1. NDIA EGALL STORIES THAT COUNT
I
March9, 2020
Judiciary’sRoleina
ChangingWorld
TheInternationalJudicialConference2020wasthefirstofitskindorganisedbytheSupreme
Courttodiscusscontemporarychallengestothejudiciary.Therangeofspeakers,fromthe
chiefjusticeofIndiaandotherseniorjudges,gavevaluableinsightsontohowthecourtsview
theirresponsibilitiesinrapidlychangingtimes
Coronavirus:
How prepared is India?
3. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 3
S of this writing, 42 human beings are
dead and countless hundreds lie wo-
unded in the hospitals of the nation’s
capital because of the violence let
loose on unsuspecting neighbour-
hoods by frenzied, organised, hate-crazed thugs
and storm troopers in pursuit of political and
religious agendas embedded into the very mar-
row of their bones by demagogues and prophets
of blood.
This is not the first time that the Indian soul
has been substituted by poison. Persons of my
generation do not easily forget Moradabad, Ali-
garh, Meerut, Delhi 1984, Hashimpura, Trilok-
puri, Chhittisingpora, Ahmedabad 2002, Bom-
bay 1993 … Our history is written in vitriol.
The recent targeted
killings and mayhem
sanitised in the media as
“riots” or “clashes”, stand
out more vividly than
the previous acts of bar-
barism because we saw
them, for the first time,
and in real time, on
social media. Rajdeep
Sardesai astutely noted
on Twitter: “I was asked today what was big diff
between covering riots in 1992-1993 and now. My
ans: there were no 24X7 ‘pseudo-nationalist’
propaganda channels to spread hate nor social
media to amplify hate mongering…”
Apart from the growth of the BJP, the emer-
gence of powerful regional caste-based parties,
the rise of consumerism following liberalisation,
the decline of the Congress, nothing really seems
to have changed within the soul in the post-par-
titioned Indian nation.
I close my eyes and I am drawn inexorably
into the womb of my native Badaun in Uttar
Pradesh where I first witnessed and reported
first-hand on a violent communal conflagration
and tried my human best to understand and
explain man’s inhumanity to man. As I watch in
helpless horror Delhi’s burning, I am drawn into
déjà vu and I relive the nightmare of my beloved
Badaun. I recorded that in a first-person article
I wrote for India Today which I reproduce here.
OCTOBER 1989
Badaun died last fortnight. Not that the western
Uttar Pradesh town of 1 lakh residents, half
Muslim and half Hindu, had much going for it.
As a city it is a typical filth-choked, drain-
clogged agglomeration of fly-infested bazaars
and serpentine alleyways, a town of mechanics
and traders, transporters, grain and cloth mer-
chants, empty of industry but replete with semi-
rural Harijan slums like Lotanpura and Muslim
ghettos like Nayee Serai whose residents eke
out a hand-to-mouth
existence.
Yet, those who grew
up there remember it as
a pleasant sort of place.
Flying kites in pre-mon-
soon breezes from the
roof-tops of Jallandari
Serai and Kacheri Road.
Lining up for sugar-co-
ated pedas at Mamman
Khan halwai’s shop. Playing hockey at the pa-
rade ground. Here, in Badaun and the nearby
tehsil town of Ujhani, Muslim and Hindu milled
and mixed, respected each other’s masjids
and mandirs.
On Eid-ul-Azha, Muslims would deliver the
choicest cut of meats to Hindu households, and
on Holi, Muslims dressed in the finest white
khadi and silk churidaars and adorning colour-
ful caps would troop to Hindu households for
the traditional milan (meeting).
Hindus and Muslims spoke to each other in
Urdu-laced Hindustani, with Doordarshan’s
Hindi universally scoffed at as some incompre-
hensible tongue. After all, it was Badaun that
gave birth to poets Shakeel Badauni and
Fatri Badauni.
POISON
Inderjit Badhwar
A
Letter from the Editor
ReferringtotheviolenceinNortheastDelhi,this
isnotthefirsttimethattheIndiansoulhasbeen
substitutedbypoison.Personsofmygeneration
donoteasilyforgetMoradabad,Aligarh,Meerut,
Delhi1984,Hashimpura,Trilokpuri,
Chhittisingpora,Ahmedabad2002,Bombay
1993…Ourhistoryiswritteninvitriol.
4. 4 March 9, 2020
And it is to Badaun that Hindus have travelled
to worship at the ancient Ziyarat of Sufi saints
Bade Sarkar and Chhote Sarkar under the guid-
ance of Muslim priests. The Ganga cuts a wide
swathe at the boundary of the Badaun district.
This is where lakhs of Hindu pilgrims head to
participate in the centuries-old Kakora mela.
R
eally, Badaun is not Muslim. It’s not
Hindu. Ask, in any of its outlying mohal-
las which communities live there, and the
answer you would get is Brahmins, Kayasthas,
Mahajans, Muraos, Kurmis, Yadavas, Jatavas,
Thakurs, Gaddis, Julahas, Ansaris, Pathans.
Never “Hindu” or “Muslim”.
And the citizens of Badaun had one proud
boast. In recent years, Hindus and Muslims had
rioted in adjoining areas like Shahjahanpur,
Pilibhit, Moradabad, Allahabad and Barabanki.
Not in Badaun. Even Partition saw limited ten-
sion here. The MP from Badaun is a Congress(I)
Muslim, Salim Sherwani, the MLA, a Hindu,
Pramilla Mehra, minister of state for tourism.
Both won on a combined vote of Muslims and an
alliance of Hindu caste votes.
Today this secular vote lies shattered. The
Ziyarat lies abandoned of the faithful. Children
no longer chase each other through the lanes of
Khairati Chowk and Choona Mandi. They live in
cloistered fear as Badaun limps out of 10 days of
curfew. They have blood on their hands. Hatred
in their eyes. Revenge in their hearts.
Their souls are ruled by rumour. Every fire-
cracker hurled by a mischievous child is a ma-
chine-gun attack. Vultures atop the town’s water
tanks are gun-wielding fanatics of the “other”
community. Truckloads of warriors are supposed
to have stolen into Badaun and Ujhani from
other districts.
Who would believe that Badaun's riot of
September 28, in which 30 lives were lost, was
sparked off, of all things, by the introduction in
the Vidhan Sabha of Urdu, a language which
Badaun has loved?
Its timing was foolish for it came when
Badaun, even though the majority of its people
did not give their feelings rabid expression, had
begun to show signs of communal infection from
the fundamentalist Hindu revivalism afoot coun-
trywide, as well as from the shortsightedness of
local Muslim political leaders.
Better than its citizens, local criminals who
typically gain political respectability by engender-
ing communal riots and then emerging as com-
munity “leaders” had been able to judge Badaun
as fissionable material.
It started with a peaceful BJP-inspired march
on September 27 mostly by students of the SK
Inter College to the collectorate—amid some
ugly pro-Hindu sloganeering—to present a peti-
tion opposing the Urdu bill. It was an obviously
communal situation in which Hindus were eq-
uating Urdu with the Government’s pampering
of Muslims.
Next day at 9.30 a.m., a 200-strong procession
of slogan-chanting students, joined by criminal
elements, marched from Islamia Inter College to
SK College. It is still being debated whether this
procession should have been allowed. But given
the history of Badaun’s communal peace, District
Magistrate Sisir Priyadarshi and Superintendent
of Police N.R. Srivastava did not expect violence.
It occurred when the marchers tried to force
their way into the other college. They clashed.
With brickbats, with knives. Priyadarshi and
Srivastava rushed to the spot. Within half an hour
the violence had spread downtown to the Cha-
hsaraka area, the main chowk. Armed combat-
ants began firing at each other from roof-tops,
indicating an element of preparedness.
Some 5,000 people were participating in the
battle within the next hour with no more than 50
policemen conducting lathi charges and firing in
Letter from the Editor
Anthony Lawrence
5. the air. By the time reserves arrived from
Bareilly, some 70 km away, Badaun was on
fire. More than 200 shops were gutted,
and places of worship damaged.
Before relief could arrive, a train was
held up near Badaun Railway Station and
13 people were butchered. The man arrest-
ed in connection with the incident was
Ram Sewak, a Kurmi criminal-turned-
politician, a history sheeter with several
murder cases pending against him, a
former Lok Dal “diehard” as police
dossiers describe him, and of late a Janata
Dal activist.
“Why this in Badaun?” Prabha Shankar,
Badaun’s most eminent lawyer, is asked.
He responds: “It’s obvious that Hindus are
not ready to tolerate their own govern-
ment treating them as second-class citi-
zens.” Shankar is not a communalist.
Perhaps he doesn’t know the “pamper-
ing” he talks about, apart from the vote
bank benefit to the ruling party, has a
social element to it because more than 60 per
cent of Muslims in the country live below the
poverty line.
But he does articulate a commonly-held
Hindu belief that minorities have been appeased
while the majority has been restrained from
asserting itself, and that some day, because of
mass conversions and non-acceptance of family
planning, the minorities will gain an edge.
And there have been no efforts by the Govern-
ment to explain that given the 1941 census base—
and not the 1951 in which Muslims were under-
counted—the rate of growth in Muslim and
Hindu populations has been about the same.
I
t is this kind of thinking that has caused the
majority community to develop a minority
complex and given credence, even in places
like Badaun, to the Hindu revivalist movement.
The political behaviour of the Muslims in Badaun
has perhaps also been shortsighted. Their voting
patterns have tended to isolate them. Though the
Muslims of Badaun have voted for Hindus, they
have tended to vote as a community.
These patterns, of late, have disturbed Hindus
of Badaun district. During municipal elections
in June, Muslims turned out en masse to elect a
Muslim causing some Hindu insecurity over the
fact that with a Muslim MP and Muslim chair-
man there was a deliberate effort to create a
Muslim raj.
This paranoia was exploited in Ujhani a few
weeks later by Janata Dal politician Sri Krishna
Goyal. He made a communal speech that so gal-
vanised the Hindus that they were able to elect a
Hindu municipal chairman even though Muslims
had rallied en masse behind Dr Nihal Ahmed.
In microcosm, this was the communal divide.
