LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CAA and timing
The decision of the Centre to notify the CAA rules that would enable the implementatIon of the CAA is an obvious act to deflect the nation’s attention from the severity of the Supreme Court’s order on the electoral bonds issue. It is also to provide the pliable electronic media with an alternate topic and to hold fiery media debates.
Bengaluru
Court verdict, corrections
The reports, on the judgment on the Sanatana Dharma case and on multiple corrections to the verdict (Tamil Nadu, March 8 and March 10), need comment. First, the ‘advice’ by the judge to lawmakers on the issue was marked by misinformation about the caste system, in particular, about the periodicity of its existence. It is well established that the caste or varna system has existed in India spreading across millenniums. The judicial observation that the varna system was/is not based on birth but by avocation is misleading and arouses suspicion of the judge’s support of the same. Second, it is shocking and outrageous that the verdict has been corrected multiple times after its official publication on the website. This gives an indication that the judge was not sure of what she had to say and became apprehensive of possible opposition to her own views from learned quarters.
One expects high professionalism in the judicial process. Moreover, it is the judiciary’s requirement that a judge examines a case on the basis of it being in line with the Constitution and other established laws. The top court of the land should intervene in this issue of corrections. It needs to take action before this becomes a precedent.
Chennai
Judiciary, electoral bonds
The Supreme Court of India cracked the whip as far as the electoral bonds scheme is concerned and made the State Bank of India fall in line. At the same time, the Court could have also asked all political parties and the purchasers of the bonds to submit similar information from their side. This would have not only expedited the matter but also helped to match the particulars received from the bank. Ultimately, the bank is only the facilitator of the scheme. The judiciary needs to be equally, if not more concerned, about the black money at the disposal of political parties during elections and the steps needed to cleanse elections.
Chennai