CJI NV Ramana Is Two Hundred Percent Right On This

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It goes without saying that even God cannot question what the incumbent Chief Justice of India – NV Ramana has said that a popular majority is not a defence for arbitrary actions of the Government while underscoring the importance of all wings of the state acting within their constitutional limits. While speaking at a public event at Vijaywada, the CJI NV Ramana also criticized the tendencies to brand judicial review as “judicial overreach”. In simple, straight and suave language, CJI NV Ramana sagaciously said while speaking at a public event in Vijayawada that, “The power of judicial review is often sought to be branded as judicial overreach. Such generalisations are misguided. The Constitution created three co-equal organs, namely the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It is in this context that the judiciary has been given the role of reviewing the legality of steps taken by the other two organs.

Let me mention here that the worst arbitrary action of Centre in my eyes was the one taken by former PM late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of creating just one High Court Bench at Lucknow only  which is just 200 km away from Allahabad where High Court itself is located for such a big state like UP with maximum population, maximum districts, maximum MPs, maximum MLAs, maximum pending cases, maximum poverty and what not! The net result was that the people of hilly areas had to most stupidly, most shamelessly and most senselessly travel like a prisoner all the way to attend court hearing not even at Lucknow but much far away more than thousands of kilometers away at Allahabad. For more than 50 long years all the Prime Ministers most stupidly, most shamelessly and again most senselessly in the most whimsical and arbitrary manner which even shock Pakistanis as several High Courts in Pakistan itself were nearer to the hilly areas of erstwhile undivided UP which now forms a separate State named Uttarakhand!

To top it all, when former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi appointed Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by learned former Supreme Court Judge – Justice Jaswant Singh  to look into where all High Court Benches should be created in India and he recommended 3 High Court Benches for undivided UP – one at Agra and two circuit Benches at Dehradun and Nainital and so also recommended High Court Benches for other States! Most arbitrarily, Centre decided to create a High Court Bench at Aurangabad as recommended in a very peaceful State like Maharashtra which already had two High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and which even now tops in the Justice Index List among all the States! Similarly, it took no time in creating High Court Bench at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal which already had a Bench at Port Blair and so also a High Court Bench was created at Madurai for Tamil Nadu! On the contrary, as far as UP is concerned, a former Chief Justice of UP – Dilip Babasaheb Bhosle while in office as Chief Justice had lashed out at the law and order situation in UP especially West UP where woman is not safe even with family while hearing a case of gang rape and dacoity in broad day light in Bulandshahr national highway and recalled proudly how in Maharashtra a woman or a girl can travel anywhere alone even in night and still Centre most arbitrarily decided not to create even a single High Court Bench anywhere in any nook and corner of UP! This most arbitrary, arrogant and despotic decision of Centre was never questioned by Court and so this shameless stupidity is continuing even after nearly 75 years of independence! Can on earth there be anything more unfortunate than this?

How long should Centre take to act on this? 75 years? 100 years? 150 years? 200 years? How long should judiciary keep hoping for Centre to act on this as it has been doing most crazily since last more than seven decades? Should judiciary feel proud that it never took Centre to task for not doing anything on this despite the landmark recommendations of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission gathering dust as far as UP is concerned? This is really atrocious!

We all know fully well that when a woman lawyer named KL Chitra in October 2018 took up this matter before the Apex Court in the form of a PIL and argued before the then CJI – Ranjan Gogoi that the people of more than 22 districts of West UP are compelled to travel most foolishly and most ridiculously all the way to Allahabad which is more than 750 km away from districts like Saharanpur then CJI Ranjan Gogoi conceded most fairly that all her points for High Court Bench being set up in West UP are valid but he added a caveat that it is up to the Centre to act in this regard and not the Apex Court! Now India is celebrating the arrival of 75 years of independence but Centre most arbitrarily has decided never to create even a single Bench in any nook and corner of UP even though its own elected representatives and so also Union Ministers keep supporting the age old demand for a Bench not just in West UP but also in other needy parts!

Not just this, the lawyers of more than 26 districts of West UP keep going on hunger strike as was done in 1978 for a month and then strike for 6 months as was done in 2001 and so also for 3 to 4 months as was done in 2014-15 and so also many times on Wednesdays and non-stop strike for more than 4 decades every Saturday from May 1981 till end of 2021 and what not and also did padyatra also in 1986 from Rishikesh to Mussorrie to Delhi and repeatedly submitted memorandum also!

