Doctor death: With a euthanasia law now on the anvil, here's my waiting list of 'patients'

The new draft bill does not allow lethal injections. It only lets the hopelessly ill go gently into the night by switching off dehumanising life-support machines. Could we please extend passive euthanasia to the stuff which makes us ordinary folk suffer interminably, with no hope of let up or let go. There’s nothing dignified about the death of public discourse.

Waitlisted first is Congress. The exit polls have already pulled the plug on an entity that has lingered in a slow death – with the usual onslaught of pestering sores and verbal incontinence. This may be our grand old party, but the deterioration isn’t age related. Youth relatives have proved more toxic.

My view is that only the electoral process should be allowed to shut down Congress in accordance with politco-legal procedures. However we should prescribe passive euthanasia to relieve Mother & Son from the vegetative state into which their opponents have thrust them. Not a day passes without some new complication emerging. Invaded by a host of foreign bodies, covered in festering scams, there they lie.

Listed second are trolls. ‘Mercy killing’ is the wrong phrase because it’s they who kill healthy criticism mercilessly. Even the robustly opinionated Rajdeep Sardesai fell apart, and may not be held together again with the ‘thick skin’ prescribed by Dr Swapan Dasgupta. These Modevotee doctors have no clue of the suffering of Modenouncing patients, four times more prone to this IT affliction, Invasive Trollitis.

No one can administer a lethal injection to these click-ticks; social media is a pandemic too out of control. Would it help if victims were to make a ‘Friend request’ – and hope for pal-liative care? Ha! Might as well ask Subramanian Swamy to take a maun vrat.

Which brings me to euthanasia im-patient No 3. Again, it’s his targets who might beg for release from his undignified death threats to their reputation. Sonia and ‘buddhu’ Rahul are his pet sitting ducks, but even Vajpayee and Jaitley weren’t spared. On a lethal ejection rampage, this SS has damned the attorney general and SG as ‘total failures’ while the RBI Gov has been declared anti-national. Hmmm, whose plug should we actively pull out?

Source : Times of India 

Chilling effect: Centre and Supreme Court should reconsider their support to criminalising defamation

The apex court has given a disappointing judgment by upholding the criminal defamation law, which well served the interests of the colonial regime which drafted it in 1860 but does a disservice to modern India. Many senior lawyers and constitutional experts like Soli Sorabjee point out that the right remedy is civil suits seeking heavy damages for harm to reputation, not criminal provisions that can be misused to stifle free speech – and stifle media. As the law commission has noted, defamation law as it stands can lead to a ‘chilling effect’ on the publication of free and independent news.

In the court’s judgment the criminal defamation provisions in Sections 499 and 500 of IPC have to be read against Article 21 of the Constitution that guarantees protection of life and personal liberty. This is also the position taken by the Centre, that protection of an individual’s reputation is as important as the right to life. But an ironic counterpoint to these claims is provided by the murders of two journalists within a span of 24 hours – in Bihar and Jharkhand – demonstrating vividly the risks run by those who take their job of disseminating news seriously. What about their right to life? And can the harm done to them really be set against harm done to someone who claims to be defamed? The main feature of criminalised defamation is threatening media and others into self-censorship, stifling fair criticism.

In 2010 the UK abolished criminal libel as anachronistic, recognising that it’s used less to protect reputations and more to silence dissent. India also needs to cast away outdated laws inherited from the British, including Section 377 that criminalises homosexuality. A diversity of people like Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and AAP’s Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal stand united against criminal defamation today. The apex court must heed their voices, coming from all quarters of the political spectrum.

Source: Times of India 

The short arm of the law

The government says the judiciary is reaching beyond its scope, but who is to limit Parliament's excesses?

