[IAC#RG] CONTROVERSIAL JUDGEMENTS OF SUPREME COURT

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India  Against Corruption

                                                                                                             CONTROVERSIAL JUDGEMENTS OF SUPREME COURT

Some of the recent judgements of Supreme court on matters such as adultery, homosexuality, entry of women of all age groups in Sabarimala temple, restricting bursting of crackers to two hours during Deepavali day have all become highly controversial. 

General understanding is that the judiciary should give verdict on the basis of laws enshrined in the Constitution and enacted by parliament from time to time. However, in recent years, Supreme court has no hesitation in entertaining cases that should be left to the administration to tackle as it involves no interpretation of law.

Further, in awarding the verdicts on several matters of public interest , Supreme Court judges appear to be guided by their own personal perspectives and do not take into consideration the traditional practices and public sentiments.

The net result is that several directives of the Supreme Court are not really observed in practice. Such situation is happening only because Supreme Court judges are not taking into consideration the practical scenario and the feasibility of implementing the verdict, given the public sentiments.

For example, the Supreme Court verdict on allowing women of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple cannot be implemented in view of the very strong opposition from devotees. Similarly, Supreme Court verdict that fire crackers should be burst only for two hours on Deepavali day is being defied by the people, as it is now seen that even a few days before Deepavali in Tamil Nadu crackers are being burst throughout the day.

It is high time that supreme Court judges should take a re look at their approach and appreciate the importance of taking holistic view on matters while delivering judgements, giving due weightage to public perspectives particularly on matters that involve no interpretation of law. 

N.S.Venkataraman
Nandini Voice For The Deprived
nandinivoice.com

[IAC#RG] VIGILANCE HAS TO BE ROUND THE YEAR

This week is being observed and focusing on Vigilance awareness but it is imperative that we need to be ever so vigilant every day of the year to ensure that Good Governance is the order of the day. It has been 13 long years since the Right to Information Act came into force on October 12^th 2005. But over these years however the greater challenge has been the actual implementation of the Act. Unless the RTI Act is further strengthened Good Governance, Transparency in the Administration and Zero Tolerance to Corruption will never be a reality. The Right to Information Act was enacted to ensure transparency and accountability in public life. But the manner in which the government is subtly subverting the Right to Information Act is a matter of concern.

The Right to Information is derived from our fundamental Right of expression under Article 19 of our Constitution.  If we do not have information on how our Government and public institutions function, we cannot express any informed opinion on it. This has been reiterated by various Supreme Court judgments since 1977.

The Right to Information Act has been hailed as the hallmark of our democracy. The Act aims at making the government transparent and more accountable. The effective use of it would, in the long run, curb corruption. Right to Information Act has become a powerful tool in exposing corruption at all levels of government.

A well informed citizenry, transparency, and free flow of information are the very foundations of any successful democratic society. India may be publicly acclaimed as the world's largest democracy but the ground reality is that we are now ebbing away to an autocratic cowboy regime.  Democracy and non-transparency in the functioning of the Government cannot co-exist. Besides freedom of speech without access to information is meaningless.

Narendra Modi rode to power on his vow of 'Acche din' for the Aam Aadmi and Good governance. But after assuming office in May 2014 the Prime Minister has not uttered a word on the RTI Act, leave alone on strengthening it. His then enthusiasm for freedom has waned away and we now have a culture of surveillance and secrecy.  For the common man, getting correct and accurate information under the Right to Information Act is today still a far cry.

As the Right to Information Act requires that the Information Commissioners have to be persons of Eminence in public life, Independent minded persons who do not succumb to political pulls and pressures need to be appointed as Information Commissioners to ensure the proper implementation of the Right to Information Act. If Yes-men manage to creep into as Information Commissioners it would be an exercise in futility ending up as white elephants that we would rather be better off without.

Under Section 4 of the RTI Act all public authorities are duty bound to regularly display on their website a wide range of information, including all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect the public. This proviso in the law was enacted to reduce the need for filing individual RTI applications. But this mandatory duty has been blatantly flouted by the authorities with most government websites themselves dysfunctional or not updated.

The Judiciary needs to step in to ensure that the Government complies with the mandate of the Right to Information Act. But with the Courts themselves also averse to parting with information and with its functioning largely under a veil of secrecy, we are stonewalled.

But we need to battle it out and cannot allow the RTI Act to be choked by the government to a slow death. Steps need to be taken to strengthen the transparency regime that was sought to be established as envisaged by the RTI Act. Effective implementation of the RTI Act requires political commitment from the very top. Officials denying information or giving misleading and distorted information need to be severely penalized.

Governance by cloak of secrecy and opaqueness needs to be strongly resisted. It cannot be a hush-hush regime. We need to dismantle those walls of secrecy that continue to hound transparency and good governance despite the Right to Information Act now being in place for 13 long years. In those very own words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'Sabko sanmati de bhagwan' (Let good sense prevail).

Aires Rodrigues

Advocate High Court

C/G-2, Shopping Complex

Ribandar Retreat,

Ribandar – Goa – 403006

Mobile No: 9822684372

Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012

Email: airesrodrigues1@gmail.com

                         Or

           airesrodrigues@yahoo.com

You can also reach me on

Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues

Twitter@rodrigues_aires

www.airesrodrigues.com

[IAC#RG] WELL DONE MICHAEL LOBO

Goa's entire Coastal belt has been so inundated with unplanned and haphazard rampant construction that it all requires to take the much required very long break from any further concrete. The Candolim- Calangute stretch in particular has reached a point of saturation and can take no more.

We should commend the Calangute MLA Michael Lobo for having very strongly opposed the devious and foul move of the Government to notify a whopping 28,000 sq mts of land in Baga as an Investment Promotion Area.

The message should ring out loud and clear to the now snoozing Manohar Parrikar government that enough is enough. Any open land available in the coastal belt should be now for Parking lots to accommodate the mounting number of vehicles and for other basic infrastructure facilities for the benefit of the public. It has to be also ensured that there is no further environmental degradation lest we bear the brunt of nature's fury.   

Aires Rodrigues

Advocate High Court

C/G-2, Shopping Complex

Ribandar Retreat,

Ribandar – Goa – 403006

Mobile No: 9822684372

Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012

Email: airesrodrigues1@gmail.com

                         Or

           airesrodrigues@yahoo.com

You can also reach me on

Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues

Twitter@rodrigues_aires

www.airesrodrigues.com

[IAC#RG] NARENDRA MODI HAS LOST IT

Its an irony that a now so sinking Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has vertically and horizontally divided our great nation into bits & pieces, has inaugurated at a whopping cost of Rs. 2,989 crores the 182 mtrs long Statue of Unity in Honour of our very dear and so revered Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who had always visualised and tirelessly worked towards a very secular and all inclusive India.

Narendra Modi should realise that people will judge our leaders by their good acts and selfless deeds while all those Statues will remain only for the crows and uncared birds to merrily crap on.

Aires Rodrigues

Advocate High Court

C/G-2, Shopping Complex

Ribandar Retreat,

Ribandar – Goa – 403006

Mobile No: 9822684372

Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012

Email: airesrodrigues1@gmail.com

                         Or

           airesrodrigues@yahoo.com

You can also reach me on

Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues

Twitter@rodrigues_aires

www.airesrodrigues.com