And in Badaun it is sharpening as the elections
draw near. For the first time Hindus and Muslims
have drawn blood. Out of sheer insecurity, Mus-
lims will flock together even more, perhaps to the
Congress (I) side.
Hindus have already begun demanding from
their elected leaders the release of some 60 people
jailed for the killings. Some even see the criminal
Ram Sewak as a Hindu hero, and the message of
Hindu-Muslim disharmony is spreading into
Badaun district’s villages where Yadavas and
Thakurs and Muraos are being told that their
identity is Hindu, that they should vote as Hindus.
What the future holds is anybody’s guess. But,
Badaun used to be Indian. Today it is Muslim
and Hindu.
| INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 5
Twitter: @indialegalmedia
Website: www.indialegallive.com
Contact: [email protected]
PEDDLING HATE
The recent targeted
killings and mayhem
in Northeast Delhi
stand out more
vividly than the
previous acts of
barbarism because
we saw them, for the
first time, and in real
time, on social media
twitter.com
6. 6 March 9, 2020
ContentsVOLUME XIII ISSUE17
MARCH9,2020
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The International Judicial Conference 2020 was the first of its kind organised by the Supreme
Court of India in which judges from 23 different countries and jurisdictions spoke on contemporary
challenges to the judiciary. The range of speakers, including the president, prime minister, law min-
ister, the chief justice of India and other senior judges, added gravitas and some idea of the press-
ing concerns and future focus of the courts
Judiciary’s Role in a Changing World
LEAD
14
With the parent of a student found hanging
at the SRMS Institute of Medical Sciences
in Bareilly approaching the apex court, it
brings out the alarming fact of a sequence
of such student deaths which have been
reported from the campus
Mystery
Deaths 22
SUPREMECOURT
7. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 7
Followuson
Facebook.com/indialegalmedia
Twitter:@indialegalmedia
Website:www.indialegallive.com
Contact:[email protected]
Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCE
Cover Photo: PIB
REGULARS
Ringside............................8
Is That Legal.....................9
Courts.............................10
Law Campus News........12
International Briefs ........38
Media Watch ..................46
Harvest of Tears
The Chhattisgarh government seems to have
given inflated figures of paddy procurement
and squeezed farmers at each step of the
procurement process, leaving them agitated
44
In the timescale of evolution of artificial
intelligence for law, a look at two seminal
works from the late 1950s and early 1970s,
respectively. The decades spanning the
timeline are also the decades of AI in general
The Law Machine
MYSPACE
STATES
In the wake of a stern warning from the
Financial Action Task Force urging
Pakistan to swiftly complete the action
plan on prosecuting and penalising
terror financing by June 2020, cosmetic
measures taken by the Imran Khan
government are becoming irrelevant
31
FATF’s
Firm Hand
34
The transfer of Delhi High Court
judge Justice S Muralidhar while
he was hearing a PIL on the
violence in northeast Delhi
during which he came down
heavily on the Delhi police, has
led to controversy
Justice
Denied
COURTS
23
The centre’s recent appointment of a new Chief Vigilance
Commissioner comes under fire from the opposition for the
procedure followed and the choice of candidate
The Litmus Test
SPOTLIGHT
24
As China battles the coronavirus crisis, other countries are scram-
bling to control the spread. India has well-developed biotech infra-
structure with scientists experienced in infectious diseases
The Less Visible Dimensions
GLOBALTRENDS
28
Unenviable
Record
FOCUS
India has the largest street dog
population and highest number of
dog-bite deaths in the world, but there
is no set criteria for compensation
to victims
40
8. 8 March 9, 2020
Anthony Lawrence
RINGSIDE
Safety precautions
in New Delhi
9. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 9
ISTHAT
—Compiled by Ishita Purkaystha
What is the procedure for changing
one’s name in India?
It is not only women who change sur-
names after marriage (although that is
no longer an absolute convention these
days) in India. Both men and women
change their surnames for varying
reasons like advice from astrologers,
simplification of long names, and
other reasons.
The first step is to get an affidavit
after swearing in front of a Judicial
Magistrate First Class or even a Notary
Public. The next step is to make public
the change of name. An advertisement
must also be released declaring the
new name, one in an English newspa-
per and another in any regional news-
paper. The final step is the gazette noti-
fication. After central/state gazette noti-
fies the change, the new name can be
used for all purposes.
?
Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked
queries regarding matters that affect us on a day to day basis
What are the legal formalities needed to start a restaurant business?
Once the theme and style of a restaurant are decided, the intended business needs to
be registered as a partnership or a private limited company. A host of licences and per-
mits need to be obtained, such as:
All for name change
Stepping into the
food industry
Throwing out a tenant
Where can a cyber
crime complaint be
lodged in India?
Email fraud, social
media crimes, mobile
app related crimes,
business email com-
promise, data theft,
ATM fraud, online
transaction fraud—
any kind of cyber
crime can be reported
online on the National
Cyber Crime Reporting
Portal.
The police department
too has a cyber crime
unit and such com-
plaints can be filed at
the office located in
the concerned district
or by registering a
cyber crime FIR at the
nearest police station.
In cases of emer-
gency, the national
police helpline, 100, or
the national women’s
helpline number, 181,
may also be dialled.
Filing a cyber
crime complaint
What is the procedure for evicting a tenant
before the expiry of his rent agreement?
A tenant should ideally be served an eviction no-
tice terminating the rent agreement and assign-
ing a reason for doing so. The notice must
give reasonable time to the tenant to look for
another accommodation before he vacates the
rented one.
In case the tenant refuses to vacate, the
landlord will have to file an eviction suit in court.
The rental laws in India lay down several gro-
unds for eviction—non-payment of rent by the
tenant, sub-letting the property by the tenant to
another party without the owner’s permission,
the tenant using the premises for unlawful pur-
poses, complaints of nuisance from neighbours
against the tenant, etc. The owner may also
need to get the property vacated for staying him-
self, getting it renovated, putting it up for sale, or
getting it demolished.
Yearly health/trade licence from the
municipal corporation, renewable
every March
FSSAI licence to operate a food
business
GST registration
Professional tax registration,
Shop and Establishment Registration
Liquor licence
Eating House licence
Fire safety NOC
Lift clearance from the electricity
department
Music licence
Environmental clearance
Signage licence to advertise the
restaurant through posters, paintings,
graphics, etc.
10. Courts
10 March 9, 2020
The centre rejected allega-
tions of a starvation death in
Jharkhand and of the arbitrary
cancellation of nearly three
crore ration cards of poor peo-
ple across the country.
“Let it be put on affidavit. I
will respond and show all these
are wrong. It is all incorrect
statistics,” said Attorney
General KK Venugopal to an SC
bench comprising Chief Justice
of India SA Bobde and Justices
BR Gavai and Surya Kant. Ve-
nugopal intervened during the
hearing on a PIL by senior
advocate Colin Gonsalves that
alleged starvation deaths fol-
lowing denial of food in the
absence of Aadhaar cards.
Gonsalves claimed that as
many as three crore ration
cards of poor people had been
cancelled by authorities across
the country and a 13-year-old
girl had died of starvation in
Jharkhand after she was denied
rations on account of non-
matching of Aadhaar details
with her ration card. Venugopal
said the centre would file a
comprehensive affidavit on the
issue and was waiting for
replies of state governments.
No starvation
deaths, says AG
Venugopal to SC
In an unusual development, hearings in
several important matters, including the
sitting of a nine-judge Constitution bench
that was supposed to commence day-to-
day hearings from February 17, 2020, to
decide seven questions of law in the Sab-
arimala case, had to be cancelled after five
judges of the Supreme Court were infected
with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as
swine flu.
It was Justice DY Chandrachud who in-
formed lawyers gathered in his courtroom
about the development. He added that the
judges had a meeting with the Chief Justice
of India, SA Bobde, regarding the situation
and the precautionary and remedial meas-
ures that needed to be taken.
Later, the Union government confirmed
that five judges of the top court were affect-
ed by the H1N1 virus. All five judges were
kept in home isolation. At the time of going
to press, three judges had resumed work
and two continued to be under home isola-
tion/observation and were recovering.
The Ministry of Health and Family Wel-
fare also put in place several preventive
measures within the apex court premises to
bring the situation under control. They in-
cluded: (1) Strengthening the first-aid post
of CGHS within the Supreme Court premis-
es; (2) providing treatment for all judges as
per the protocol and giving prophylactic
treatment to all who had come in contact
with them, including their family members;
(3) keeping all five judges in home isolation;
(4) sanitising courtrooms and residences;
and (5) disseminating awareness regarding
preventive measures to all concerned.
The Supreme Court Collegium
recommended the elevation
of Bombay High Court judge
Justice BP Dharmadhikari as its
chief justice. At a meeting held
on February 24, the Collegium
recommended that Justice
Dharmadhikari, who was earlier
the same day appointed acting
chief justice, following the
retirement of Chief Justice
Pradeep Nandrajog, be con-
firmed as the chief justice.
Justice Dharmadhikari, who
is due to retire on April 27, is a
cousin of Justice SC Dharma-
dhikari who had resigned from
the same High Court earlier
this month.
Acting Chief Justice Dhar-
madhikari was first appointed
a judge of the High Court in
March 2004.
Among the noted rulings
that he gave were the death
sentence for five of the six con-
victed in the Ahmedabad triple
murder case and commuting
the death sentences of the Pune
2007 rape-murder convicts. He
graduated in law from Nagpur
University and has been practis-
ing since 1980.
Dharmadhikari recommended as
chief justice of Bombay High Court
SC hearings derailed as five
judges fall prey to swine flu
11. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 11
—Compiled by India Legal team
The Delhi High Court suspended a trial
court judge who allowed a man facing
multiple charges to remain on custody
parole for more than five months.
District Judge Virender Kumar Goyal,
who was posted at Tis Hazari Courts, was
suspended four days before his retirement
on January 31, for allowing extended parole
in connection with an Election Commission
bribery case.
The High Court also
recommended action ag-
ainst the judicial officer for
his “conduct”. Goyal has
been suspended under
appropriate rules of the
Delhi Higher Judicial
Service Rules and All
India Services (Discipline
and Appeal) Rules.
