Former Madras HC judge now working as a farmer after retirement
Two videos of former Madras High Court judge A Selvam have been going viral on social media for the last few days, for all good reasons. Clad in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, and a towel tied around his head, the veteran judge is seen ploughing a field on a tractor with aplomb.
After his superannuation at the age of 62, A Selvam took off to his native Pulankurichi in Tiruppattur Taluk of Sivaganga district, to pursue what he always wanted to do - agriculture.
"In times when retired judges take up post-retirement jobs as a one-member commission or as a judicial member of a tribunal, Judge A Selvam, who served as a high court judge for 13 years is now doing agriculture in his land,” read a part of the WhatsApp message in Tamil.
When told about the message, Judge Selvam laughs it off and saying that it was what he wanted to do for a long time.
“Agriculture is my original profession and I don’t feel a big shift from my past profession as a judge,” he says.
A Selvam comes an agricultural family that has been growing crops for around 100 years. “Fortunately or unfortunately, I studied well and hence was sent off to Madurai to study Law,” quips the retired judge, who served as a judge in Madurai and then came to Chennai as a Judge at the request of Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul in 2015.
Retired in April 2018, the former judge is now tilling his five-acre ancestral field in Pulankurichi.
A typical day for A Selvam begins at 6 am and ends at 6 p.m. He ploughs the land himself, drives the tractor and knows all the operations related to agriculture.
“Now, I have sowed paddy in the field. Once I harvest it, I will sow vegetables and groundnut. Paddy is the main crop here,” he says, adding that instead of paying someone from outside to work in his field, he finds it gratifying to learn the activity by himself and doing it.
Law is a closed chapter
Starting his legal career in 1981, he gradually rose from being an additional judge in Tiruvannamalai District court to being one of the permanent judges of the Madras High Court.
Living in the midst of nature makes him happy, he says. A shot of retd. HC judge A Selvam on his tractor. pic.twitter.com/IOPsL2Vzle
— Megha Sreeram (@meghasreeram) August 3, 2018
In a career spanning 31 years, Judge A Selvam has delivered at least 10 judgments in open courts and has hardly reserved an order.
Recalling his long career in the judiciary, he says, “From my personal experience, I can say that the judiciary is not very effective in India. I am not blaming the Judiciary entirely for this, but this helps the corrupt politicians to thrive. The Judiciary should be independent and must do its job of serving the people."
He also fondly recollects the three former judges of the Supreme Court whom he had admired for their work during the course of his career -- Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Justice KT Thomas and Justice Panicker Radhakrishnan.
“I had an opportunity to meet and spend time with Justice VR Krishna Iyer in Kochi, a week before he passed away. I will cherish that memory. Although I do not know much about the three judges personally, I always look up to their judgments and their actions,” he says.
In fact, he exercised these principles in his life, on the day of his retirement. He handed over his car keys immediately after his tenure and went home from the Madras High Court in his personal car.
Now that he has “closed one chapter in his life”, as he puts it, judge Selvam signs off saying, “What gives me true happiness is doing agriculture on my land here and get a good harvest. It feels great to be in the midst of nature.”
courtesy : thenewsminute.com
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
