It is quite heartening that all the four pillars of our democracy day by day are showing signs of concern to the happenings going on around us- be it right to freedom of speech and expression, environment protection, law and order obligations and infrastructure development. The complaint of certain quarters against the media crossing limits has some substance, on the whole our media, both print and visual, play cardinal roles in digging out and thereby exposing the festering sores still refusing to heal and thus helping all to take immediate remedial measures.
Similar is the case with our judiciary also. Years ago judiciary was seen by many in our society as the prisoner of elite and also holding a dogmatic approach which allegedly cared nothing for the uplift of the masses. Gradually Judiciary’s mindset underwent sea -change for the good of the society. Jurists of the calibre of Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer were there, he always cared for the social aspects while passing judgements. Justice Krishna Iyer, the nonagenarian, now in the twilight of his life is still active albeit his old age and poor health, pens a lot for drawing the attention of those at the helm of affairs towards the inequalities still prevailing in our society.
Once in a while a Krishna Iyer is incarnated over the past one decade or two but that couldn’t save much purpose.
On thinking about Judiciary and Judicial activism, writer and social activist Arundhati Roy came to my mind. In her book “Algebra of Infinite Justice” , she has mentioned about a Supreme Court verdict pronounced by a three member jury consisting of A.S.Anand, J.P.Kirpal and S.P.Barucha. The verdict was in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by Narmada Bachao Aandolan appealing to the court to order a stay to the further construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam as the rehabilitation of the displaced poor had not reached anywhere.
Barring S.P.Barucha, who passed a dissenting judgement, Chief Justice Anand and Justice Kirpal passed a verdict allowing the authorities to proceed with the construction. The hapless poor felt themselves in the lurch by the highest court of the land. This verdict was passed on October 18, 2000.
Nine years have elapsed since then. Governments came. Governments went. Ministers came. Ministers went. Judges came. Judges went. Mindsets underwent enormous changes. And are still undergoing vast changes. Much water has flowed down Narmada since then.
Now the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is Justice K.G.Balakrishnan.
While taking part in a seminar on Law and Environment on May 21 at Chandigarh, he stressed the need for protecting our environment and he didn’t even forget to advise those responsible, to shelve a project whenever it is found to be detrimental to our ecology. Justice Mukundakam Sharma who participated along with Justice Balakrishnan in the seminar also dwelt on the importance of protecting our environment and to desist from deforestation and rapid industrialisation urged all to spread awareness about ecological protection.
The subject of climate change has turned out to be a hot issue haunting the environmentalists, Scientists and citizens across the globe. The Copenhagen summit is fast approaching where a vast number of nations are supposed to participate to deliberate upon and evolve new solutions to save the earth from a catastrophe. The growth of developed as well as developing nations ,both stakeholders alike, have to gird up their loins and fight to bring down the level of carbon emissions in the ensuing years. It is said that even if the developed nations bring their carbon emissions to zero degree level, it won’t prove to be a blessing to all if the developing nations are left untouched. Means, they have also to play prominent roles - and if debt-ridden appeal for aid from developed nations or the latter must generously extend their helping hands. We should ensure in the process that coming generation’s future shouldn’t be cooked at any cost, as one environmentalist put it.)
In comes another verdict passed by the highest court of our land, the Supreme Court. It is the case of a well-known human-rights activist Dr.Binayak Sen. He was incarcerated in a Chattisgarh Jail in May 14, 2007. Dr.Sen who is a reputed padeatrician who cared a lot for the down-trodden in the society was a regular visitor to a Chattisgarh jail to treat the inmates. He was imprisoned on the charges of acting as a courier of to a maoist inmate of the prison by the State government. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was slapped on him by the Government. The well-known human-rights activist had to languish in the prison for two years inspite of protests and processions staged by human-rights activists and intellectuals around the world.
Finally his case reached the Supreme Court and the jury consisting of Justice Markandeya Katju and Justice Deepak Verma freed him within no time, telling Dr.Sen’s eminent lawyer Shantibhushan that, “We know the facts of this case. He has been in jail for two years. We are granting him bail”.
Touching, to say the least. A pro-active Judiciary free from a
dogmatic approach and with a humanitarian attitude is always a
blessing for the society at large.
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