The accused, Sukesh
Chandrashekar, is facing
trial in three different
cases in three courts. An
alleged middleman, he
was arrested in the
bribery case in April 2017
and given custody parole on July 5, 2019,
by Goyal, who was then additional sessions
judge, in a cheating case. The relief in one
case was extended by Goyal from time to
time until December 14, 2019. After being
out on parole for more than five months, he
was taken into custody on December 20
last year after the High Court ordered his
immediate arrest.
The Uttarakhand High Court sought the
state government’s reply on a Public
Interest Litigation challenging the consti-
tutional validity of the Uttarakhand Char
Dham Devasthanam Management Act,
2019. In his petition, BJP leader and Raj-
ya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy
prayed that enforceability of the Act
should be stopped forthwith and that it be
struck down.
The petition stated that the present
law is “practically state acquisition of an
ancient group of religious institutions be-
longing to a particular religious denomi-
nation and departmentalisation of the
entire Devasthanam for an indefinite peri-
od”. The state government has been gi-
ven three weeks’ time to file its reply.
The directions were issued by a
bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh
Ranganathan and Justice Ramesh Chan-
dra Khulbe. The state government’s move
has faced protest from the opposition
Congress as well as from priests and
pandas of the Badrinath shrine, who had
staged demonstrations in Dehradun and
in other districts.
Acity court asked the Delhi Police
Commissioner to submit a fresh
report on the complaint about Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Siso-
dia’s tweet alleging that the police
had set DTC buses on fire in the Ja-
mia Millia Islamia violence.
Additional Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Vishal Pahuja, after hear-
ing arguments in the matter, rejected
the clean chit given to Sisodia in the
matter and directed the commissioner
to file a fresh report by March 17.
Complainant advocate Alakh Alok
Srivastava strongly objected to the
Delhi Police report, which stated that
no cognisable offence was made out
against him.
During the hearing, the court
recorded serious objections by the
complainant on the action taken
report filed by the Tilak Marg police
station, New Delhi, in which the
police had said they had not even
received the complaint.
Sisodia had on December 15
shared pictures and videos purport-
edly from Jamia Nagar in which
police officers were seen carrying
barrels and pouring liquid onto the
DTC buses.
Delhi Court rejects
clean chit to
Manish Sisodia
Uttarakhand High
Court’s notice on
Char Dham Act
Delhi HC suspends trial court
judge for giving long parole
12. in not more than 500-600 words by
March 11, 2020.
The themes for the colloquium in-
clude: constitutional validity of the IBC,
2016, CIRP – risks and challenges
involved, moratorium and stays of suits
with special reference to criminal pro-
ceedings, proceedings during the mora-
torium, closure, recovery and enforce-
ment under the SARFAESI Act, 2020 dur-
12 March 9, 2020
LAW
CAMPUSES / UPDATES
Corporate
Insolvency
Resolution
Colloquium
at GNLU
Students of the Faculty of Law, Delhi
University are protesting against the
non-recognition of their degrees by the Bar
Council of India. Adhering to a December
2019 order of the Dehli High Court, the Bar
Council of India has published a list accord-
ing to which only those students who have
taken admission in the Faculty of Law, till
2016-17 will get a valid degree in law. The
students demand immediate approval of
their degrees by the Bar Council of India.
Students at Faculty of
Law protest for their
L.L.B degrees
The Centre for Corporate and
Insolvency Law (CCIL) at Gujarat
National Law University (GNLU) in col-
laboration with the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board of India is organising
a national colloquium on “Corporate
Insolvency Resolution Process: Under-
standing Emerging Issues and Challeng-
es”. Authors and students who wish to
submit papers can send their abstracts
ing the CIRP and extension of the dura-
tion of the CIRP by the adjudicating
authorities and impact of this extension
on IBC, 2016.
Apart from the above mentioned themes,
contributors may select any contempo-
rary/emerging issue relevant to the main
theme of the colloquium.
Participation fee for the students is
Rs 1,000 and for others Rs 1,500.
13. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 13
—Compiled by Nupur Dogra
National Multi-
disciplinary Law
Conference at SLS
The Centre for Disability
Law and Advocacy at
National Law University,
Odisha (NLUO) has invited
original unpublished papers
on the theme, ‘Protection to
persons with disabilities—
Challenges and Solutions’.
The papers should include
a comprehensive analysis of
the issues being dealt with.
They may be the result of
either doctrinal or empirical
research and provide an in-
depth understanding of the
issue covered under the topic.
Academicians, faculty
members and researchers
having expertise in this area
can contribute well-research-
ed articles.
All the papers will be
reviewed and checked on
anti-plagiarism software.
Contributions in the form of
articles should be between
5,000 and 7,000 words
(excluding footnotes). All sub-
missions must include an
abstract of 300 to 350 words.
The authors can submit
original and unpublished arti-
cles that may address themes
like current laws, policies and
implementation challenges in
developing countries, disabili-
ty and role of the State and
private parties, disability and
non-discrimination, disability
and issues of accessibility,
disability and equality of
opportunity and so on.
Symbiosis Law School (SLS),
Hyderabad is organising a national
multi-disciplinary conference titled
“Coherence—forming a unified whole”.
It aims to provide the legal fraternity and
scholars from other disciplines an op-
portunity to relate law to various disci-
plines. Perspectives of legal philosophy,
legal issues involving psychology, con-
temporary developments in international
law, legal sociology and legal history,
legal issues in sports including sports
science and sports management, litera-
ture and multi-culturalism, medical sci-
ence and legal concerns are some of
the topics that will be discussed in the
conference.
The conference will take place from
March 14 to 15, 2020.
NLUO invites papers on protec-
tion to persons with disabilities
The West Bengal National University
Juridical Sciences (NUJS), is or-
ganising an International conference on
Criminal Justice Administration: Emerging
Issues in 21st Century, from March 20 to
22, 2020.
The conference aims to provide an
international platform for scholars to
assemble and share their research on
several prominent issues anticipated to
emerge in the 21st century.
The conference will provide an oppor-
tunity to interact with academics,
researchers, law enforcement personnel,
prosecutors, judges and policymakers
from around the globe. The plenary ses-
sions of the conference will include lec-
tures by notable experts in the field.
The sub themes of the conference
include gender inequality under criminal
law, individual privacy and collective
security under criminal law, mental health
and criminal law, process of Investigation
and the reforms, sexual offences and
criminal law, juvenile justice and criminal
law, technology and crime, prisoners’
rights and criminal law and so on.
Interested authors can present their
paper at the conference.
International
Conference at NUJS
The students have also alleged that
the Faculty of Law has failed to comply
with University Grants Commission
(Redress of Grievances of Students)
Regulations, 2019 as the administra-
tion is not even acknowledging their
pending grievances for years.
The students have further demand-
ed reforms in the evaluation system for
law students, transparency in adminis-
tration, compliance with the RTI Act,
disclosure of financial records, adop-
tion of a constitution for the student
union and basic amenities such as
clean drinking water and a proper can-
teen for the students.
14. Lead/ / International Judicial Conference 2020
14 March 9, 2020
Judiciary’s Role in a
Changing World
TheInternationalJudicialConference2020heldlastweekwasthefirstofitskindorganisedby
theSupremeCourtofIndiainwhichjudgesfrom23countriesandjurisdictionsspokeon
contemporarychallengesbeforethejudiciary.Therangeofspeakers,includingthepresident,
primeminister,lawminister,thechiefjusticeofIndiaandotherseniorjudges,addedgravitas
andprovidedanideaofthepressingconcernsandthefuturefocusofthecourts
By India Legal Bureau
15. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 15
T was a unique occasion and quite
historic in many ways. The confer-
ence, based on the theme, “Judici-
ary and the Changing World”, en-
ded with some fascinating observa-
tions and insights. While five spe-
cific topics were listed for discussion,
the conference covered a wide spectrum
of legal opinion and views.
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde laid
down the parameters when he said:
“Conferences such as these in a sense
celebrate universality and seek a better
expression through the challenges that
the judiciaries of the world face.” He
added: “This commitment underlies the
creation of a transnational judicial net-
work which thrives on the constant
exchange of ideas and dialogue on com-
mon challenges that require our imme-
diate attention.”
Among the notable observations
made by the chief justice of India in his
address was how fundamental duties are
not accorded the significance they des-
erve. He said: “A feature often neglected
is a chapter on fundamental duties im-
posing on every citizen the duties to
abide by the constitution, the whole of it
and respect its ideals and institution.
Mahatma Gandhi once said: ‘the exer-
cise of right depends on one’s sense of
duty’. This follows from what he had
written in Hind Swaraj, where he
argued that ‘real rights are a result of
performance of duty’.
Justice Bobde went on to speak on
the Indian Supreme Court, which, he
noted, had charted its own course in the
face of a geographically, linguistically,
culturally diverse reality. In this back-
drop, he commented: “India serves as a
beacon of hope to independent and
developing countries. The Indian
Supreme Court is responsible for uphold-
ing the rights of over 1.3 billion people.”
Notably, he also opined that there is a
need to introduce a single law for envi-
ronmental issues across the world, given
the global nature of human impact on
the environment. He acknowledged that
there remained lingering challenges to
make sure that the “courts of today are
ready for the future of tomorrow”.
In his address at the conference,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke
extensively on how the rule of law was
ingrained in Indian tradition. He said:
“The Rule of Law has been a core civili-
sational value of Indian society since
ages... Law is the King of Kings, Law is
supreme. In recent times, there have
been some critical judicial judgments
and decisions which have been the sub-
ject of global discussion. Before these
judgments were delivered, several app-
rehensions were being expressed about
the consequences. But look what hap-
pened! 1.3 billion Indians wholehearted-
ly accepted the judicial verdicts.”
President Ram Nath Kovind, while
speaking at the conference, focused on
the topics of the conference—Gender
Justice, Contemporary Perspectives on
Protection of Constitutional Values,
Dynamic Interpretations of the Consti-
tution in a Changing World, Harmoni-
sation of Environmental Protection vis-
a-vis Sustainable Development, and
Protection of the Right to Privacy in the
Internet Age—and said: “These five top-
ics cover the matrix of the challenges
faced by judiciaries across the world”,
and noted that the judiciary in India has
been alive to these themes.
