Four questions for Ranjan Gogoi
A Chief Justice of India, like Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. But certain recent developments in India’s Supreme Court, the latest being the inordinate delay and repeated adjournments in hearing the Ram Janmabhumi case,( fixing dates for fixing a date etc) has caused murmurings and raised questions about the conduct of the present Chief Justice of India, which are best answered and cleared up by him himself.
(Justice Markandey Katju)
As a former Judge of the Supreme Court I am deeply concerned about what is going on in the sacred institution I had the honor of serving, and on behalf of the people of India I ask Ranjan Gogoi, the present CJI the following questions which he should publicly answer. After all, in a democracy the people are supreme, and all state authorities and institutions (including even the CJI) are servants of the people and accountable to them :
1. Gogoi’s daughter married the son of Justice Valmiki Mehta, judge of Delhi High Court. There were serious allegations against Valmiki Mehta, which were enquired into by the then CJI Justice Thakur and found to be true. Hence in March 2016 the Supreme Court Collegium presided over by Justice Thakur recommended transfer of Justice Valmiki Mehta to another High Court.
Usually such a recommendation is implemented by the government of India in a couple of weeks. But strangely enough in this case the Government. of India put the file containing the recommendation in the cold storage for about one year. In the meantime, the then CJI Thakur fumed repeatedly about the non-implementation of the recommendation, often in open court, and even threatened to tell the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to withdraw judicial work from Valmiki Mehta in view of the very serious allegations against him, but all to no avail. It was only after Justice Thakur retired in January 2017, and a more amenable Justice Kehar became the CJI that the file was returned by the government to the Supreme Court (instead of forwarding it to the President of India for his signature), and thereafter the new Collegium headed by the new CJI Kehar revoked the earlier recommendation, with the result that Valmiki Mehta remains a judge of the Delhi High Court till date. What is the truth behind this mystery?
The information I have, but whose correctness or otherwise only Gogoi can answer, is this: on getting to know of the recommendation of his sambandhi’s transfer, Gogoi went to the PM Modi (or a senior Cabinet minister) and begged that Valmiki Mehta be not transferred. Since by dint of seniority Gogoi was in line of becoming a CJI, the government acceded to his request, and kept the file in cold storage, instead of forwarding it to the President of India for his signature.
If this version is correct, obviously Gogoi has taken a favor from the BJP government which he has to return, and that would explain many of the happenings in the Supreme Court.
Gogoi is now the Chief Justice of India, so all the records in the Supreme Court registry are accessible to him. Let him therefore place in the public domain (1) the recommendation of the Collegium headed by the then CJI Thakur for transfer of Valmiki Mehta (2) the letters of the then CJI Thakur to the government of India asking why the transfer recommendation was not being implemented, and the replies of the government (3) The letter of the government sending the recommendation back to the Supreme Court headed by the new CJI Kehar ( 4) The resolution of the Collegium headed by Justice Kehar revoking the recommendation for Justice Mehta’s transfer
2. The son of Valmiki Mehta (son-in-law of Gogoi) is a lawyer. It is believed his practice and income suddenly soared by leaps and bounds after his marriage. So, let Gogoi mention what was his son-in-law’s income before and after his marriage
3. Three judges of Delhi High Court, Justice Pradeep Nandrajog (presently CJ Rajasthan High Court), Justice Gita Mittal (presently CJ J&K High Court) and Justice Ravindra Bhat, who were all senior to Justice Sanjiv Khanna in Delhi High Court were superseded. Why? I was Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, and personally knew that all 3 (who were puisne judges of the High Court at that time) had impeccable records of integrity and competence, and in fact Justice Nabdrajog had been recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium which met on 12.12.2018 to be elevated to the Supreme Court. That recommendation had been signed by all 5 of the Collegium members, but thereafter CJI Gogoi simply pocketed the recommendation paper and did not send it to the Government of India, as is usually done. Why ? I spoke to Justice Lokur who was in that Collegium (and was next in seniority after Gogoi) and he told me that after the recommendation was made and signed, he telephoned Gogoi’s residence repeatedly to ask whether the recommendation had been forwarded to the government, but every time some secretary would pick up the phone and say that the CJI was not well, and Gogoi never returned the call. Later, Gogoi said that the recommendation had not been sent to the government because consultation with the consulting judges had not been done, though such consultation takes only a day or two (as I know from personal experience ).
This supersession of three meritorious judges reminds one of the supersessions of three senior Supreme Court judges by Indira Gandhi’s government, and it has sent a very wrong message throughout the judiciary, apart from having a very demoralizing effect on those three judges. A senior Supreme Court lawyer has in fact insinuated that it was done at the behest of the BJP government. There were no doubt other judges in the Collegium which recommended Justice Khanna, but they weakly surrendered to Gogoi who bulldozed Justice Khanna’s name offering little resistance ( as I was informed by several Supreme Court Judges whom I personally contacted and spoke to ).
