Will form committee to look into Waqf properties issue: CM Siddaramaiah
Belagavi (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he is ready to form a committee headed by a retired judge to look into the Waqf properties issue.
The chief minister also assured the Karnataka Assembly that the government will not remove those temples which are built on Waqf properties. In case notices have been served to them, then they will be withdrawn, he said.
Replying to the question raised by the opposition BJP on the Waqf land issue in the ongoing Assembly session on Thursday, the chief minister said, "Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has given a detailed reply to the charges of the opposition party.
"If they are not content with our reply, the government is ready to form a committee headed by a retired judge," the chief minister told the house.
He also made it clear that the matter is not a prestige issue.
Siddaramaiah said the central government had enacted the Wakf Act in 1954, which the state government cannot amend.
"The BJP-led government was in power in the state from 2008 to 2013 and from 2019 to 2023. The BJP has been in power at the Centre since 2014. Then, without thinking about amending the Wakf Act, they are now raising a controversy,” he alleged.
Siddaramaiah said the BJP, in its election manifesto, had said that it would discuss with Muslim religious leaders and clear and protect the encroached Waqf properties.
The government has clearly answered all the questions of the opposition. This should remove the confusion among the people, he added.
Siddaramaiah also assured the House that the government will not touch Waqf lands sanctioned under the Inam Cancellation and Land Reforms Act.
According to him, of the total 1.28 lakh acres of Waqf property, 47,263 acres are under the Inam Cancellation and 23,623 acres under the Land Reforms Act, and 3,000 acres have been used for public purposes. About 17,969 acres of Waqf land has been encroached on by private individuals.
"There is a Supreme Court order to protect these. Once it is registered as a Waqf property, it will always be a Waqf property," he said.
During a discussion on the issue of the Waqf Board issuing eviction notices to farmers, temples and many other individuals, the chief minister said, "If temples have been built on Waqf properties then we will not remove them. I am making it very clear. In case any notice has been issued, they (notices) will be withdrawn."
As the raging Waqf issue echoed in the Assembly with the BJP raising it, Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan clarified that if notices were given to farmers and temples then they would be withdrawn.
The chief minister too reiterated Khan's statement and said no farmer will be evicted from the land they have been tilling.
BJP legislator Araga Jnanendra demanded that the properties mentioned in the government records as those of Waqf should also be removed as the mere cancelling of notices will not serve the purpose.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka justified the demand by saying that 110 Kuruba families in the Krishna Raja constituency in Siddaramaiah's home district of Mysuru had been running from pillar to post to get the notices revoked.
They have submitted several memoranda to Siddaramaiah, but to no avail, he said, adding there were hundreds of such instances where people were facing hardships due to such notices.
Khan reminded the BJP that in its manifesto in 2014, there was a promise to remove encroachment on Waqf properties.
The chief minister underlined the need to save the Waqf properties, saying there were 1.10 lakh acres of such properties in the state which has now been reduced to just 20,000 acres due to various provisions of law such as the Inam Abolition Act as well as encroachment.
Jnanendra said, "We (BJP) too support saving the Waqf properties but our point is why notices were given now."
Siddaramaiah said the situation was such that there was a need to save the properties and notices were given as there is a central law for it.
The clarification was necessary now because he explained that a march was taken out from Bidar by the Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from Bidar.
"There is a political split in the BJP but I won't discuss your internal matter," Siddaramaiah quipped.
He referred to the differences between Yatnal and BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra. As a show of strength, Yatnal decided to take out a march from Bidar to Chamarajanagar with the support of 12 senior BJP leaders including MP and MLAs.
He accused the BJP of politicising the issue. He reminded that despite the attempt to communalise the atmosphere in the state, the BJP lost the recent bypolls in all three assembly segments, Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon.
Not satisfied by the explanation given by the Congress government, the BJP legislators staged a walkout from the assembly.
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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."
