Demanding Justice cannot be Contempt of Court
When a Member of Parliament states openly that ‘We are here to change the Constitution,’ the Judiciary pretends to be deaf. When a politician says that ‘the country should become a Hindu state’, the Supreme Court does not consider it as a challenge to the Constitution or the Judiciary itself. The Judiciary has never recognized as contempt of court several statements challenging democracy and Constitution on Facebook and Twitter. But the moment a senior lawyer and thinker out of concern issues a statement on Twitter about the state of the Constitution and the Judiciary, immediately the court registers a suo motu case and initiates action against him. The country has witnessed allegations that “Leaders in office are progressively killing the Constitution and are purchasing the Judiciary”. But, in the ‘Contempt of Court’ case against Prashanth Bhushan, we should perhaps be anxious whether the Judiciary is on a suicidal path.
Prashanth Bhushan’s tweet is as follows: “When historians in the future record how democracy was destroyed in the past six years without officially declaring a state of emergency, they will recognize the role of the Supreme Court and specifically, the role of four Supreme Court Judges.” In this tweet, more than committing an act of Contempt of Court, he expressed his anguish over the weakness of the Judiciary. When the Judiciary, which is expected to play the most significant role in protecting democracy, loses its sense of purpose and direction and when the Government tries to control it, Constitutional experts and thinkers have come out and supported the Judiciary by taking on the Government. This is not a recent development and has been the case right from the days of Indira Gandhi to the present days of Narendra Modi. When Indira Gandhi imposed emergency, the Judiciary supported the people. It was even responsible for sending Indira Gandhi to jail. When the government misused its power, people approached the Judiciary as a last resort. It is therefore important that even if the government becomes directionless, the Judiciary should not lose its way. Whenever the Judiciary has failed to discharge its responsibilities, it has dealt a blow to the Constitution. If a democratically elected leader adopts a dictatorial stand repeatedly, it means the Judiciary has not been performing its duties adequately. Bhushan has expressed these views in his tweets.
Not only Prashanth Bhushan but several leaders and thinkers have also expressed anguish that the country is facing an undeclared emergency. Compared to an emergency that is declared officially, an undeclared emergency in the guise of democracy is more dangerous. In such a situation, governments start taking decisions citing the Constitution, but the decisions are anti-Constitutional in reality. This is exactly what is happening in the country. If the Judiciary is forthright and is committed to the Constitution, such a situation would not have been created. Allegations that Judges are looking away from the Constitution and are issuing orders to please the rulers are being heard all over the country. Many orders issued by the Judiciary are very confusing and weak and are being discussed extensively in the public domain. The number of Judges with an attitude that the orders of the court must be accepted irrespective of whether they are in accordance with the Constitution and based on evidence are increasing by the day. In such a situation, if the country has been subjected to a state of undeclared emergency, then the Judiciary must take complete responsibility. If Prashanth Bhushan issues a warning, how does it amount to ‘contempt of court’?
Some time ago, a few Judges of the Supreme Court had openly criticized the Chief Justice in a press conference. This revolt in the Supreme Court was discussed extensively in the country. But, it was not considered as ‘contempt of court’ and cases were not filed against them. The person who convened the press conference subsequently became the Chief Justice. But Prashanth Bhushan did not humiliate the Judiciary in this manner. If a senior lawyer does not have the freedom to express anguish over the country’s democracy in a tweet, doesn’t it mean that this country is in a state of ‘undeclared emergency,’ as Bhushan stated? A Judge who gives himself a clean chit over allegations of sexual harassment, a Judiciary that hesitates to speak up against the government when people’s fundamental rights in Kashmir are completely repressed, a Judiciary that hesitates to clearly speak up about the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, and a Judiciary that makes sure that it scuttles investigation into the Rafale deal. These are some examples that show that the Judiciary is not in favor of the people but is out to please the government. Bhushan has been repeatedly speaking against these developments. People are now left to wonder if he has incurred the wrath of the Judiciary merely because he has been a critic of the present government and an effective human rights activist. Such public skepticism does not augur well for the health of a democracy. If Bhushan is punished, then the concept of freedom of expression itself would appear farcical. The day is not too far off when the entire country will turn into a prison if every act of criticizing the government is considered seditious and if every demand for justice is treated as contempt of court.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