If there was anything against these 3 judges senior to Justice Khanna the public is entitled to know. If there was nothing against Justice Nandrajog on 12.12.2018 when the then Collegium recommended his name for elevation, did something crop up within 3 weeks? It is all a mystery.
Moreover, Justice Maheshwari, who has now been elevated, had been specifically rejected by the Collegium which met on 12.12.2018 (as Justice Lokur who was on that Collegium informed me). Did he suddenly become competent within three weeks ?
4. Why is the Ramjanmabhumi case being adjourned again and again on one pretext or the other? And why are dates being fixed for fixing a date? Again, a mystery. Is this some kind of quid pro quo? Only Gogoi can answer.
[Justice Markandey Katju is former Judge, Supreme Court of India and former Chairman, Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own]
courtesy : indicanews.com
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CM Siddaramaiah rebuts BJP's '63 per cent' corruption charge
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday refuted BJP leader R Ashoka's accusation regarding a judge's alleged remark about "63 per cent corruption" in the state, saying the opposition is "twisting facts" and attempting to shift blame from its own past tenure.
In a post on X, Siddaramaiah said the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly had “tried to hang the BJP’s bell of sins around the Congress government's necks and has ended up embarrassing himself” by misinterpreting the Upa Lokayukta’s comments.
"In the report submitted in November 2019, Honourable Upa Lokayukta B Veerappa had stated that there was 63 per cent corruption in the State. At the time he submitted the report, the BJP government led by Yediyurappa was in power in the State,” he clarified.
Countering Ashoka’s demand for a CBI probe, Siddaramaiah listed a series of scandals under the previous BJP government, saying corruption cases were "not just one or two".
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He accused the former regime of "shameless loot" even during the COVID crisis and said "a minimum 40 per cent commission was the norm across departments".
Referring to the death of contractor Santosh Patil, alleged irregularities in irrigation projects, the PSI recruitment scam and charges levelled by BJP MLC H Vishwanath against current state party president B Y Vijayendra, he said: “If we begin listing the scams from the BJP era, an entire epic volume could be written.”
Targetting the Centre, Siddaramaiah said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who proclaims “Na khaaoonga, na khaane doonga” (Neither shall I take kickbacks, nor allow others to take it), India was 'sinking into corruption'.
He cited Transparency International rankings that place the country 96th globally.
Dismissing Ashoka’s claims as “foolishness”, Siddaramaiah asserted that his administration was ensuring transparency in “recruitment to transfers”, preventing misuse of money and power.
“Mr R Ashoka, the monumental corruption you created cannot be cleaned up in just two and a half years,” the Chief Minister said. “Give us some time — we will set everything right.”
Ashoka demanded the transfer of all corruption cases against the Congress government in the state to the CBI, and called for its resignation.
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His demand comes following an alleged remark by Upalokayukta Justice B Veerappa that the level of corruption in Karnataka stood at '63 per cent'.
"We had fought against this corrupt government both inside and outside the assembly when the MUDA scam, Valmiki ST Development Corporation scam surfaced. At that time, CM Siddaramaiah repeatedly asked for evidence of corruption. As per our constitution, courts and judges hold big positions and what they say is regarded as order or a record," Ashoka, also the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said now a judge has stated that the government in Karnataka is "63 per cent corrupt".
"We-- BJP-- had made a 60 per cent commission charge against this government, but a judge has said it is not 60, it is 63 per cent. He (judge) said it at an event where he shared the stage with other judges and senior advocates. He has alleged that there is corruption in almost all departments, nothing happens without paying commission. Karnataka is in fifth position in corruption," he claimed.
At a public event on Wednesday, Justice Veerappa had claimed that the corruption in Kerala stood at 10 per cent, while it is 63 per cent in Karnataka.
He had said that he was able to witness it after becoming the Upalokayukta.
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Recalling that the Congress government, after coming to power, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the "40 per cent commission" charge it had made against the previous BJP government, Ashoka asked -- what probe will the government order, following the 63 per cent corruption allegation against it.
"If you have any shame left, resign and go... you formed SIT against us, constitute CBI probe on this (allegations against Congress govt), if you have guts, let the corruption in various departments come out in the open," he added.
According to the LoP, Karnataka has become an "ATM" for the Congress party to fund any state elections. Power goes to those who give more money to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
"For the recent Bihar elections, more than Rs 300 crore has gone from Karnataka itself. A breakfast meeting of Ministers was called to collect this money," he said, adding that Congress is synonymous with corruption, and corruption is Congress' home deity.
