Right to Education example of affirmative action that transformed lives: Ex-CJI U U Lalit
New Delhi (PTI): Former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit said the Right to Education, which has become a fundamental right, is an example of affirmative action that transformed the lives of citizens.
Speaking at an event on Saturday marking the release of the 100th episode of Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal's online show 'Dil Se With Kapil Sibal', the former CJI commended Right to Education for its inclusive character.
"When we gained Independence, less than 18 per cent of the people of the country were literate. So the rate of literacy, which was just about 18 per cent, today stands ... at least 80 per cent; and this began with the Constitution," he said.
Lalit said the framers of the Constitution had two ideas: the first being the State, to the best of its ability within its economic capacity, was to extend to every citizen opportunities for improving education, and another was that the State shall endeavour to extend free and compulsory education to children below the age of 14 years.
In the Mohini Jain versus State of Karnataka case of 1992, that dealt with high capitation fees of a private medical institute, the top court held that right to education was an essential aspect of fundamental rights, he said.
Following this, the government introduced a bill in 1997 to make education a fundamental right of citizens till they attained the age of 14, the former CJI said.
"This, to my mind, is the solitary example where the judicature and the legislature played their role together. Otherwise, right from the First Amendment of the Constitution, there has always been a tussle between them," he added.
Lalit said the new government that assumed office in 1999 inserted Article 21A in the Constitution in 2002, making Right to Education a fundamental right for children in the age group of six to 14 years.
The Article said that every child in the age group of 6-14 would have the right to have complete and compulsory education in the manner determined by Parliament, he said. "Now that determination by Parliament comes only in 2009 by way of what is called the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act."
He said the Act was significant, having far-reaching consequences as it now included within its ambit private institutions and envisaged "an inclusive definition of education."
The former CJI said that after the Supreme Court's verdict of 1992, which was upheld by a larger bench in 1993, people benefited from the "affirmative action". "And that is why, according to me... it is singularly the most impactful decision by the Supreme Court."
"We keep hearing criticism that judges indulge in activism. Then this activism is at the highest level, where by interpretative process, you are now saying that hundreds of crores of the population are entitled to affirmative action, and yet there is not a single demur from any establishment," the former CJI said.
Sibal, in his address, underlined that information was at the heart of civilisational progress and that access to relevant data was a problem around the world.
"A society without information will be parched. Indeed, there will be no fertile ground for the grass to grow. And what ultimately, if you look at the march of civilisation, you realise it is all based on information.
"In the absence of information, there is no dialogue. In the absence of information, there is no progress. So information is at the heart of the progress of civilisation. Unfortunately, all those who block information are doing great injustice," Sibal said.
He said that unfortunately, solutions are scarce in the absence of access to data.
"So it is time for us to think about these issues. Because in the ultimate analysis, it is not about us, it is about our future; not even our future but the future of humanity," Sibal said.
Lalit released the 100th episode of the series, which was followed by a panel discussion between Sibal, former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka, and film director-producer Mahesh Bhatt.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