Earlier this week, referring to the Congress proposal to appoint a judge to settle dis putes between the Centre and states on GST, Arun Jaitley said that “Step by step, brick by brick the edifice of India's legislature is being destroyed,“ A national newspaper attributed the following remarks to Jaitley: “For heaven's sake, I beseech you in the interest of Indian democracy not to go on this misadventure... With the manner in which encroachment of legislative and executive authority by India's judiciary is taking place, probably financial power and budget making is the last power that you have left. Taxation is the only power which states have.“The Supreme Court recently passed a judgment in a PIL filed by the political organisation Swaraj Abhiyan, directing the government to set up a National Disaster Mitigation Fund, as mandated under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.Jaitley at the time asked where the government will get money from, since the appropriation bill had already been passed.
Nitin Gadkari said in a different context that if judges want to do the job of the government, they must quit and contest elections.
While I have no comment to offer on the merits of the proposed structure of the GST, it is critical to inject some perspective in this narrative of the judiciary exceeding itself and not letting the government do its job. One, when the preceding year has seen president's rule imposed recklessly in states, legislation which facilitates mass surveillance passed as a money bill (The Aadhaar ­ Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services Bill, 2016) doing away with the need for it to be passed by the Rajya Sabha, it is quite rich for those in the government to complain about judicial overreach.
On Aadhaar's passage as a money bill, advocate Apar Gupta remarked, “Going against the express language of the constitution to meet the demands of realpolitik requires correction.“
He is right. Governments have for decades ­ and with far fewer numbers in parliament ­ managed to pass legislation without brazenly resorting to patently unconstitutional tactics. The gov ernment would do well to shift its focus to its own flagrant disregard for democracy and parliamentary procedure. At the moment the judiciary has its hands full, checking the excesses of the government.
Two, even under the (false) hypothesis that the judiciary has become overzealous and is overreaching ­ the blame for this goes right back to parliament and the government of the day. Let us take the judgment of the apex court in Swaraj Abhiyan's case. The parliament passed the Disaster Management Act, 11 years ago. It mandated several actions on the government's part, including but not limited to the creation of a National Disaster Mitigation Fund. For 11 whole years governments failed to create this fund. Jaitley ­ the finance minister and an eminent lawyer must have been aware of its provisions. Can one really fault the courts for asking the government to follow the law passed by parliament itself?
It is pertinent to quote an excerpt from the judgment: “..States of Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana are hesitant to even acknowledge, let alone address, a possible drought-like situation or a drought by not disclosing full facts about the prevailing conditions in these states...An ostrich like attitude is a pity, particularly since the persons affected by a possible drought like situation usually belong to the most vulnerable sections of the society..“
It is heartbreaking that courts had to be approached for governments to even admit that people are going through a crisis ­ thereby delaying assistance and relief.
Take another example. When the Naz Foundation case on the constitutionality of Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code came before the Supreme Court for the first time, the court observed that it was for parliament to decide whether it wanted to retain or do away with the provision.Senior members of parliament from both parties have publicly expressed that the provision needs to go and yet, the Parliament has done nothing.When MP Shashi Tharoor moved a private member's bill on the matter for the first time, it was defeated at the introductory stage in a 71to 24 vote.Tharoor was jeered at by BJP MPs who said, “Tharoor ko zyaada zaroorat hai is bill ki (Tharoor needs this bill more)“.
It isn't that there have been no instances of judicial overreach ­ the court wanting to ensure the `return' of the Kohinoor is a classic example. But this overarching narrative of the judiciary taking over the domain of the executive andor the legislature is a phantom.
Why did the parliament wait for the judiciary to take measures to check the sexual harassment of women at workplace? Why did it turn a blind eye to the rampant destruction of the environment by industries?
When some institutions of governance are busy mimicking the much maligned ostrich, I for one am glad that someone's watching our back, more often than not.

Sources: Ahmedabad Mirror 

SC to fix harsh penalty for killing strays?

The Supreme Court ag reed on Thursday to ex amine an incongruity in law: Killing a stray animal attracts a fine of only 50 while a similar offence against a house pet can attract a jail term of up to five years.. The IPC doesn't recogni se offences against animals, which are dealt under the category of offences against “property“ of people, and this excludes strays as they are not no one's “assets“.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea seeking strict law for crime against strays by introducing separate penal provisions for each offences.

