Congress demands impartial investigation into escape of 23 fugitives, holds PM accountable
New Delhi, Sep 15 : Congress on Saturday sought to fix accountability of Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Jaitley in the Rs 90,000 crore "loot of public money" and the escape of 23 fugitives, including Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. It also demanded an "impartial investigation" into it.
"BJP is more loyal to ‘con-man' than to a common man. PM Modi only promoted 'ease of looting and fleeing India" rather than promoting ease of doing business in India," said Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill.
The party also released a list of 23 fugitives who fled under this government and are settled abroad.
"The law-breaking and government organised escape episodes of Mallya, Nirav Modi and Chowksi prove beyond doubt that Modi Sarkar is not a guardian or protector of public money but a travel agency facilitating fraud and happy safe flying of willful bank loan defaulters," said Shergill.
"BJP provides the "chor darwaza" (escape door) to all wilful defaulters looking to run away with public money," he added.
The party stated total banking fraud cases from year 2014-2018 are 23,000. "Total amount involved in banking scams: Rs. 90,000 crore. In 2014-15 (Rs. 19,455 crore), 2015-16 (Rs. 18,698 crore), 2016-17 (Rs. 23,933 crore), 2017-18 (Rs. 25,459 crore)," the party stated.
The leader said: "It is high time political and legal accountability is fixed on the Modi government as to how and under whose instructions the law enforcement agencies decided to conveniently look away while the 23 fugitives left India," he added.
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‘Pay worker before sweat dries’: Madras HC invokes prophet’s teaching to settle lawyer’s dues
Madurai: Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad to emphasise principles of fairness in labour jurisprudence, the Madras High Court has directed the Madurai City Municipal Corporation to settle the unpaid legal fees of a former standing counsel. Justice G.R. Swaminathan, in an order passed on Saturday, referred to the prophetic principle, “pay the worker before his sweat dries”, observing that this tenet is a facet of fairness eminently applicable to service and labour law.
The court was hearing a plea filed by P. Thirumalai, who served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for over 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. Thirumalai contended that the civic body had failed to pay outstanding dues amounting to Rs 13.05 lakh for his representation in approximately 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts. The current petition was filed after the Corporation rejected a substantial part of his claim following a previous court direction to consider his representation.
Addressing the practical difficulties faced by the petitioner, who stated he could not afford to engage a clerk to obtain certified copies of the 818 judgments to substantiate his work, Justice Swaminathan devised a pragmatic solution. The court permitted the former counsel to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) with a list of cases. The DLSA has been directed to procure the certified copies within two months, with the costs to be borne by the corporation and later deducted from the petitioner’s final settlement.
While the court acknowledged the Corporation's stance that fee bills must be in order, it ordered the civic body to settle the dues within two months of receiving the records from the DLSA.
However, citing the petitioner’s 18-year delay in challenging the non-payment, the court ruled that the settlement would be made without interest.
Beyond the specific relief granted to the petitioner, the single-judge bench made strong observations regarding the administration of legal fees and public funds. Justice Swaminathan termed the petitioner’s claim a "pittance" compared to the number of his appearances and expressed concern over the disparity in payments within the legal field. He noted that while "scandalously high amounts" are often paid to certain senior counsels and law officers by government and quasi-government bodies, others struggle to receive basic dues. The court observed that good governance requires public funds to be drawn on a measured basis and not distributed capriciously to a favoured few.
The Judge also flagged the "embarrassment" caused by the high number of Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) in the state, noting that the appointment of nearly a dozen officers leads to work being allotted unnecessarily. He criticized the frequent practice of government counsel seeking adjournments on the pretext that an engaged AAG is appearing elsewhere. Justice Swaminathan expressed hope that such practices would cease in the Madurai Bench and that the Additional Advocate Generals would "turn a new leaf" from 2026.
