Pairokar

The principle of natural justice is audi alteram partem i.e. nobody should be condemned unheard. The logical extension of this theory is that everybody should be provided with legal aid to defend himself or herself in the court of law so as to prove his/her innocence. He or she should have the freedom to engage a lawyer of his/her choice to plead the case in the court. In fact, this freedom is a necessary ingredient of the civilized society that respects the rule of law. Equal justice and free legal aid to all citizens is enshrined in Article 39 A of the constitution of India. This Article mandates the State to ensure the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. As a matter of fact, there are legal aid committees across the country, which provide legal aid to all needy and poor people right from the lower courts up to the Apex Court. The Supreme Court of India has its own legal committee which is manned by scores of p...

Today’s newspapers are splashed with the news of the bludgeoning to death of the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Director of a NOIDA based Multi National Company by a 200 strong armed mob of dismissed workers. It is sad news by all means. Three months ago, Italian MNC Graziano Transmission lay off 200 workers. These workers were deprived from egress and ingress in the premises of the company. This is one of the worst instances of industrial violence in recent times. It can be seen after liberalisation of economy and globalisation of trade and manufacturing the militancy in the trade unions had almost disappeared. There have been many reasons for it. Firstly; there has been contractualisation of workers on a very large scale cutting across the industry, secondly; economism has acquired the prime place, thirdly; the interchange of jobs from one industry to other has become very common, which is neither resisted by the employers not by employees. The concept of the loyalty to th...

India is considered to be one of the softest states in the world. It is mired in innumerable laws, rules, regulations and policies divided by castes, classes and religions. Unity in diversity is more a slogan than a fact. There is no political will to implement any law in its letter and spirit. Nationalism, patriotism, development etc., have been relegated to the background. Main reason for all the malaise that the country is facing today is the vote bank politics. It has led our political leadership to the ocean of corruption. The moment anybody speaks for framing of the tougher laws or even proper implementation, the corrupt forces orchestrate to thwart any such move. So, corruption is hand in glove with vote bank politics. It has vicious relationship, actively aided and abetted by the bureaucracy, which is also neck deep in corruption. It has gradually spread its tentacles to judiciary and media also. Anybody who is honest and talks of corruption-free society is dubbed as a crazy pe...

Maharashtrians have always been known for their broad nationalistic outlook. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not only in the folklores of Maharashtra but of the whole country mainly because of the eulogia composed by a Bhatta Brahmin of Uttar Pradesh — Bhushan. The bravery, valour and sterling character of Shivaji Maharaj is taught to school children across and they are advised to inculcate those high qualities among themselves. Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale are considered to be the pioneers of modern nationalist movement in India. The tales of sacrifices and sufferings of Veer Savarkar give rise to goose bumps. The zeal, the fervor, the dedication of Maharashtrians has been matchless and next to none. But today when find that the likes of Raj Thackeray are hitting the headlines, we often think what has actually happened to Maharashtra. The late Madhulimaye was never considered to be a Maharashtrian leader because he had won more elections from Bihar than Mahar...

The news about the corrupt activities and misconduct of Justice Soumitra may not shock the conscience of many in the judiciary but it has certainly further eroded the confidence and respect of the general public towards this great institution. The constitution makers had never thought that the future judicial officers and Hon’ble judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court would be as insensitive and unscrupulous to be found indulging in corruption and other misconducts. A few years ago four Hon’ble judges of Karnataka High Court were reported to be found in a sex scandal. When it was published in prestigious newspapers, that High Court started contempt proceedings against the editors and correspondents of those newspapers. It was an outrageous act on the part of Karnataka High Court to say the least. The best course for the High Court would have been to conduct thorough investigation into the matter to come clean or initiated the impeachment proceedings against the tainted judges. The...

Delhi is not a full-fledged state yet. The demand for full statehood has been long pending. It was only 15 years ago Delhi was given a Vidhan Subha (Legislative Assembly) but most of the important departments like Police and the DDA are still in the hands of the Central Government. Apart from it, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation are almost independent bodies enjoying a great deal of autonomy. The multiplicity of authorities is the major reason for not having good governance in the most important city of the country. The game of passing the buck goes on and the general public has to suffer. Officials show callousness and apathy towards the public because they are not fastened with any accountability. This is the reason that despite having the highest per capita income in the country, Delhi is also the centre of mismanagement, illegalities, anomalies and rampant corruption. Name any other city in the country, where two major national parties –B...

Indian railways is going to post a profit of 60,000 crore Rupees in the present financial year. Anybody and everybody will feel elated with wonderment because this is happening possibly for the first time in the history of railways after independence. Railways are leviathan and perhaps the largest employer, next only to security forces, in the country. Till recently it was considered to be an honour to be employed with Railways. Despite reporting such huge profits the Railways are the classic example of dirt, filth and squalor all around. Platforms are overcrowded and dirty. Substandard and stale eatables are sold with gay abandon, nobody is their control the violators of law. Obviously it is done in complicity with the authorities, who are responsible to maintain the order and upkeep of the railway stations. However, owing to many factors, the railways, despite huge potentialities, never reported even ‘no profit, no loss’ situation. Everybody had assumed that it was impossible to get ...