Editor,
I have been a resident of Cleve colony for as long as my childhood goes. I am proud of being a part of this community and feel that I am one of the privileged few to have my home in this safe and clean neighbourhood. In all my years living in this locality I have never faced any problems except one which has turned into a major crisis. The water supply to our home has been very inconsistent and what is unfair and unjust is that our neighbours have water overflowing from their tanks throughout the year. Despite several complaints and dealing with our plumber or “nongplie um” nothing is resolved. I continue to pay the water suppliers throughout the year. It also seems that the plumber has complete authority over who gets water and who doesn’t.
As one who proudly calls this place home and as someone who has travelled the world to represent my community and proudly speaking of my people through my work, I take personal offence that when I actually come back home I am deprived of my basic need. They say that access to safe water is a fundamental right and therefore a basic Human Right.
So why is my family and I deprived of that Human Right.
My creative brain cells are drying up. Help!!!
Yours etc.,
Daniel Syiem.
Shillong-1
Impeachment of CJI
Editor,
In the history of Impeachment of judges of the country Justice V. Ramaswami was the only Supreme Court judge to face an impeachment motion before Justice Dipak Misra. In 1990, several media outlets had reported about his alleged ostentatious expenditures on his official residence during his tenure as Punjab and Haryana chief justice. The BJP and the Left moved a notice in the Lok Sabha seeking his removal from office. A committee formed by Speaker Rabi Ray found him guilty on 11-14 counts.
The impeachment motion was placed in the House on May 10,1993. Lawyer and Congress politician Kapil Sibal appeared for Justice Ramaswami. The Congress abstained from voting and only 196 votes were cast, which was less than two-thirds of the members present, causing the motion to be dropped on technical grounds. A challenge to the outcome in the Supreme Court was defeated. Now the Congress party- led Opposition party’s efforts to get Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra impeached is aimed to intimidate a Judge and send a message to other judges. It is clear that the Congress party and their allies intend to use impeachment as a political tool which is a serious threat to judicial independence in a democracy.
Apart from MPs discussing the issue of impeachment publicly outside Parliament, recently there had been a spate of news reports about the Congress’s plans to impeach Justice Misra. A judge cannot work without fear amid such a discourse. Public discussions taking place even before an impeachment motion has been moved is not sanctioned by the Constitution of India. MPs & media need to restrain and restrict their unconstitutional expressions in public exceeding the limit of ‘freedom of speech” as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Article121 (Restriction on discussion in Parliament) of the Constitution of India reads as under:
“No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for removal of the Judge …”
As per Article 121 even parliamentarians are restricted from discussing the conduct of a Judge up to a certain stage. Does the Constitution of India permit legislators, as ordinary citizens outside Parliament and the media to talk about the same issue as and when and in whatever manner they choose to? The Congress party publicly declaring their intention of mustering support of various political groups to initiate removal proceedings has scandalized the courts, calculated to bring the courts of law into disrepute and to lower their authority and further to interfere with justice and the lawful process of the courts. This is an unconstitutional act. Moreover scurrilous abuse of a judge or court or attacks on the personal character of a judge is a punishable contempt.
The Congress party is deliberately trying to demolish the Institution and independence of Judiciary by casting aspersions on the Chief Justice of India by instigating their favoured judges of in the apex court thereby creating internal rumblings/almost a revolt resulting in open discord amongst Judges in the Supreme Court. The Congress party has inherited the “divide &rule’ policy from the British who divided the entire country into innumerable groups based on caste, creed, region, religion and reservations and by defying the ideals and aspirations of the people as enshrined in the Constitution during their misrule for more than six decades. On the latest unfortunate issue of Impeachment of the CJI the party deserves conferment of Ph D on the subject of “dividing and splitting the country. Will Democracy survive in India?
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Via email