Source:Times of India 

Draconian Law





The geospatial information bill is harmful and should be scrapped

It's said that India's IT sector grew at night, when the government wasn't looking. Now that the government has started looking, it must ensure that emergent sectors such as digital commerce aren't choked by its embrace. Communications technology may have transformed Indian society over the last decade, but regulatory approaches are still stuck in the licence raj era. A draft bill on regulating geospatial information, which has been placed in public domain by government, is reminiscent of the heavy-handed, suspicious approach of the licence raj. A country's regulatory approach has a deep influence on the level of its economic activity and social transformation. The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill does not serve India's interests.It is not as if the current users of geospatial information are doing anything illegal. India has always had strict laws governing use of maps and digital content. The draft bill now seeks to tighten the laws further without justification. Under its provisions, anyone using a map on a satellite or aerial platform will need a licence from a government security vetting authority . This could include anyone using maps for professional reasons, or simply anyone with a GPS enabled smartphone.
This is patently absurd. If the draft bill is carried through in its current form it will adversely impact a wide spectrum of activities, ranging from app-based taxi services to the safety of those going on adventure treks. If one takes a geotagged selfie without authorisation, one could fall afoul of the law.Expressing a bureaucrat's desire to regulate anything they haven't seen before out of existence, the bill has no utility whatsoever and no harm will be done if it is scrapped altogether.
If approved, this bill will undermine Digital India, one of NDA's cherished projects, as well as smart cities. Its general tone points to a troubling approach to governance. Even where the overarching goal may be unexceptionable such as ensuring safety of citizens, the methods are getting more intrusive. A panic button on mobile phones may be done for the right reason but when we are to mandatorily transition by January 2018 to GPS enabled smartphones, it is worrisome.It imposes a significant cost which will be borne by the consumer and comes with a level of intrusion that will be draconian if it is mandatory .NDA must not forget that it had promised Indians less government and more governance.

SC sets drought-relief deadline

New Delhi:





Holding that over one-fourth of the population reeling under drought cannot be left to fend for themselves, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to put in place a mechanism to handle such crisis and asked it to be “liberal“ in granting funds.A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and N V Ramama directed the Centre to implement the Disaster Management Act in letter and spirit to handle natural calamities and pulled up the Centre for shirking its responsibility in handling the crisis on the ground that it was for the state to declare drought.

Source: Times of India 

Insolvency code to ease closure of sick units gets House nod

To Help Revival Of Viable Firms

Parliament on Wednesday passed a comprehensive bankruptcy code, a long-pending grudge with international investors, which will help speed up closure of unviable companies and revival of viable entities.
The lack of a bankruptcy code is one of the key reasons for India ranking low on the ease of doing business rankings, since it takes several years to wind up a business.Currently , there are a dozen laws dealing with various aspects of sickness and closure, and the one related to insolvency is over a century old. Through the new law , which was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday evening, the government is trying to put in place a speedy process for early identification of financial stress and resolve the strain if the business is found viable. It has stipulated a time-bound revival. The new law comes at a time when lenders are dealing with a record pile of bad debt, for which the government has also sought to amend existing laws to make recoveries smoother .
“The essential idea of the new law is that when a firm defaults on its debt, control shifts from the shareholderspromoters to a committee of creditors, who have180 days in which to evaluate proposals from various players about resuscitating the company or taking it into liquidation,“ the finance ministry said in a statement.
For the full report, log on www.timesofindia.com

FM seeks oppn support for GST

Wednesday New Delhi: FM Arun Jaitley on again urged Congress to support the bill that seeks to amend the Constitution for the introduction of goods and services tax (GST) after the principal opposition party suggested it would offer support, provided its three key recommendations are accepted.
“For heaven's sake, I beseech you in the interest of Indian democracy not to go on this misadventure (judge-headed panel)... With the manner in which encroachment of legislative and executive authority by India's judiciary is taking place, probably financial power and budget making is the last power that you have left. Taxation is the only power which states have,“ he said during the debate on the finance bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister said it was “wholly misconceived“ for any political party to hand over the taxation power to judiciary .

