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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Thiruvananthapuram: An article in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece Organiser has stated that the Catholic Church of India holds more land than the Waqf Board, which has long been believed to be the second-largest landowner in the country.
The article, titled "Who has more land in India? The Catholic Church vs Waqf Board Debate," as cited by The New Indian Express, challenges the commonly held view and asserts that the Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental landholder in India.
"For many years, there has been a common belief that the Waqf Board is the second largest landowner in India after the government, however, this claim does not align with the actual data on land ownership in the country. The Catholic Church of India holds the distinction of being the largest non-governmental landowner, possessing vast tracts of land spread across the country,” the article stated.
The Church is said to own approximately 17.29 crore acres (7 crore hectares) of land, with an estimated value of Rs 20,000 crore.
The article further noted the significant influence of the Catholic Church in India’s real estate landscape, listing scores of schools, hospitals, nursing colleges, and other institutions under its management. “As of 2012, the Catholic Church has 2,457 hospital dispensaries, 240 medical or nursing colleges, 28 general colleges, 5 engineering colleges, 3,765 secondary schools, 7,319 primary schools and 3,187 nursery schools in the field of education and healthcare sector in the country. Much of its land was acquired during British rule. In 1927, the British administration passed the Indian Church Act, facilitating large-scale land grants to the Church," it added.
However, the Organiser article also raised contentious issues, alleging that some of the Church's land acquisitions might have been questionable. It suggested that the Church’s charitable services, particularly in education and healthcare, could be a way of luring economically disadvantaged individuals into converting to Christianity, with some reports claiming that tribal and rural landowners were coerced into converting in exchange for Church-run services.
“Several cases have surfaced where tribal lands, once belonging to indigenous communities, were gradually transferred to Church authorities under various pretexts," the article stated.
This published write-up comes at a time when BJP leaders, particularly in Kerala, are celebrating the passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill, which they have described as a "gift" to the Munambam protesters, who are led by the Catholic Church.
Interestingly, Organiser has deleted the article after it was published.