The president also praised the role of
the Supreme Court of India. He said:
“The Supreme Court deserves admiration
for carrying out many radical reforms
that made justice more accessible to
I
PIB
CHALLENGES AHEAD
(L-R) SC judge NV Ramana, CJI SA Bobde,
PM Modi, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
and SC judge Arun Mishra at the conference
16. 16 March 9, 2020
the common man. From issuing guide-
lines for preventing sexual harassment at
the workplace two decades ago to provid-
ing directives for granting equal status to
women in the Army this month, the
Supreme Court of India has led a pro-
gressive social transformation.”
U
nion Law Minister Ravi Shan-
kar Prasad made some waves
when he commented on the
“sinister trend” of campaigning for judg-
ments. He said: “[there is a] sinister
trend of late, developing globally, and
also in our country, that some people
start campaigning as to what kind of
judgments they expect. [When] the
judgment is not in accordance with that,
then [they] unleash all the forces of crit-
icism.” He, however, emphasised that it
is not as if dissent is not allowed. He
further observed: ”…I’m a great support-
er of social media, of freedom. I know it
is empowering, but this is a dangerous
trend. Judges must be left completely
independent to give judgment as to
what they think is correct….”
While speaking on the topic concern-
ing gender equality, Justice NV Ramana
of the Supreme Court emphasised:
“Merely having lofty declarations in law
would not satisfy the requirement to
uplift women who face discrimination
day in and day out. There is sufficient
scope for the judiciary to ensure a gen-
der-just world. There cannot be any
compromise in gender equality.”
Justice Arun Mishra of the Supreme
Court observed that today, India is the
“biggest successful democracy in the
world” and how dignified human exis-
tence remains India’s prime concern. He
said: “To strengthen the judicial system
is the call of the day as it is the back-
bone of democracy, whereas the legisla-
ture is the heart, and the executive is the
brain. All these three organs of the State
have to work independently but in tan-
dem to make democracy successful.” He
added: “The judiciary has a significant
role in the ever-changing world. Myriad
problems are being faced today… Your
presence indicates that we are united in
our steely resolve against the invasion of
human rights and terrorism. Our to-
getherness will pave the way for global
developments by evolving common
standards… In the changing global sce-
nario, the noblest profession can ill
Lead/ International Judicial Conference 2020
Theconferencewasbasedonthetheme,
“JudiciaryandtheChangingWorld”,and
endedwithsomefascinatingobserva-
tionsandinsightsandcoveredawide
spectrumoflegalopinionandviews.
PIB
17. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 17
“Conferencessuchasthese
inasensecelebrateuniver-
salityandseekabetter
expressionthroughthechal-
lengesthatthejudiciariesof
theworldface.Thiscommit-
mentunderliesthecreation
ofatransnationaljudicial
network.”
—CJISABobde
“Merelyhavingloftydeclara-
tionsinlawwouldnotsatis-
fytherequirementtouplift
womenwhofacediscrimina-
tiondayinanddayout.
Thereissufficientscopefor
thejudiciarytoensureagen-
der-justworld.”
—SupremeCourtjudge
NVRamana
“Tostrengthenthejudicial
systemisthecalloftheday
asitisthebackboneof
democracy,whereasthe
legislatureistheheart,and
theexecutiveisthebrain.
Thesethreeorganshave
toworkindependentlybut
intandem.”
—SCjudgeArunMishra
“Excitingdevelopments
havereshapedtheuniverse
ofjudginginrecenttimes.
Weareenrichedbyprece-
dentfromacrosstheworld.
Welearnfromthewisdomof
theotherandgrowtogeth-
er...comparativelawturns
from...abstractiontoreality.”
—SCjudgeDYChandrachud
afford to be complacent and be oblivious
of the various issues.”
Another Supreme Court judge, Jus-
tice DY Chandrachud, was his typical
articulate self when he said: “Exciting
developments have reshaped the uni-
verse of judging in recent times”, quot-
ing judgments by the constitutional
courts in the United Kingdom, Malawi,
South Africa, Colombia, the High Courts
of Zimbabwe, Kenya and the Supreme
Courts of Jamaica and Bangladesh to
show how the judiciary is moving with
the times. He further added: “We are
enriched by precedent from across the
world. We learn from the wisdom of the
other and grow together. In the judges’
craft, comparative law turns from an
abstraction to reality.”
Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak
Gupta pointed out that one of the topics
which could not find place in this con-
ference was “The Resolution of Cross
Border Disputes by Arbitration or by
Mediation”. “Domestic disputes such as
matrimonial disputes and disputes with
regard to custody of children where the
parties live in different jurisdictions also
needed to be addressed,” he said,
adding: “There is a need for the courts
to reflect the populace and the diversity
present in the country. For citizens of
our countries to have faith in our deci-
sions, it is important that the benches of
our Constitutional Courts are a true
reflection of our population, and this, as
rightly pointed out by Lord Reed cannot
be done if one gender occupies the
majority of seats in our highest courts.”
While raising this issue, Justice
Gupta invoked the need for representa-
tion of transgenders, people from differ-
ent religions, etc. “In our endeavour to
create a ‘gender-just’ world, it is impor-
tant that we remember that a gender-
just world is not only for men and
women, but for transgenders too.”
Supreme Court justice Sanjay Kishan
Kaul cautioned: “Just as the world is
changing, the judiciary has to use its sy-
nergy and imagination in keeping pace
with the changing expectations…. The
judiciary cannot be oblivious to changes
in the society and to the needs of the
most vulnerable.” He went on to high-
light the importance of a gender-just
world, saying: “The need is to weed out
entrenched prejudices by way of progres-
sive pronouncements, the recent one in
India being the permanent commission-
ing of women in the Armed Forces.” On
the role of the judiciary in serving as a
guard against populism, Justice Kaul
said: “The judiciary plays a balancing
act. The role of the judiciary thus may
often become anti-majoritarian.”
18. 18 March 9, 2020
Lead/ International Judicial Conference 2020
The Zeitgeist of our times has
been incredible technological advance-
ment. The entire world today is inter-
connected like the world wide web itself,
and a small change in one corner of the
world can result in changes in different
parts of the world. Judiciaries all over
the world are dealing with this kind of
change—what might be called a rights
revolution, a technological revolution
and a demographic revolution. Our
decisions no longer impact only those
who live in our jurisdiction but also
those who live in other jurisdictions—
some far away. A conference like this
offers opportunities for dialogue
between the judges from various juris-
dictions in the world to exchange ideas
and gain knowledge from each other on
many aspects of gender justice, right to
privacy, populism, environment and sus-
tainable development.
“That India is a melting pot of myri-
ad cultures and traditions is well known.
This is equally true of its judicial system
and institutions. We have assimilated
legal cultures of all the civilisations who
have come to our shores—the Mughals,
the Portuguese, the French, the Dutch
and finally the English. Right from con-
ventional court systems to customary
methods of adjudication and rules of
evidence our systems of adjudication
have been a diverse mixture of traditions
of the past infused with the present,
looking towards the changing times…
“A well-structured judicial system is
more than two thousand years old in
this country and has always been the
bedrock of India’s legal history. Our
Constitution is magnificent not just for
its detail but also for the international
inspiration that it drew and it continues
to draw. The Constitution-makers
embraced a famous saying in the Rig
Veda—‘Let noble thoughts come to me
from all directions.’
“The founding fathers of this post-
colonial country studied various models
of Constitutions from all directions...
The Constitution of India therefore, syn-
thesised the perfect blend of all that
came before it and tailored it to fit this
country’s diversity and thought. At the
heart of the Constitution was the indi-
vidual and the rights of the individual
were recognised as ‘fundamental’. These
rights have been beautifully balanced
with the demands of public order,
morality and health. Amongst the domi-
nant thoughts when the Constitution
was being drafted was what Swami
Vivekananda aptly said, ‘Liberty of
thought and action is the only condition
of life, of growth and well-being. Where
it does not exist, the man, the race, the
nation, or institution which bars the
power of free thought and action of an
individual—even so long as that power
does not injure others—it is devilish and
must go down’.
“A feature often neglected is a chap-
ter on fundamental duties imposing on
every citizen the duty to abide by the
Constitution, the whole of it and respect
its ideals and institution. (I believe there
are more than 50 countries in the world
having specific provisions in regard to
fundamental duties in their Constitu-
tions.) In this regard Mahatma Gandhi
once said ‘The exercise of right depends
on one’s sense of duty’. This follows from
what he had written in Hind Swaraj,
where he argued that ‘real rights are a
result of performance of duty’.
“…The Constitution also created a
strong and independent judiciary, which
Extracts from Chief Justice of India
SA Bobde’s speech at the conference
“
Anil Shakya
19. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 19
was separated from the executive and
the legislature. We have strived at every
turn, not just as a judicial institution but
also as a citizenry, to keep these basic
ideals intact. Probably the most funda-
mental feature of most modern Consti-
tutions is the idea of the rule of law.
That is certainly the motto of the Indian
Supreme Court which says that where
there is adherence to law there is victo-
ry: ‘Ya toh dharmast tatoh jaya’.
“…The Judiciary, right from 1950,
looked for inspiration from across the
globe to find creative solutions to consti-
tutional problems. In the first important
case on fundamental rights, (AK Gopa-
lan vs State of Madras), the Supreme
Court quoted law from the American,
Japanese, Irish, Canadian, Australian
and English courts. Ever since, we have
not shied away from looking for inspira-
tion, wherever possible…
“My travels to South America, Africa
and Europe have given me the pleasure
of interacting with great judicial minds
from various jurisdictions. These inter-
actions with sister and brother judges
across the world instilled in me the firm
belief in the value of learning from the
experiences of judges from other juris-
dictions and sharing my own experi-
ences. I learnt the truth of the words of
James Russell Lowell: ‘As one lamp
lights another, nor grows less, So noble-
ness enkindleth nobleness.’
“The common thread that binds
judges across the world is a commit-
ment to the dispensation of justice. This
commitment underlies the creation of a
transnational judicial network which
thrives on the constant exchange of
ideas and dialogue on common chal-
lenges that require our immediate atten-
tion — first and foremost, increasing
diversity in the judiciary as well as the
role of the judiciary in ensuring a gen-
der-just world.
