Editor,
The apex court of the country on Wednesday ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority and is covered under the Right to Information Act, but added that disclosure of any information sought will have to be balanced with the independence of judiciary, which itself is a matter of public interest.
Upholding a 2010 Delhi High Court verdict, the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief justice Ranjan Gogoi cautioned that RTI cannot be used as a tool of surveillance and held that judicial independence and right to privacy have to be kept in mind while dealing with transparency. The five-judge constitution bench of CJI Gogoi, Justices N V Ramana, D Y Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjeev Khanna delivered the judgment.
The assets of the CJI and other judges will also have to be made public if an RTI application is filed. The apex court also made it clear that judicial independence did not mean the insulation of judges from the rule of law. Hence the CJI is bound to disclose information with regard to the assets held by the judges. But personal information will be disclosed only if public interest is established.
In another development, the Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a seven-member Constitution bench all petitions that had asked for a review of its majority decision last year that women in menstrual period allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. On the endeavor of review petitioners reviving the debate on religion and faith, CJI Gogoi said, “A larger bench will decide religious issues relating to Sabarimala, the entry of women into mosques and the practice of female genital mutilation.”
The Supreme Court verdict allowing young women to enter the Sabarimala temple had opened a can of worms and the whole country especially the Kerala state witnessed a string of protests. On the strength of the Supreme Court verdict, some young women tried to enter the Sabaraimala temple last year, which created another law and order problem in the state. The seven-member Constitution bench will hear the case and pronounce judgment thereon. Will the judgment of this bench be able to douse the flame of possible protests and settle the issue forever?
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email
Carbon Neutral Journey through e-mobility
Editor,
As the number of motor vehicles on roads double every ten years, CO2 emissions are bound to get worse. Renewable energy is the only solution. The introduction of electric bus in Guwahati is a laudable move. There is a threat of climate change for rising global temperatures. The world pledged in the Paris Climate Agreement 2015 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while reducing carbon emission to zero and staying below 2° Celsius rise in global temperature. India has planned a roadmap for energy security and vehicle pollution to shift India’s transition from conventional engines to Electric Vehicles. Under FAME, it reduces the purchase price of hybrid and EV (Electric Vehicle) for transportation. MV (Amendment) Act 2019 made pollution check compulsory. The SC banned the sale and registration of vehicles under BS IV from April 1, 2020. Also it would skip BS V norms altogether and adopt the new BS-VI emission regulations.
EVs can play a role in lowering emissions, as it promises zero tailpipe emissions and a reduction in air pollution too. India’s going electric is not an easy feat. NITI Aayog refused to extend the deadline for three-wheelers after 2023, and for two-wheelers having up to a 150-cc engine after 2025. EV market penetration in India is only 1% and they are mostly two/three wheelers. There are issues like safety, space and consumers’ trust towards conventional engines that runs on the road for decades. Commuters don’t want to face interruption of charging their vehicle.
Also, they feel that new technology in the market is available at affordable cost.
Hence the plan to shift to electric mobility at a time when the manufacturers were trying to upgrade their models to comply with BS-VI emission norms is questionable. Also it costs the car industry for replacing conventional internal combustion engines. Achieving carbon neutrality requires unprecedented political will and cooperation to thrive in the world and make it liveable.
Yours etc.
Kamal Baruah
Guwahati-22