It is most shocking that Centre repeatedly assured the representatives of lawyers of West UP that a Bench would be created soon but what it did on ground was just the reverse! Two High Court Benches were created for Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts respectively in Karnataka by the then UPA government in Centre in 2008 which were first made circuit Benches and then full time Benches in 2013! Karnataka has population of just 6 crore yet has High Court at Bangalore and so also three High Court Benches at Hubli, Dharwad and Gulbarga but the population of West UP is more than 9 crore nearing about ten crores and still Centre is most stupidly, most shamelessly and also most senselessly not ready to create a High Court Bench in any of the districts of West UP and in this all the political parties are standing on one platform for reasons which are incomprehensible! It is so shocking that even judiciary has never dared to question this most arbitrary action of Centre for which judiciary itself must also feel terribly ashamed of!

Of course, we all know that Telangana from where incumbent CJI NV Ramana hails has a population of just about 3 to 3.5 crore yet it was given a High Court when it was created as a separate State in 2014 but for more than 9 crore nearing virtually 10 crore neither Centre nor judiciary is prepared to do anything which is most baffling! CJI NV Ramana always take the right stand on so many key issues but on this we find that he too is till now acting just like his past predecessors which under no circumstances can ever be justified!

On an unflattering note, let me say this that judiciary has stepped in and acted in so many other sensitive issues and forced the Centre and so also the different State Governments to act in the right direction which we keep reading time and again in different case laws. But on this one particular key issue directly affecting the most populated State of India with maximum pending cases and here too West UP accounts for more than half of the pending cases and still Lahore High Court in Pakistan and so all the High Court and Benches of 8 states are closer to West UP as compared to Allahabad but again Centre is not prepared to do anything on this and even judiciary has just opted to wait for Centre to act as we saw how the former CJI Ranjan Gogoi had ruled in 2018! This is just not done!

Needless to say, the 230th report of Law Commission in 2009 also recommended creation of more High Court Benches in big states still Centre has favoured just one State since then named Karnataka and UP along with other big states like Rajasthan among others have been left in the cold to suffer! Why can’t judiciary speak boldly on this and force Centre to act on this? It must!

It merits no repetition that if a High Court Bench is created in big states like UP, it would make a world of difference in bringing about “easy accessibility to justice at doorsteps”! If judiciary had acted on this seven decades back then the former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon would not have been compelled to slam UP as the “rape and crime capital of India”! Similarly if judiciary had acted hard to ensure that all judicial vacancies were filled well in time, India would not have seen so much of pending cases in different courts as we see in the current context most unfortunately!

Having said this, it must be conceded that CJI NV Ramana is two hundred percent right when he says that, “It is a well-known fact that a popular majority is not a defence for arbitrary actions taken by a Government. Every action is mandatorily required to comply with the Constitution. If the judiciary does not have the power of judicial review, then the functioning of democracy in this country would be unthinkable.” But judiciary also must itself now dare to act when Centre does not foolishly or arbitrarily or whimsically act as we see in case of setting up of more High Court Benches in big states like UP and Rajasthan and is most happy just by spending 36,000 crores of rupees on Expressways like Ganga, crores of rupees on airports and medical colleges which is a good thing but what about High Court Bench which Meerut BJP MP Rajendra Aggarwal among many others keep raising in Parliament repeatedly? When Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Assam can have two or more than two High Court Benches then why the hell is it that big states like UP, Rajasthan among others have just one and some like Odisha and a lawless state like Bihar have none? Why monogamy has been imposed only on Hindus among others to control population growth and not to Muslims also as my best friend Sageer Khan and so also Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan keep questioning? Why Hindu film actor Dharmender had to embrace Islam to marry again and so also the son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal had to become a Muslim and acquire the name Chand Mohammad to marry again and her new wife too had to become Muslim to marry when Hindus were permitted in British rule, in Mughal rule and so also earlier to marry as many as they liked like Lord Krishna had 16,108 wives and Draupadi had five husbands! This despite the fact that Dr BR Ambedkar in his Hindu Code Bill 1951 favoured retention of polygamy among Hindus and was to be a ground of divorce also! This open sham of equality violates the spirit of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution and so this must be set right and uniform civil code must be brought about in India for which different High Courts like Delhi High Court, Allahabad High Court and so also the top court keeps nudging Centre yet we see Centre taking no action on this! How can all this be ever justified?