“The judiciary is the guardian of con-
stitutional values and serves to counter-
balance populist forces in a commit-
ment to the rule of law. Inherent in this
role are active measures to bring women
within the judicial fold. We have learnt
from the illuminating session on the
judiciary and gender justice that incre-
mental measures are only the first step
towards championing the cause of gen-
der equality.
“As judges, in the discharge of our
duties we are exposed to arguments,
strategies and solutions from various
jurisdictions. The delivery of justice has
not been untouched by the forces of
globalisation. Not long ago, legal educa-
tion in a foreign jurisdiction was a rare
oddity. Today, the vast majority of
lawyers and judges are educated in more
than one country.
“This globalisation of the Bar has
been accompanied by the globalisation
of the Bench. Increasingly confronted
with transnational challenges, judges
regularly reach beyond their borders to
inspect the jurisprudence of other coun-
tries to discern valuable principles...
“The Indian judiciary, though not in
the present form, has an ancient origin.
It is uniquely situated, connected by the
yarn of history to the grand old tradi-
tions of common law, yet also charting
its own course in the face of a geograph-
ically, linguistically and culturally
diverse realities. India serves as a bea-
con of hope to independent and devel-
oping countries.
“The Indian Supreme Court is
responsible for upholding the rights of
over 1.3 billion people. We have more
than approximately 17,500 courts. In a
country where over 22 languages and
several thousand dialects are spoken, the
Supreme Court has mandated the trans-
lation of its judgments into nine lan-
guages. A commitment to access to jus-
tice furthers the commitment that
Constitutions are not meant only to
check people in power but also empower
those who have been deprived of it. The
provision of judgments in vernacular
languages makes them accessible to peo-
ple from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
“As we look to the future, a signifi-
cant consideration in the delivery of jus-
tice is the protection and preservation of
the environment in the dispensation of
justice. In one of the cases before us, we
have held that ‘The present generation
has no right to impede the safety and
wellbeing of the next generation or the
generation to come thereafter.’
“…It is said that human beings are
seeds as well as parasites on Earth. We
take much more than we give back to
the Earth. As Richard Rogers said, ‘the
only way forward to improve the quality
of environment is to get everybody
involved.’
“In India, we are utilising technology
in innovative ways to facilitate and assist
the delivery of justice. Indian courts are
located across the length and breadth of
our vast country. As part of the e-courts
project in India, we have ensured that no
matter where a judicial officer is located,
from the remote mountaintops of the
Himalayas to the sandy beaches of
Kerala, they are electronically connected
to the national judicial data grid. We
have harnessed the rise of smartphone
technology and telecommunications con-
nectivity to streamline the delivery of
service and summons, empowering our
bailiffs to reach litigants accurately and
efficiently across the country.
“As we head into the future, we are
exploring the use of artificial intelli-
gence to automate simple tasks associat-
ed with the administration of justice.
With the speed of reading 1 million
characters per second, the volume of
“Judiciariesallovertheworldare
dealingwiththiskindofchange—what
mightbecalledarightsrevolution,a
technologicalrevolutionanda
demographicrevolution. Aconference
likethisoffersopportunitiesfor
dialoguebetweenthejudgesfrom
variousjurisdictionsintheworld
toexchangeideasandgainknowledge
fromeachotheronmany
aspectsofgenderjustice,rightto
privacy,populism,environmentand
sustainabledevelopment.”
20. …Presently our globalised world
is closer than it seems. Issues are com-
mon and solutions need to be unani-
mous. Major issues which are plaguing
the world, including the Indian subcon-
tinent, are terrorism, cyber crime, envi-
ronmental degradation and health. For
example, terrorism is one of the main
issues which has affected every part of
the world and has no end in sight. The
judiciary needs to appropriately respond
to this problem by evolving innovative
principles and jurisprudence so that ter-
rorism is kept at bay, while at the same
time upholding the rule of law. More
importantly, ‘globalisation’ demands
rule of law. With the increase in cross-
border dealings, movement of citizens,
goods and investment, there is a
requirement of stronger trust between
nations. This trust can be built by creat-
ing institutions with strong emphasis on
the rule of law which creates a secure
environment.
20 March 9, 2020
Extracts from Justice NV Ramana’s
speech at the conference
Lead/ International Judicial Conference 2020
Anil Shakya
“
any data for any purpose, whether
research or analysis, becomes easy to
deal with. But it must be treated as a
tool and its introduction into the judi-
cial system must be done with hesitation
and caution. Lest it grows in directions
which affect human discretion. It proba-
bly never will and the human mind will
retain its supremacy. A small question
and answer allays apprehensions.
Would any of us have travelled to this
auditorium to hear a computer speak?
“The conference has also presented
us with an opportunity to discuss the
myriad of ways in which a foundational
document can be interpreted. Drawing
on the maturing traditions of compara-
tive constitutional analysis has afforded
us an opportunity to learn from the
unique historical experiences of each
other. Finally, across the world, signifi-
cant strides are being made in the
employment of technology in the dis-
pensation of justice.
“As I stand here today, I am con-
scious that there is much work to be
done—both in India and across the
world. The two facets of globalisation
that have posed the greatest challenges
to judiciaries across the world are the
rise of global supply chains and the pro-
liferation of information technology.
Technology has placed the world in the
palms of our hands, making it possible
to communicate with great ease across
the world. But the widespread use
of technology has also brought with it
concerns over mass data collection and
an individual’s right to privacy. Begi-
nning in the 16th century, the goddess
Iustitia, or as we more commonly know
her today, ‘Lady Justice’ has been depict-
ed blindfolded. The blindfold personifies
the principle of impartiality and that
justice is blind to the power, wealth or
status of the parties before her.
“While impartiality remains at the
heart of a judge’s duty—judges are called
on to look beyond the parties and into
the future—to anticipate future develop-
ments in the world and ensure the
courts of today are ready for the world
of tomorrow.”
21. “India has contributed to the evolu-
tion of jurisprudence in many areas and
our judgments have been cited with
acceptance overwhelmingly by other
jurisdictions such as the United King-
dom, Australia, Singapore, Bangladesh
and other countries in the Asian conti-
nent. A special mention needs to be ma-
de of Justice Michael Kirby, who had
studied Indian jurisprudence and has
cited our judgments in umpteen num-
ber of Australian High Court judgments.
Indian legal system is based on the sep-
aration of powers, independence of the
judiciary and constitutional courts with
wide jurisdiction. We have a Constitu-
tion which enumerates fundamental
rights and duties. This Constitution has
been expounded by the Supreme Court
in terms of constitutional morality to
make it relevant from time to time. The
decisions rendered by the courts in
India certainly reflect the strong demo-
cratic culture prevalent in India.
“In our country, there is a free statu-
tory legal aid program, which covers
almost 75 percent of the Indian popula-
tion. This year we are celebrating 25
years of successfully providing legal aid
to the poor. Another important feature
is that there are nearly 64,000 panel
lawyers and around 69,000 para-legal
volunteers who are regularly rendering
legal aid and conducting legal awareness
programmes.
“The first topic is ‘The Role of the
Judiciary in Maintaining a Gender Just
World’. The gravity of this topic stems
from the fact that women constitute half
the world’s population, perform nearly
two-thirds of work five hours, receive
one-tenth of the world’s income and
own less than 0.01 percent of the world’s
property. Most nations have recognised
equality and dignity of women, whether
under their Constitution or otherwise.
We have all realised that merely having
lofty declarations in law would not satis-
fy the requirement to uplift women who
are discriminated against day in and day
out. There is sufficient scope for the ju-
diciary to proactively ensure a gender-
just world. In this context we should
realise that there cannot be any compro-
mise in gender equality.
“The second session concerns the
topic ‘Role of the Judiciary Against
Populism’. Rule of law is the strongest
tool which protects plurality. This urges
judicial readiness to intervene, but only
when necessary to correct or prevent a
problem that will likely not be resolved.
This topic assumes fundamental impor-
tance because populist decisions affect
the constitutional rights, and more often
than not, rights of one group are pitted
against the rights or interest of other
group(s). Hence, courts will have to rise
to the occasion and guard constitutional
values, at the same time balancing all
constitutional considerations.
“The third session pertains to ‘The
Constitution and its Interpretation’,
which is a subject which has never had
any unanimity in its approach. Interna-
tionally, a facet of constitutional inter-
pretation has been brought to the fore-
front by judges like Lord Denning,
Justices Marshall, Breyer, Gajendra-
gadkar, Hidayatullah, Vivian Bose,
Subba Rao, etc. India’s most prominent
contribution to this debate is the evolu-
tion of the doctrine of basic structure in
the celebrated case of Keshavananda
Bharati vs. State of Kerala. This doc-
trine evolved from the fact that a
Constitution is not merely a document
laying down the ground norm. Rather, it
is a process which binds generation after
generation to certain promises we made
ourselves, while normatively imagining
what our country would be. In this con-
text, this subject requires deeper consid-
eration based on the differing experi-
ence of the judicial minds from across
continents as to how they have dealt
with the question.
“The fourth session concerns the
topic: ‘Role of Judiciary in Environ-
mental Protection and Sustainable
Development’. This topic reminds me of
Mahatma Gandhi, who observed that
‘the future depends on what we do in
the present’. This issue has been a point
of discussion since the beginning of this
century and continues to be a main
focus within global politics. The threat
of environmental degradation is not
mere hypocrisy or hysteria, it is real and
we are suffering the consequences of the
same every day. Recently, we have wit-
nessed earth-shattering environmental
crises such as forest fires, depletion of
the ozone layer, climate change, increas-
ing sea level, etc. We must all realise
these efforts are not only for the present
generation, but also are a noble task to
create a safe and sound environment for
future generations.
