Kharge submits privilege notice in RS against Shah over Ambedkar remarks
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday submitted a privilege notice against Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks against B R Ambedkar.
In his notice submitted to the RS Chairman, Kharge alleged that the remarks made by Shah were an insult to the architect of the Constitution and amounted to breach of privilege and contempt of the House.
"I hereby give a notice of question of privilege against Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs under Rule 188 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha)," Kharge said in his notice.
He said on December 17, Shah during his reply in the Rajya Sabha on the discussion on 'Glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India', had referred to Ambedkar which was "insulting and defamatory".
"...it is well established that any misconduct in the presence of the House or casting reflections and making defamatory statements constitute a breach of privilege and contempt of the House," he noted.
Kharge also claimed that the wording as well as the tone and tenor of the remarks made by the Home minister "are clearly satirical and made in a very bad taste".
"To use the name of Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of Constitution of India, is a clear cut insult to Dr Ambedkar. There remarks which have been made on the floor of the House are outright derogatory in nature and affront to Dr Ambedkar," he claimed in his notice.
Noting that such a conduct by the home minister is tantamount to breach of privilege and contempt of the house, Kharge said, "In view of the foregoing I request that privilege proceedings may be initiated against Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs."
Sharing Kharge's privilege notice in a post on X, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji has submitted a privilege notice against the Union Home Minister for his insulting remarks on Dr. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha on Dec 17, 2024".
The Congress and other opposition parties are seeking the resignation and sacking of Shah for his remarks.
Shah on Wednesday accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha related to Ambedkar after BJP leaders "exposed" the opposition party's repeated "insults" to the architect of the Constitution.
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CJI's advice to aspirant: Join the bar, become a lawyer, don't hanker for judicial services post
New Delhi (PTI): She came to the Supreme Court seeking a re-evaluation of her paper in the examination for joining judicial services as a magistrate. What she got instead was a rejection — and a candid confession by the Chief Justice that he too had wanted to join the judicial services in his youth but was advised by a senior judge to become a lawyer instead.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Friday dismissed a plea filed by Prerna Gupta, the judicial services aspirant.
As Gupta pressed her case, the CJI intervened and said, "Let me share my personal story and I hope you will go happily as we cannot allow your petition."
He recounted his time as a final-year law student in 1984 when he wanted to become a judicial officer. As per requirement, he cleared the written test and was set to appear for an interview.
Judicial services is one of the two routes to become a judge after initially joining as a magistrate in lower court and thereafter rising through the ranks to become judge in a high court and possibly the Supreme Court.
The other route is to join the Bar, which means becoming a lawyer, and after building a reputation be picked from the Bar to become a judge at a senior level.
By the time the CJI's exam results came out, he had started practising at the Punjab and Haryana High Court when he was called for the interview.
The senior-most judge on the interview panel happened to be a judge before whom he had recently argued two significant matters.
"One of the matters was Sunita Rani vs Baldev Raj, where he had allowed my appeal in a matrimonial case and set aside the decree of divorce granted by the District Judge on the ground of schizophrenia," he noted.
Before the interview could take place, the judge called the young Surya Kant to his chamber and asked, 'Do you want to become a judicial officer?'
"I said 'yes.' He immediately said, 'Get out from (my) the chamber.'"
The courtroom fell silent as the CJI Justice described his initial heartbreak.
“I came out trembling. All my dreams were shattered. I thought he had snubbed me and that my career was over,” the CJI said.
However, the story took another turn the following day and the judge summoned him again, this time offering a piece of advice that would change the trajectory of his life.
“He said, ‘If you want to become (a judge), you are welcome. But my advice is, don’t become a judicial officer. The Bar is waiting for you,’” Justice Surya Kant recalled.
The CJI said he decided to skip his interview and didn't even tell his parents at first, fearing their disappointment, and instead chose to dedicate himself to his practice as an advocate.
“Now tell me did I make a bad right or bad decision,” the CJI asked and the litigant lawyer left the court with a smile on her face despite her case being dismissed.
Encouraging the petitioner to look toward the future rather than dwelling on the re-evaluation of a single paper, Justice Surya Kant said, "The Bar has much to offer."