Source: Times of India

MANINAGAR GANG RAPE CASE - Registry can't find survivor's statement

Sworn Under Section 164, It Is Considered Material Evidence

The statement recorded before judicial magistrate by the Maninagar gang rape survivor appears to have gone missing from court records.The court registry could not provide the statement -made under Section 164 of the CrPC, which is considered material evidence -to an applicant, when one of the accused sought a copy of it to argue his case for bail. When Raza-urRehman Ansari applied for a copy , the court registry replied by putting a note saying that the document could not be traced and hence cannot be supplied. Ansari's advocate mentioned that he would apply for the copy again, when the registry traces the document.
When contacted, special prosecutor in this case, Nilesh Lodha said that the document was supplied to the court in a sealed cover. “Since the stage of trial has not come, the occasion did not arise to supply a copy of the victim's statement to accused persons. Hence I am not aware of the situation,“ he said.
In this case, a 17-year old dalit girl was allegedly abducted, detained in a hotel room for two days and gang-raped by six men in July last year.All six youths from Danilimda and Shah-eAlam areas were arrested. They are Zafar Shaikh, Tausif Alam Tirmizi, Mashqur Ali Alvi, Sozabkhan Pathan, Mushtaq Shaikh and Ansari. They were booked under Sections 363, 366, 376 (1), 376D and 114 of the Indian Penal Code for abduction, gangrape and abetting the offence with common intent as well as under various sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act (POCSO) Act. Since the rape survivor came from a scheduled caste, Section 3 (2) (5) of the Atrocities Act was also invoked against the accused.
Besides them the owner of Hotel Silver Spring Vijay Soni as well as two managers Bharat Panchal and Ramesh Panchal were also arrested and booked under Section 188 of IPC for violation of the police commissioner's notification. The managers had allotted rooms without keeping with a copy of the occupants' ID proof.

Source: Times of India 

SC judge frowns on the language in Bar prez's letters to CJI

The Supreme Court on Thursday took exception to certain remarks made by former president of Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHAA), Yatin Oza, in two letters written to the Chief Justice of India alleging political intervention in the matter of proposed transfer of a Gujarat HC judge.

The issue went before the apex court after Oza challenged the contempt notice issued to him by the Gujarat high court over GHAA's decision to seek a referendum to pass a resolution against alleged political-stalling of the judge's transfer. The high court restrained the Bar from “indulging in any scandalous activity or holding official meeting and passing resolution on the subject matter as it is expressly prohibited and could be said to be contemptuous,“ as per an SC order. This was af ter advocate K R Koshti filed a petition at the Gujarat high court against Oza's bid to involve the Bar in the matter.

When Koshti`s counsel, Harin Raval, read out passages from Oza's letter in which he made comments on former chief justices of the HC and about the high court allegedly appearing to have functioned as an extension of the secretariat in the past, Justice Deepak Misra questioned Oza's counsel. “This is contempt on the face of it. How can a president of the Bar support such language?“ asked the court.

Oza's lawyer defended him by submitting that the point was about seeking GHAA's support to raise the issue before either the SC collegium or the Centre.

The SC has adjourned the case till August 31, when it is likely to decide whether to make the Bar Council of India a party in this proceeding.

Sources: Times of India news network. 

Rising land prices result in misuse of court process: HC

The Gujarat high court has expressed concern over increasing misuse of court proceedings by unscrupulous elements in search of easy money following skyrocketing land prices around urban areas. It also said that innocent people have to suffer due to this phenomenon be cause they are cheated and dragged into litigation which go on for years together.

While dealing with an appeal on validity of land sale agreements of a small chunk of land in the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Justice Bela Trivedi observed that due to escalation in land prices in and around urban areas, the execution of illegal agreements by owners or power-of-attorney holders has become rampant. Justice Bela Trivedi observed that more often than not, the proceedings of courts are being misused and abused to a large extent by unscrupulous elements. The judge further observed, “In many cases, innocent persons are being cheated and defrauded by such elements in the quest of earning easy money , dragging such innocent persons to litigation which go on for years together.“

In this case, a land owner, Amarsang Nathaji, sold his share of land in 2007. The land developers got its status changed from `new tenure' to `old tenure' and then obtained NA status after paying huge premium amount. The land sale deed was questioned in lower court, where Amarsang supplied two sets of evidence that were contradictory . He even falsified his advocate, Trupti Patel, by claiming that the lawyer had appeared without his consent. When the lower court rejected the case and the dispute came before the high court, it felt that Amarsang deliberately and consciously tried to take courts for a ride and made false declarations. It ordered the registry to file a complaint against him under section 199 and 200 of the IPC.