“The fifth and final session of the
conference, titled the “Role of Judiciary
in Protecting Privacy of Citizens in the
Internet Age” is a fitting finale to this
international conference, as it directly
confronts an issue that concerns the
global citizenry, pertaining to the chang-
ing technological landscape. As individ-
uals are provided services over the inter-
net by international entities, there is a
need to create a jurisprudence that
moulds together both international and
national concerns…
“Before I end, I am reminded of
Martin Luther King who observed that
‘If we are to have peace on earth, our
loyalties must transcend our race,
our tribe, our class, and our nation; and
this means we must develop a world
perspective’.”
| INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 21
“Majorissueswhichareplaguingthe
world,includingtheIndiansubconti-
nent,areterrorism,cybercrime,
environmentaldegradationandhealth.
Forexample,terrorismisoneofthe
mainissueswhichhasaffectedevery
partoftheworldandhasnoendin
sight.Thejudiciaryneedstoappropri-
atelyrespondtothisproblembyevolv-
inginnovativeprinciplesandjurispru-
dencesothatterrorismiskeptatbay,
whileatthesametimeupholdingthe
ruleoflaw.Moreimportantly,
‘globalisation’demandsruleoflaw.”
22. Supreme Court/ UP Medical College
22 March 9, 2020
HEN Anadi Dixit,
father of Ananya,
a deceased medi-
cal student, appr-
oached the Sup-
reme Court to get
justice for his daughter, he was
supported by other parents who are
alarmed at the number of apparent
suicides of students. Within 10 days of
joining Sri Ram Murti Smarak (SRMS)
Institute of Medical Sciences, Bareilly,
in September, 2017, Ananya was found
hanging from her hostel ceiling fan.
According to the police, Ananya hanged
herself due to depression, but her par-
ents have refuted this version and have
blamed the college authorities for hush-
ing up the matter.
Now, her death has brought together
the parents of other students who too
were found dead in the same campus
hostel under mysterious conditions.
They all allege that there is a similar
pattern in all these deaths as there are
no suicide notes.
An online campaign under “Justice
for Ananya” was also initiated on
change.org which went viral on several
social networking sites.
As of 2018, around eight such mys-
terious deaths have been reported from
the campus.
The first case is said to have been
reported in 2002 when a second-year
student, Yogesh Mishra, died at SRMS
College after consuming poison.
Thereafter Anika Singhal was found
hanging in her room and two years
later, Deepak Tripathi allegedly com-
mitted suicide.
That same year, Syed Hassan Meh-
ndi, a second-year student, was found
dead under suspicious circumstances.
In 2015, a third-year student, Priyanka
Singh, was also found hanging in her
room, as was Yash Kumar, a first-year
student, a year later. In September
2017, Ananya Dixit was found similarly
circumstances while in 2018, a student
named Harshit was found dead in sus-
picious circumstances.
The fact is that there is no stop to
such mysterious deaths even after
complaints have been raised at various
levels, including the National Human
Rights Commission which has asked
for a detailed report on these deaths on
the campus.
The petitioner, Anadi Dixit, alleges
that the local police has not been prob-
ing the deaths properly which forced
him to take the matter to the Supreme
Court, seeking a CBI probe. The peti-
tioner also asked for the de-licensing of
the institute by the Medical Council of
India. The petitioner’s most serious
allegation is that the college authorities
have tampered with the evidence, stall-
ed proper investigation by police, and
influenced the media in regard to these
cases. The matter will now be listed in
the Court for arguments.
Mystery Deaths
WiththeparentofastudentfoundhangingattheSRMS
InstituteofMedicalSciencesinBareillyapproachingtheapex
court,itbringsoutthealarmingfactofasequenceofsuch
studentdeathswhichhavebeenreportedfromthecampus
By Ananthu Suresh
SHOCKING EVENTS
The SRMS Institute of Medical Sciences,
Bareilly, where mystery deaths have been
reported at the hostel
W
Thefactisthatthereisnostoptosuch
mysteriousdeathsevenaftercomplaints
havebeenraisedatvariouslevels,
includingtheNHRC,whichhasaskedfor
adetailedreportonthedeaths.
www.srms.ac.in
23. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 23
Courts/ Judge’s Transfer/ Justice S Muralidhar
HILE Delhi’s streets
were convulsed by vio-
lence and death, Justice
S Muralidhar was tak-
ing a unique approach
to the crisis in the Delhi High Court.
While hearing a petition seeking filing
of FIRs against BJP leader Kapil
Mishra and others for giving inflamma-
tory speeches, Justice Muralidhar asked
for the videos to be played in the court-
room and said: “This is really disgust-
ing. How can a police officer say that he
hasn’t watched the videos which are all
over the place? I’m shocked to see such
a sorry state of affairs of police which is
responsible for maintaining law and
order in the national capital.” He added
that there was no reason why FIRs
shouldn’t be registered against those
involved in violence. “Everyone who is
responsible should be brought to book,”
said the judge, while ordering police
officers present in the Court to commu-
nicate his anguish to the Police Com-
missioner of Delhi and decide on filing
of FIRs. Shortly after this hearing, the
official notification for the transfer of
Justice Muralidhar was sent out.
The Supreme Court Collegium had
recommended his transfer to the Pun-
jab and Haryana High Court on Febru-
ary 12, 2020. Justice Muralidhar had
agreed to his transfer and subsequently,
a notification was issued by the Dep-
artment of Law and Justice declaring
the transfer official. While the timing
of the order remains a bone of conten-
tion, it is a sad loss for the Delhi High
Court where he was appointed as a
judge in 2006 and pronounced several
landmark judgments, such as:
SECTION 377 VERDICT
A two-judge bench of the Delhi High
Court, including Justice Muralidhar,
had decriminalised sex between con-
senting adults of the same gender by
holding the penal provision “illegal”.
Later, the Supreme Court too legalised
homosexuality in India. The verdict was
praised by the LGBTQI community
worldwide.
HASHIMPURA MASSACRE
A two-judge bench headed by Justice
Muralidhar overruled the verdict of the
trial court which had acquitted 16 for-
mer Provincial Armed Constabulary
personnel in the Hashimpura massacre
case, and sentenced them to life.
BALMIKI COMMUNITY
In the murder of a 60-year-old Dalit
man and his handicapped daughter in
Hisar, Haryana. a bench comprising
Justices Muralidhar and IS Mehta con-
victed 33 people belonging to the Jat
community. Justice Muralidhar in his
order said that the attack was deliberate
targeting of the Balmiki community. He
also observed that “71 years after Inde-
pendence, instances of atrocities against
Scheduled Castes by those belonging to
dominant castes have shown no sign of
abating”. He observed that the incidents
that took place in Mirchpur over April
19-21, 2010, served as yet another grim
reminder of “the complete absence of
two things in Indian society,” as noted by
Dr BR Ambedkar while tabling the final
draft of the Constitution—one was “eq-
uality” and the other “fraternity”.
CONVERSION CASE
The Muslim father of a girl filed a com-
plaint before Justice Muralidhar’s ben-
ch, saying his daughter had converted to
Hinduism after marrying of her own
free will. The Ghaziabad police had
arrested the couple from JNU. Justice
Muralidhar observed: “In the status
report filed today nothing is stated
about how the police of PS Loni could
so easily come to JNU and take away
the petitioner Nisha and how Nisha,
despite being over 21 years of age, was
simply handed over to her parents by
the investigating officer knowing fully
well that she had married Sandeep of
her own free will. Inspector Rajesh
Kumar, Additional SHO of PS Vasant
Kunj (North), stated that he had no
prior intimation of the visit by police
officials from PS Loni in Ghaziabad. If
that is the case, it begs the question as
to why they did not insist on following
the letter of the law and instead simply
allowed the police officials from PS
Loni to take away two adults from the
JNU campus.” He ordered that the cou-
ple be reunited immediately.
Justice Denied
ThetransferofDelhiHCjudgeJusticeSMuralidharwhilehe
washearingaPILontheviolenceinDelhiduringwhichhe
camedownheavilyontheDelhipolice,hasledtocontroversy
By Gautam Mishra
W
WhilethetimingofJusticeMuralidhar’s
transferremainsaboneofcontention,it
isalossfortheDelhiHCwherehewas
appointedasajudgein2006andpro-
nouncedseverallandmarkjudgments.
24. Spotlight/ Chief Vigilance Commissioner Appointment
24 March 9, 2020
AST WEEK, the central gov-
ernment announced the
appointment of the new chief
vigilance commissioner
(CVC) and the chief informa-
tion commissioner (CIC).
The high-powered selection committees
headed by the Prime Minister chose
Sanjay Kothari, Secretary to the
President, as the new CVC and Bimal
Julka as the next CIC. Julka is serving as
an Information Commissioner and his
elevation as CIC is routine, but the
selection and appointment of the CVC
has stirred a hornet’s nest.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan, the
opposition member in the committees,
strongly objected to the appointments.
He said that the papers provided by the
PMO disclose glaring and fatal infirmi-
ties with the (search) committee itself.
He went on to elaborate that the entire
process was questionable because one of
the search committee members—
Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar—him-
self turned out to be an applicant for the
CVC, and was actually shortlisted.
Ranjan’s ire was more against the
procedure followed in the appointment
of the CVC, than against the person
appointed: “The Prime Minister is
under constitutional obligation to pro-
tect the integrity of governmental
processes. What is being done is that the
vigilance watchdog is being turned into
a protective shield for the government.
We saw the conduct of the CVC in
Modi’s first term; the Prime Minister
has demolished the institutional frame-
work that is meant to fight corruption.”
This raises two pertinent and critical
issues. One, the institutional integrity of
the Central Vigilance Commission, and,
second, as to how former CVC KV
Chowdary had severely damaged the
credibility and reputation of the organi-
sation as well as the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI).
The then vigilance chief had brazenly
lobbied for Additional Director Rakesh
Asthana in his confrontation with
Director Alok Verma on corruption
charges, creating an unseemly contro-
versy. In fact, Chowdary, belonging to
The Litmus Test
Thecentre’srecent
appointmentofanew
CVCcomesunderfire
fromtheoppositionfor
theprocedurefollowed
andthechoiceofcandidate
By MG Devasahayam
L
NEW CHARGE
Sanjay Kothari, Secretary to the President,
is the CVC now
sarkaritel.com
25. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 25
the Indian Revenue Service, has had a
controversial career.
