times, after the court held that the L-G is the
administrative head of the national capital,
Jung directed the heads of all departments
to review orders and identify files for which
his approval was required but not taken. And
this month, the L-G transferred Delhi's
health secretary Tarun Seem and Public
Works Department secretary Sarvagya
Srivastava among others.
There have been several legal battles
which Kejriwal has taken to court over the
past two years. He had rushed to court every
time Jung overruled a controversial order of
his regarding administrative powers.
To Kejriwal’s dismay, the Delhi High Court
has set aside a number of decisions made by
his government.
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIES
The latest blow to Kejriwal came on
September 8 when the Delhi HC quashed his
government’s notification appointing 21 leg-
islators as parliamentary secretaries. Having
won 67 seats out of 70, the AAP chief
appointed them to keep his flock happy. The
High Court observed that the order had been
passed “without concurrence/approval of the
LG”. The AAP had maintained that the posts
were “not an Office of Profit” as the MLAs do
not receive any pecuniary benefit whatsoev-
er. The related question on whether the par-
liamentary secretaries should also be dis-
qualified as MLAs for holding an “Office of
Profit” is currently pending before the
Election Commission.
For Kejriwal, the most important legal
battle is about the status of his parliamen-
tary secretaries. Earlier on June 13,
President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected an
amendment proposed by the AAP govern-
ment to the Delhi Members of Legislative
Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act,
1997, which would have exempted a parlia-
mentary secretary from the definition of
“office of profit”.
This controversy began when the
Rashtriya Mukti Morcha, an NGO, went to
court on March 15 for scrapping the appoint-
ments as they were “illegal”. Article 191(1)(a)
says that “a person shall be disqualified for
being chosen as, and for being, a member of
the Legislative Assembly or Legislative
Council of a State… if he holds any office of
profit under the Government of India or the
Government of any State specified in the
First Schedule, other than an office declared
by the Legislature of the State by law not to
disqualify its holder”. The AAP now claims
that the legislators cannot now be disquali-
fied as the position itself has been held “void
ab initio” (to be treated as invalid from the
outset). “There are no parliamentary secre-
taries in Delhi,” the AAP claims now.
OFFICE OF PROFIT
Though the constitution does not define the
term “office of profit” clearly, some
In March 2015,
when the chief
secretary of Delhi
went on leave
for 11 days, Jung
forced Kejriwal
to accept
Shakuntala
Gamlin (left), the
power secretary,
as acting chief
secretary.

approval”, the government should not take
decisions. This came as a big setback for
Kejriwal, but he has not given up as he has
taken the fight to the Supreme Court now.
There has been an ongoing tussle
between Kejriwal and Jung over many
issues, including the handling of government
files. Two scams of hundreds of crores, both
involving issues such as bus services and
water tankers, could take the AAP chief
down further. Politically, these court deci-
sions could not have come at a worse time for
the AAP.
Controversies have been dogging the
heels of the Kejriwal government from the
beginning. He first got rid of some founding
members such as Prashant Bhushan and
Yogendra Yadav. His postures of having a
moral high ground are now dented. The
police have till now booked 15 AAP legisla-
tors and arrested 13 of them on various
charges in the past 20 months, including for
crimes such as abetment of suicide, domestic
violence, murder, sexual assault, molestation
and possession of fake degrees.
SACKED MINISTERS
Kejriwal has sacked half of his cabinet for
various crimes. Law Minister Jitender Singh
Tomar’s “bogus degree” became a major
controversy in April 2015. Delhi’s Food and
Civil Supplies minister Asim Ahmed Khan
was sacked on charges of serious corruption
after a series of audio clips surfaced in the
public domain.
On September 1, Kejriwal sacked his
women and child development minister,
Sandeep Kumar, after receiving a CD where
he was purportedly shown in a “compromis-
ing position with two women”. Kejriwal has
also annoyed bureaucrats who are caught
between him and the Lt-Governor over vari-
ous appointments.
The root of the matter is that Kejriwal
had promised to get full statehood for Delhi
in his party manifesto. This was a demand
made by his predecessors also. Unlike other
state governors, who have to act on the
advice of the state cabinet, Delhi’s Lt-
Governor has executive powers.
This is what makes Delhi both a Union
Territory and a state. More importantly, the
The Anti-Corruption
Bureau became
another sticking
point. The L-G
appointed
MK Meena
(left), while the
Delhi government
appointed
SS Yadav (right).
Supreme Court judgments have spelt out its
scope. For instance, in the Jaya Bachchan
case in 2006, the Court said: “What is rele-
vant is whether the office is capable of yield-
ing a profit or pecuniary gain and not
whether the person actually obtained a mon-
etary gain. If the ‘pecuniary gain’ is ‘receiv-
able’… it becomes an office of profit, irre-
spective of whether such pecuniary gain is
actually received or not.”
The Jaya Bachchan case had also forced
Congress President Sonia Gandhi to resign
and get re-elected to parliament in 2006 as
she was the president of the National
Advisory Council holding an office of profit.
Politically, these court orders have come
as a shot in the arm for opposition parties.
They know that the AAP is weakened and it
may not get back these 21 seats if polls are
held in Delhi today. The BJP and the
Congress expect the Election Commission to
disqualify the 21 AAP legislators. They have
started preparations for the by-polls already.
The BJP which got just three seats last year
is now hoping to get at least ten more. The
Congress is enthused by the recent corpora-
tion poll results where it bagged five seats.
PUNJAB, GOA POLLS
It suits the Congress and the BJP to confine
Kejriwal to Delhi to check his expansion
plans in Punjab and Goa where elections are
due next year. However, the AAP is still opti-
mistic that the Supreme Court might rule in
its favor. As for his running battle with Jung,
the High Court held on August 4 that the Lt-
Governor was the final authority under
Article 239 and without his “concurrence or
STATES

India Legal 30 November 2016

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to India Legal 30 November 2016

Similar to India Legal 30 November 2016 (20)

More from ENC

More from ENC (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

India Legal 30 November 2016