Sources: The Times of India 

Eco-tourism policy for Gir gets high court nod

The Gujarat high court on Wednesday approved the state government's draft of eco-tourism policy for the Gir sanctuary , the last abode of the Asiatic lions.The policy draft was submitted by the state government to the HC in October last year; the approval has been granted with a proviso.The court has prohibited construction and development activities within 200 metres of any river or water body in the eco-sensitive zone around Gir. The court had directed the government to place the policy draft before it for scrutiny, during the hearing of a suo motu PIL filed in 2014 against the encroachment by hospitality units in and around the Gir sanc tuary.
The HC, however, has ma de it clear that the implementation of the tourism policy will depend on the outcome of the order of the divi sion bench, before which before which Saavaj Resort, a Gir hotel, has challenged the state government's power to formulate such a policy.
According to additional advocate general Prakash Jani, the HC decision will prove to be great relief for 396 villages and nearly 5 lakh residents who live in this zone around the sanctuary. People can now go ahead with small construc tions for residenti al and commer cial purposes. cial purposes.However, for commercial constructions of hospitality units, especi ally of big ho tels, which were sealed last year be cause the construction was unauthorized, the policy clearance does not augur well. The sealed constructions will remain illegal and if the policy is implemented, they will be removed.
Following the uproar from villagers and five legislators of the area, the state government relaxed certain norms in October last year.The government permitted non-polluting commercial activities within the 10 km periphery of the declared eco-sensitive zone near the prohibited area. (This had been banned in the earlier draft policy). The relaxation paved the way for the establishment of educational institutes, hospitals, flour mills, provision stores, among others.
According to the relaxed norms, the 1 km zone is now open for 10% construction for residential facility on revenue land. Earlier, only 5% of land could be used for construction.

Source: Times of India 

HC stays metro land acquisition in Vastral

Gujarat high court on Wednesday stayed Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) from acquiring land in Vastral area after a family questioned the legality of the process. More people from Vastral are likely to approach the HC on this issue. After issuing notice to AMC and MEGA, further hearing has been kept after summer vacation.

The family from Vastral, Hiraben and her son Rajendra Patel, whose property in in Sureliya Estate is under threat of acquisition by MEGA and AMC for the elevated metro rail corridor, have contended that the authorities have bypassed land acquisition laws in a bid to acquire the property without just compensation.

They have questioned the legality of the eviction notice issued by AMC by giving them 35 days time under the BPMC Act. The mother-son duo is set to lose a portion of their plot located along the Vastral road. After hearing the case, the HC has ordered the authorities to maintain status quo.

Petitioners' advocate, Vikram Thakore, said that the petitioners have challenged the manner in which AMC and MEGA have sought to acquire the land. Instead of following due process under land acquisition laws, the authorities have invoked powers under Section 212 of the Bombay Province Municipal Corporation (BPMC) Act.This provision applies to acquisition of land for road widening purpose within city limits.

The petitioners have contended before the court that the authorities have resorted to BPMC Act in order to avoid payment of compensation that is payable at market rate under the land acquisition laws.

Earlier two housing societies from Jivraj Park area had moved the court against land acquisition for metro rail.

Bringing that case to notice of the court, the petitioners complained that while the state government is ready to shift the families and commercial establishments in the Jivraj Park area by providing affected people the same space and structures at other plots, the government has not given any thought to alternate arrangements for those who will be affected by the metro rail project in the eastern part of the city.

Source: Times of India 

Son of ex-CJI, lawyer among 4 new SC judges





The collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India has recommended appointment of four new judges to the Supreme Court, one of them a lawyer, and inter-high court transfers of many chief justices, including Uttarakhand CJ K M Joseph to Telangana HC.Joseph was recently in the national headlines when he headed a bench that quashed imposition of central rule in Uttarakhand and made scathing observations against the Modi government.
The names recommended for appointment as SC judges are Allahabad HC CJ Dhananjay Chandrachud, Kerala CJ Ashok Bhushan, Madhya Pradesh CJ A M Khanwilkar and senior advocate L Nageshwar Rao.
Rao is set to join a super-ex clusive club of advocates to gain straight entry to the SC: Kuldip Singh, N Santosh Hegde, and more recently , U U Lalit and R F Nariman. LNageshwar Raowas an additional solicitor general in the UPA regime as well as under the NDA gov as well as under the NDA government before resigning last year.
Justice Chandrachud, who was one of the youngest to be appointed a judge, at the age of 40, in Bombay HC, will come to the SC with a legacy.His father Y V Chandrachud was Chief Justice of India for more than seven years from February 1978 till July 1985.With nine years of service left, the son stands a strong chance of creating history by also becoming CJI.
Only once before have both father and son made it to the SC ­ N H Bhagwati and P N Bhagwati, who went on to become CJI. The SC has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges including the CJI. At present, it is functioning with 25 judges. Even after appointment of these four judges, which is likely to take two weeks, there will still be two vacancies.