Former CBI director Ranjit Sinha
had also investigated Chowdary’s role in
a high-profile investment fraud case,
popularly known as the Stock-Guru
scheme. Chowdary’s appointment as
CVC in 2015 was challenged in the
Supreme Court in a PIL and his role in
these cases and others was raised. But a
bench led by Justice Arun Mishra dis-
missed the case in July 2018.
Even before Chowdary was appoint-
ed as the CVC, several representations
were made to the Prime Minister and
other members of the selection commit-
tee. This was done because, apparently,
word had got out that the government
had made up its mind to appoint
Chowdary as the CVC. The representa-
tions stated specific reasons as to why he
was not suitable for heading an impor-
tant anti-corruption institution.
However, despite all this, the govern-
ment went ahead in appointing
Chowdary and the Supreme Court dis-
missed the challenge. It is ironical to
note that in 2011, a three-judge bench
of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief
Justice SH Kapadia and Justices KS
Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar,
had struck down the appointment of
PJ Thomas as CVC because of the
Kerala palmolein import case being
heard in a special court in which he was
an accused.
I
nstitutional integrity was held as
the primary reason for setting aside
the appointment though Thomas’s
personal integrity was not commented
upon. More significantly, soon after
demitting office as CVC, Chowdary
joined the board of Reliance Industries
as an independent director.
The CVC is India’s top anti-corrup-
tion watchdog. The Commission is con-
sidered the apex integrity institution of
the country. Apart from overseeing the
vigilance administration, it has also
been tasked with superintendence over
the CBI in corruption cases and is also
the designated agency for the protection
of whistleblowers and examination of
their complaints. It acts as a watchdog
over the central government and its
instrumentalities.
The Supreme Court in the landmark
judgment in the Vineet Narain case
(1997) had directed the following: “The
Central Vigilance Commission shall be
given statutory status. Selection for the
post of Central Vigilance Commissioner
shall be made by a Committee compris-
ing the Prime Minister, Home Minister
and the Leader of the Opposition from a
panel of outstanding civil servants and
others with impeccable integrity to be
furnished by the Cabinet Secretary. The
appointment shall be made by the Presi-
dent on the basis of the recommenda-
tions made by the Committee. This
RepresentationsagainstChowdary
statedreasonswhyhewasnotsuitable
forheadinganimportantanti-corruption
institution.Despitethat,thegovernment
wentaheadinappointinghim.
TAINTED TENURE
Former Central Vigilance Commissioner
KV Chowdary (far left) at a talk organised
by the CVC in New Delhi
UNI
26. 26 March 9, 2020
shall be done immediately.” Pursuant to
the said judgment, Parliament passed
the Central Vigilance Commission Act,
2003, giving statutory status to the
Commission. It had incorporated the
order of the Court for the selection and
appointment of the CVC. It is impera-
tive therefore that the process and pro-
cedures are followed meticulously.
This does not appear to have been
done in the case of Kothari, hence the
controversy.
S
imilarly, another anti-corruption
watchdog, the Lokpal, has also
been devalued. Touted as “the
supreme watchdog of India’s governance
and integrity”, the objective of the Lok-
pal Act that received presidential assent
on January 1, 2014, is to provide for the
establishment of a body for the Union to
inquire into allegations of corruption
against high public functionaries. Soon
after the NDA government took over in
May 2014, Minister of State for
Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions Jitendra Singh stated in the
Lok Sabha: “With the recent amend-
ments carried out in the CVC Act, 2003,
through the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act,
2013, and the powers and functions
already available with the Commission,
the CVC is in a position to function in
an independent and assertive manner
for tackling corruption cases.”
After prolonged procrastination, on
March 23, 2019, the NDA government
appointed Justice Pinaki Chandra
Ghose as chairperson, Lokpal. Other
judicial members of the Lokpal are
Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar
Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari and Ajay
Kumar Tripathi. Non-judicial members
are former IAS officers Dinesh Kumar
Jain and Indrajeet Prasad Gautam, for-
mer IPS officer Archana Ramasund-
aram and former IRS officer Mahender
Singh. Not only the method and timing
of the appointment of Lokpal, its com-
position itself had become a subject
of controversy because there were
charges against the chairman and some
members too.
Despite the passage of one year, there
is no news about this “supreme watch-
dog” functioning. No “public func-
tionary” has been arraigned before it so
far. Even the humungous corruption
charges in the Rafale deal never went
to the Lokpal. They were dealt with by
the Supreme Court mostly through
“sealed covers”.
On November 14, 2019, the Court
dismissed all petitions seeking review
of its verdict delivered on December 14,
2018, on the controversy and upheld the
previous judgment stating that no irreg-
ularities or corruption had been found
in the deal.
Nobody is questioning Kothari’s
integrity and, being former Secretary,
Department of Personnel & Training, he
has all the qualifications to be CVC. But
he is inheriting an unsavoury institu-
tional legacy. He needs to work hard
and relentlessly, to get rid of this stigma
as quickly as possible. And that will be
his litmus test!
—The writer is a former Army
& IAS officer
“ThePMisunderconstitutional
obligationtoprotectthe
integrityofgovernmentalprocesses...
thevigilancewatchdogisbeing
turnedintoaprotectiveshieldfor
thegovernment.Wesawtheconduct
oftheCVCinModi’s
firstterm;thePMhasdemolished
theinstitutionalframeworkmeant
tofightcorruption.”
—AdhirRanjan,Congressleader
ANTI-CORRUPTION WATCHDOG
The Central Vigilance Commission
headquarters in New Delhi
Spotlight/ Chief Vigilance Commissioner Appointment
governancenow.com
28. Global Trends/ Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus
28 March 9, 2020
HE novel coronavirus
(COVID-19) epidemic,
which struck China’s Hubei
province in December
2019, now has the poten-
tial to become a pandemic
across the world, according to the World
Health Organisation (WHO). According
to the WHO February 25 situation
report, 80,239 people (including 908
new cases in the last 24 hours) in 33
countries have been affected by the
virus. China topped the list of affected
countries with 77,780 cases (518 new
cases) with 266 deaths.
Only a week earlier, Chinese
President Xi Jinping’s statement to the
Politburo of the CPC that the coron-
avirus had not yet peaked made a case
for continuing with the strict centralised
measures to control movement of people
for work or travel. Chinese authorities,
in an unprecedented move, have
announced the postponement of the
National People’s Congress, the coun-
try’s parliament, after President Xi
warned that the coronavirus was the
“worst public health crisis facing the
AsChinabattlesthecrisis,othercountriesarescramblingtocontrolthespread.Indiahas
well-developedbiotechinfrastructurewithscientistsexperiencedininfectiousdiseases
By Col R Hariharan
The Less Visible
Dimensions
T IMPENDING PANDEMIC
China is facing its worst public health crisis.
A coronavirus patient (below) being rushed to
an emergency facility.
UNI
29. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 29
country” since the founding of the PRC.
The just-concluded WHO-China
joint mission has made a range of find-
ings about the transmissibility and the
severity of the disease and the impact
of measures taken. Dr Tedros Adhanom,
Director General of WHO, in a press
briefing to release the report on Feb-
ruary 24 said that in China the epidemic
peaked and plateaued between January
23 and February 2. It is small consola-
tion to other countries like South Korea,
Iran and Italy where the virus has
spread rapidly , that the novel corona-
virus is declining steadily in China
since February 2 as stated by the
Director General.
The joint mission found the fatality
rate in China to be between 2 percent
and 4 percent in Wuhan, the epicentre
of the viral attack, and 0.7 percent out-
side Wuhan. People with mild attacks
recovered in two weeks, while people
with severe or critical disease recovered
within three to six weeks.
The WHO is yet to describe the epi-
demic as a “pandemic”. Usually, the geo-
graphical spread of the virus, the severi-
ty of disease it causes and the impact it
has on the whole of society determine
whether to call it a pandemic. In the
words of Dr Adhanom, “For the moment
we are not witnessing the uncontained
global spread of this virus and we are
not witnessing large-scale severe disease
or death.”
In WHO’s assessment, the virus has
the “pandemic potential”. Describing the
current situation, the head of WHO
added, “What we see are epidemics in
different parts of the world, affecting
countries in different ways and requir-
ing a tailored response.” While the sud-
den increase in new cases was certainly
very concerning, using the word pan-
demic now does not fit the facts, but it
may certainly cause fear.
H
e said “this is not the time to
focus on what word we use…we
do not live in a binary, black-
and-white world. It is not either-or. We
must focus on containment, while doing
everything we can to prepare for a
potential pandemic”.
However, the world does not seem to
care about the semantics describing the
virus as epidemic or pandemic. The
world view was reflected in CNN head-
lines of the virus story: “DOW plunges
1000 points on Coronavirus fears; gains
of 2020 wiped out” and “Coronavirus
cases top as markets plunge in pandem-
ic fears.” Summarising the global impact
of the virus, the South China Morning
Post, the Alibaba-owned Hong Kong
daily, was more forthright. Its opinion
piece was headlined “Whatever the
trigger, a global financial melt-down
is inevitable.”
In recent times, no other happening,
let alone a virus attack, in a country has
had such a huge worldwide impact.
Even the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak
in the US due to which over 60 million
Americans were affected, resulting in
274,304 hospitalisations and 12,469
deaths did not have such an effect.
While there has been an outpouring
of spontaneous sympathy for the Chin-
ese people and all those affected by
COVID-19, countries have reacted with
extreme caution in their response. Most
countries, including India, have shut the
door for transit of people and goods
from and to China. The same restric-
tions are being applied to other frontline
countries affected by the viral attack in
Iran, the GCC, South Korea, Japan,
Singapore and Thailand.
As globally networked media kept
track of the rapid spread of COVID-19,
social media has gone into full throttle
with real-time information interlaced
with misinformation; quite a few even
suggested home remedies and spells to
tackle the virus threat. Social media
audiences were attracted in huge num-
bers to recycled stories speculating
about COVID-19 as China’s bio-weapon
experiment gone wrong.
