letters to editor

JUDICIARY WILL RESOLVE ITS DIFFERENCES

The four judges of the Supreme Court ought to take responsibility for irreparable damage done to the institution due to their press conference to redress their grievances against the Chief Justice of India. Registrar of the apex court should issue a press statement that the judiciary is competent to sort out its differences and needs no interference from political or any other quarter. The CJI deserves credit for not reacting in a similar manner. Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

II

Apropos “Sena lauds judges, DMK for Kovind’s intervention &Top court won’ t hear Loy a case on Monday” ( HT, Jan 14), mystery shrouds death of justice BH Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin case in which in Amit Shah was named. There seems to be a conspiracy for a clean chit to Shah. The CJI listed the case to justice Arun Mishra and ignored other senior judges. The CJI is ignoring set practices and referring sensitive cases to a bench of his own choice. The top lawyers’ body of the SC has also backed judges who took on the CJI. Our democracy is at stake and the party in power may misuse the judiciary for its agenda. Capt Amar Jeet Kumar, Mohali

III

The avoidable press conference by four SC judges raised many issues and solved only a few. The judges should not be given an option of getting cases as per their choice. There is an urgent need to bring in judicial reforms to stem the rot due to outdated work culture of the British Era. Transparency in appointments, promotions, discipline, quick and simple procedure for removal of corrupt officials, increasing working days to 250 in a year, bringing judiciary under the RTI Act and fixing accountability, restricting powers to pass stay orders, and the process of bails and unlimited adjournments need to be put in place to restore faith of common man in the judicial system. KC Rana, Chandigarh

IV

The press conference addressed by four SC judges has thrown up a number of questions. Though the judicial propriety is a constraining factor, one feels that the four have done a service to the nation by bringing to its notice the rot setting in higher judiciary. Be that as it may, citizens are dismayed to note that its thin veneer of infallibility stands breached. The credibility of the SC as an institution has suffered. To a gleeful ruling establishment, this is nothingshortofawelcomegift.In this scenario, even our democracy stands exposed to the aggressive designs of poachers. Beant Singh Bedi, Mohali

V

Apropos “Judicial crisis: The Chief Justice Of India must lead the resolution” (HT, Jan 13), Barkha Dutt rightly says no matter what your political ideology is, as citizens, we must reject status quo as a response to this judicial crisis. The four judges should be appreciated and supported for airing their apprehension after the CJI failed to redress their grievances, which shows his inability to resolve internal disagreements. We talk about transparency, but what about it in the judicial system? As an activist, I think a suo motu cognisance should have been taken and a probe should have been ordered into the death of justice Loya. The failure to do so puts a big question mark on credibility of the judicial system. Dr Vi tull K Gupta, Bat hinda

GOVT SHOULD PROTECT CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Embroiled in controversies from the start, Padmavati (renamed Padmaavat), is set to release on January 25. Despite being cleared by the censor board, the film continues to face protests from Rajput groups. The government has failed to give protection to creative expression. A movie with extensive modifications may be able to get attention from people, but it will lose its essence. It now remains to be seen if the government comes forward to defend the cinematographic expression or not. Ovais Dar, Chandigarh

FULFIL CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY

The government has initiated Swachh Survekshan-2018, which has been dubbed as the largest study of cleanliness in the world. It is a pan-India exercise to rank cities based on sanitation. This survey is truly a quintessential example of the concept of competitive federalism. Citizens are supposed to fill a small questionnaire about cleanliness in their surroundings. It is our duty to take a few minutes out of our busy schedule in order to submit findings and play a critical role in realising Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a “Swachh Bharat”. Participation of citizens is crucial to make this endeavour successful and choose smart cities of the future. Surbhi Negi, Panchkula

STOP SHEDDING CROCODILE TEARS

The Akalis should stop shedding crocodile tears over farmers’ loan waiver. When they were in power and an ally of central government, they never bothered about loan waiver even though farmers were committing suicide every day. Corruption, scams, mafia sand misuse of public money during the SAD regime has brought Punjab in such a state that it may need five years to recover. If Sukhbir Badal is so worried about farmers, he should donate his resorts and hotels to them. And then, we will make him the next CM. Jaswant Singh, Chandigarh

HUMAN CAPITAL A KEY CHALLENGE

Apropos“Global manufacturing index: India ranked 30th, China takes 5th spot” (HT, Jan 15), as per the report, India’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7% per year on an average in the last three decades and accounts for 16-20% of the country’s GDP. India has been cat egor is ed among nations that have a strong production base, but are at a risk in future. The key challenges are human capital and sustainable resources. This en tails upgrading curriculum, revamping vocational training and improving digital skills. India should continue to diversify its energy resources and reduce emissions as its manufacturing sector continues to expand. Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is also seen as ‘a significant push’ for India to improve on the global front. Vaibhav Sharma

POPULARISE RUPNAGAR MUSEUM

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has set up a museum at the Indus valley site in Rupnagar where various articles of six different eras excavated from the site are kept. It is an informative place but unfortunately only a few people visit the museum. To make it popular among people, the department of tourism and cultural affairs should not only advertise in a better manner, but should also various educational competitions in collaboration with state and central education departments.

Dr Kirti Dua, Ludhiana

REFRAIN FROM SPEAKING ON POLITICS

The legacy of former Army chief VK Singh who suffered from foot-in-mouth disease seems to have been passed on to General BS Rawat. The current army head is ill-informed and doesn’t know that J&K has its own flag since 1947. The General should refrain from making political statements. The J&K education minister has rightly advised him to mind his own business. Dr Tejit Singh