Source: Times of India 





Centre may appoint independent regulators for professional services

BCI chairman objected to the proposal of appointing a super-regulator

The government is planning to appoint independent regulators for services such as medicine, law, chartered accountancy, cost accountancy and company secretaryship.

According to sources in the commerce ministry, the existing structure of a regulator-cum-professional body for these services has resulted in several alleged instances of conflict of interest.

This hurt the credibility and reputation of these bodies and hampered India’s attempts to secure Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with other countries to enable easier temporary movement of skilled workers and professionals across borders, the sources said.

The independent regulators will maintain distance from the professional bodies similar to the situation in developed countries, they said.

MRAs are pacts where two or more nations recognise each other’s compliance assessments to ensure that services, products and processes meet relevant technical norms.

The bodies being referred to by the commerce ministry include Medical Council of India (MCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Institute of Cost Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). All these are statutory bodies under an Act of Parliament.

According to the ministry, once independent regulators are appointed for these services, the chances of inking more MRAs automatically brighten up.

The ministry was initially considering preparing a comprehensive plan for appointing independent regulators for all these service segments and then coming out with a Cabinet note for inputs from other ministries. However, the “wholesale approach” has been junked.

The current plan is to initiate discussions with each of the ministries concerned (health, law and corporate affairs in this case). Then,separate Cabinet notes can be put up by the ministries on the need for independent regulators for these services, the sources said.

The move comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court recently citing a Parliamentary panel report to state that the MCI “was repeatedly found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities” and that the “quality of medical education was at its lowest ebb…”.

The apex court, noting the instances of corruption in MCI, had set up an Oversight Committee to supervise the council’s functions and scrutinise its policy decisions.

Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra dismissed allegations of conflict of interest regarding the council and objected to the proposal of appointing a super-regulator for the body. He said the BCI involves former Supreme Court judges, chief justices of high courts and top academicians in its legal education and disciplinary committees and questioned, “What can be more superior?” The commerce ministry has been pitching for opening up legal, education and healthcare sectors to attract foreign investment. It had even pushed a Cabinet note on opening up certain segments of legal services such as arbitration and advisory services to foreign players.

Sources: The Hindu 

Bar opposes plot allotment to HC judges

Judges Not In Master-Servant Tie With State'
Even as the Supreme Court is likely to hear the issue of allotment of plots to Gujarat high court judges on Tuesday , the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHAA) has urged the apex court to cancel the allotment.
Opposing the allotment of plots to 42 high court judges at the Neetibaug Co-operative Housing Society, in front of the HC campus, GHAA' affidavit stated that the government resolutions by which land allotment took place should be “quashed and the state government should be directed to resume the land forthwith and to put it to any other public use or auction“.

GHAA's former president Yatin Oza made it clear in the affidavit that the Bar decided to support former acting Chief Justice V M Sahai's suo motu PIL “only with a view to see that high standards and independence of the judiciary is maintained.“

Requesting to transfer the proceedings on plot allotment issue, GHAA said that the judges have “stooped“ by obtaining obligation from the state government on conditions laid down by the executive. “The very same judge is expected to, on judicial side of its functioning, to decide a matter to which the said ex ecutive is a party. It not only affects the independence of judiciary but also casts a serious disrepute in the public mind.“

The affidavit maintained that the state government cannot even allot plots to judges even by making a policy because is does not share with the judges a master-servant relationship like IAS and IPS. The judges cannot accept anything from the state government except as provided in the High Court Judges Act.

The Bar association has also alleged irregularities in plot allotment and highlighted how extra parcels of land was given for the judicial officers' disposal in form of roads. It has also said that the houses were constructed on a plot that was `gauchar land'.The HC itself has deprecated the practice of construction on grazing land by passing various orders.

Source: TNN