To say the least: Why is it that Lord Ram for whom more than 12 lakh diyas are being lit as a mark of respect in Ayodhya is legally worthless as Centre very strongly feels that not just Ayodhya but any other Hindu holy city in UP are all legally worthless in the sense that not a single High Court Bench can be created anywhere in whole of UP? Why is that from 1948 till 2021 Centre very strongly feels that only “Nawab City” in other words “Lucknow” is alone best suited for a High Court Bench where High Court Bench was created on July 1, 1948 by the then PM late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru just about 200 km away from Allahabad where High Court itself is located and all other cities no matter how holy they may be are legally worthless just not fit to be given a High Court Bench? Is this the way to bring about Ram Rajya? You tell me: Lord Ram stands for justice or injustice? No prizes for guessing the ostensible answer: Lord Ram stands for justice!  Why then in UP where a grand Ram temple is being built has least high court benches in India and why is it that Centre has vowed never to allow even a single High Court Bench to come up in any nook and corner of UP except the “Nawab City” where High Court Bench already exists? Is this the way to bring “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”?

Also, why is it that the “poorest of poor” as also women, girl victims, weak, persons suffering physical disabilities among others in West UP which has population of more than 9 crore which is more than the population of several small states put together are all compared to travel most foolishly all the way more than 600 to 750 km on an average not even to “Nawab City” but even further to Allahabad to seek justice? But the people of “Nawab City” can’t travel just about 200 km away to Allahabad to get justice? Is this is what Lord Ram stood for? Is this is what his Ram Rajya stood for? Is Centre not making a complete mockery of Lord Ram and so also of other Hindu holy cities like Mathura in West UP famously known as Lord Krishna’s city and so also at Kashi or Varanasi which is known as Lord Shiva’s city among others? Most disgusting!

Should God worship Centre that please create a High Court Bench in other holy cities also other than “Nawab City” so that people of all religions can benefit equally? All Hindu Gods can give everything to their devotees except High Court Bench in UP as Centre is deadly opposed to it which alone explains that despite lawyers of more than 26 districts of West UP protesting since last more than six decades as pointed out in newspapers like “The Wire” are just not fit to be given a High Court Bench at any cost and under any circumstances! Even lawyers of Lord Krishna’s city that is Mathura in West UP keep striking repeatedly for High Court Bench since last many decades but Centre thinks that it is legally worthless just not fit to be given a High Court Bench under any circumstances! Same is the case with Meerut where temple of Lord Augharnath (Kali Paltan) i.e. Lord Shiva’s temple exist among other holy cities!

None other than the eminent and senior lawyer and former Union Law Minister and former President of Supreme Court Bar Association thrice and so also former Additional Solicitor General of India – Kapil Sibal had himself recommended a High Court Bench in Meerut while he was Union Law Minister as was disclosed by another Union Law Minister RPN Singh but nearly a decade later we still see no Bench in Meerut. It is in Meerut that former UP CM Sampoornanand had recommended a High Court Bench in 1955 but again Centre did not accept! Even former PM late Rajiv Gandhi wanted High Court Bench in Meerut but powerful ministers it is said dissuaded him from doing so and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also raised the demand of Bench in Meerut while as Opposition leader in 1986 in Parliament!

We all know fully well how very rightly the incumbent Chief Minister of UP – Yogi Adityanath had thundered with all might at his disposal for a High Court Bench in UP in Gorakhpur which he represented as MP right inside Parliament in 1999 more than two decades back but even after completing nearly 5 years in office he is unable to create any High Court Bench in any nook and corner of UP other than the one at Lucknow for which Centre has to be squarely blamed! Not just this, the most holy cities of Hindus – Ayodhya, Kashi known also as Varanasi and Mathura which is in West UP are considered by all parties who ruled in Centre as “totally worthless cities” just not fit to be given a High Court Bench under any circumstances! Judiciary must act at least now when Centre most arbitrarily fails to act in last 75 years! Let’s hope so fervently so  that the “poorest of poor” gains from it and not just the richest of rich as we see in case of international airports, etc or Hindus alone as we see in case of temples! I really mean it when I say this from the bottom of my heart! Centre has got mandate not just from rich and affluent and Hindus alone but also from “poorest of poor” and so also people from “other religions” in whose favour Centre must act most decisively and if still Centre does not do anything then judiciary for God sake must act decisively at least now on this without fail!

Sanjeev Sirohi

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