In particular a tweet by Kyle Bass, a
businessman, claimed “A husband and
wife Chinese spy team were recently
removed from a Level 4 Infectious
Disease facility in Canada for sending
pathogens to the Wuhan facility” was
retweeted over 12,000 times. The tweet
linked to CNBC News’ July 2019 report
that the researcher and her husband
(branded “Chinese spies” in social
media) and some of their graduate
students were escorted out of the
National Microbiology Lab (NML) in
ThejustconcludedWHO-Chinajoint
missionfoundthefatalityratein
Chinawasbetween2%and4%in
Wuhan,theepicentreoftheviralattack,
and0.7%outsideWuhan.
Twitter
30. Global Trends/ Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus
30 March 9, 2020
Winnipeg, amid RCMP investigation
into what was being described as possi-
ble “policy breach” and “administrative
matter”. The conspiracy story that fig-
ured in a video on Chinese social media
Tik Tok was watched more than
350,000 times. US Republican Senator
Tom Cotton gave further credence to the
speculation by persistently raising the
possibility that the virus had originated
in a highsecurity biochemical lab in
Wuhan.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, a
subsidiary of the state-owned research
body, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was
opened five years ago when a decision
was taken after the last deadly SARS
coronavirus attack in 2003. Scientists
carried out virus research at the insti-
tute with the highest level of biological
containment available in China.
According to a report in The New York
Times, the lab came under the spotlight
in January 2020, after Chinese scien-
tists said “the virus could have a connec-
tion to bats via an intermediary, such as
some form of game sold at a seafood
market in Wuhan. This seems to have
triggered the theories of novel corona
virus originating from game meat in
the market.”
China’s low international public
credibility a kernel of truth in the news
report on two Chinese scientists work-
ing in PHAC and their visit to China
probably resulted in the persistence of
conspiracy theories.
According to a January 27, CBC re-
port, Dr Xiangguo Qiu, a medical doctor
and virologist from Tianjin, China, came
to Canada for graduate studies in 1966.
Qiu continues to be affiliated with the
university there and has brought many
students to help in her work. She devel-
oped a treatment for the deadly ebola
virus, which killed more than 11,000 pe-
ople in Africa (2014-16). Her husband,
Keding Cheng, works at the Winnipeg
lab as a biologist. He has published re-
search papers on HIV infection, severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
E.coli infections, etc. It said, a month
later, CBC discovered the scientists at
the NML had sent live ebola and heni-
pah viruses to Beijing on Air Canada
flight on March 31. According to PHAC
all federal policies were followed.
However, the agency would not confirm
if the March 31 was part of the RCMP
investigation.
The Chinese government has tried to
crack down upon social media posts on
the viral attack. In spite of this, the
quick spread of unverified information
and misinformation even in that con-
trolled society has dramatically demon-
strated social media’s enormous influ-
ence in conditioning public perceptions.
T
he moral of the story is: all gov-
ernment agencies have to learn to
establish their credibility and
develop the art of communicating to the
public immediately to quell rumours
and misinformation. There is a Chinese
saying: “When the winds of change
blow, some people build walls and oth-
ers build windmills.” Unfortunately, the
State, confronted with the challenges of
social media, will have to learn not only
to build walls to ward off misinforma-
tion but also to build windmills to take
advantage of social media’s capability to
develop a counter-narrative.
The international Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Pro-
duction and Stockpiling of Bacteriologi-
cal and Toxin Weapons (CPSBT) and
their destruction, was signed on April
10, 1972, and came into force on March
26, 1975. It is now ratified by 180 coun-
tries. The CPSBT is special because,
unlike other international conventions
based on the Geneva Conventions or
Rome Statute, it was the first multilater-
al disarmament treaty banning an entire
category of weapons listed as weapons
of mass destruction (WMD).
India ratified the CPSBT on July 15,
1974. Since then India has improved its
capabilities in biotechnology largely for
peaceful use. The country has well-dev-
eloped biotech infrastructure with well
qualified scientists experienced in infec-
tious diseases and bio-containment lab-
oratories including Bio safety levels 3
and 4. India has avowed not to make
biological weapons. The Defence Re-
search and Development Organisation
(DRDO) primary research lab is located
in Gwalior, MP. Its work focuses on co-
untering biological threats like anthrax,
brucellosis, cholera, plague, small pox,
viral haemorrhage fever and botulism.
The Indian armed forces are trained
for nuclear, biological and chemical
(NBC) warfare. In 2003, after AlQaeda
training manuals revealed that terrorists
were trained in the production and use
of toxins such as ricin, Indian security
agencies also became concerned at the
possibility of terrorists launching biolog-
ical attacks. Since then much progress
has been made in training troops in
NBC warfare and to handle biological
attacks by terrorists. India and the Un-
ited States signed a new 10-year defence
framework agreement on June 3, 2015.
Its provisions include working coopera-
tively to develop defence capabilities,
including in NBC protection.
—The writer is a retired military intelli-
gence specialist on South Asia, associat-
ed with the Chennai Centre for China
Studies and the International Law and
Strategic Studies Institute
“Thisisnotthetimetofocusonwhat
wordweuse…wedonotliveinabinary
world....Wemustfocusoncontainment,
whilepreparingforapotentialpandemic.”
—DrTedrosAdhanom,Director
General,WHO
31. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 31
Global Trends/ Pakistan
T was a foregone conclusion that
Pakistan would remain on the grey
list of the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) as it needed just
three votes to avoid the blacklist.
With new equations emerging in
the region and the Islamic world,
China, Pakistan’s old ally, and its new
partners—Turkey and Malaysia—came
to its rescue at the Paris meeting.
Pakistan was hoping that positive
signals emanating from Washington and
other western capitals, and the “cosmet-
ic sentencing” of the UN declared ter-
rorist Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz
Saeed might help it get off the hook but
it was woefully short of implementing
the 27-point FATF Action Plan.
The FATF acknowledged that
Pakistan has made “notable improve-
ments” and has “largely addressed” 14
out of 27 action items. However, its
stern warning, strongly urging Pakistan
to “swiftly complete” the full action plan
by June 2020, which includes signifi-
cant and sustainable progress especially
in prosecuting and penalising terror
financing, otherwise it will be forced to
take action, shows that the watchdog
has serious concerns about the official
intent and the judicial process.
At the Paris meeting, the biggest
concern of the FATF was low conviction
rate in terror-financing related cases.
Till now, more than 2,000 people have
been tried for terror-financing and other
terror-related crimes but only 50 have
been convicted with short-term
jail sentences.
This lack of will or connivance on the
part of the Pakistani military establish-
ment and security agencies has been
FATF’s Firm HandInthewakeofasternwarningfromFATFurgingPakistantoswiftlycompletethefullaction
planonprosecutingandpenalisingterrorfinancingbyJune2020,Pakistan’scosmetic
measuresarefastbecomingirrelevant
By Asif Ullah Khan
I
twitter.com
32. 32 March 9, 2020
Global Trends/ Pakistan
very much evident in the case of Saeed.
The most visible face of terrorism has
been arrested and tried on numerous
occasions but has been let off by the
courts based on weak evidence.
In early 2017, Pakistan launched a
crackdown against the JuD, placing
Saeed under house arrest. However, he
was released in November 2017 after the
Lahore High Court refused to extend
the period of his confinement. As many
as 23 first information reports (FIRs)
had been registered against Saeed and
other JuD leaders at police stations in
various cities of Punjab. Saeed has been
named accused in 29 cases about terror-
financing, money laundering and illegal
land grabbing.
The same ploy can be seen in the
Lahore anti-terrorism court's verdict,
which even the US has welcomed. Saeed
and his close aide, Malik Zafar Iqbal,
have been jailed for five and a half years
each in two cases under various sections
of the Anti-terrorism Act, which do not
specifically deal with terror-financing.
The two convicts have got five-year
jail term under Section 11-N of the Act,
which deals with money laundering, ille-
gal fundraising and buying properties
from raised funds and another five-year
term under 11-F (2) for being a member
of a banned outfit, arranging activities
of the organisation and extending sup-
port. The convicts can appeal against
the decision in the Lahore High Court.
Mohammed Rizwan, Toronto-based
journalist of Pakistani origin, and a fel-
low at Pragmora Institute, told India
Legal: “From Pakistan's side on the eve
of the Paris plenary meeting they have
again used their age-old playbook of
making an arrest here and arranging a
conviction there but surprisingly it's
working. Every time they take these cos-
metic measures and FATF gives them
temporary relief. So why would they
change a policy that is working?”
Also, Pakistan thinks it has nothing
to do with terror-financing and sponsor-
ing and its all politics sponsored by
India, Rizwan added “Now it’s the job of
FATF countries to make them see
beyond their politics mantra and do
something about terror-financing. So
basically, it’s coming down to whose re-
solve is stronger. Contrary to the belief
that the US needs Pakistan in Afghanis-
tan and that’s why it is not pushing
Pakistan, I believe it is about making
Pakistan fall in line with the US-India
equation on the Indo-Pacific.”
“As a journalist working in Pakistan I
saw on numerous occasions first-
hand the state patronage of LeT, JuD
and JeM and their ability to openly
operate in Pakistan but times have
changed now and the new buzzword is
hiding them and showing to the world
that they are not assets anymore. Maybe
it’s true for a small number of people in
the security establishment but by and
large the assets are just on mute for the
time being,” he said.
The recent so-called conviction of
Saeed is another example of cosmetics.
The prosecution made such a weak case
that it was a surprise that judge under
instructions still went ahead and con-
victed Saeed. This conviction can easily
be thrown out on merit in appeal when
the time is ripe, Rizwan told
India Legal.
Another Pakistani journalist, who
does not want to be named, concurs
with this view.
H
e told India Legal a general
impression was created in the
country that the arrest and
conviction of such a high-prized target
like Saeed would be enough to convince
FATF. However, it did not cut much ice
at the Paris meeting as it (FATF) wants
an across-the-board crackdown on ter-
ror-financing and dismantling of the
terror infrastructure.
Apart from Saeed and Azhar Masood
of Jaish-e-Mohammad, it wants all
other terror groups which are under its
radar to be targeted.
“That is why FATF has made it clear
that it does want Pakistan to strictly
complete the remaining tasks and it will
observe and monitor the government’s
action. It has also added to Pakistan’s
worries by offering to train Pakistanis
and provide a mechanism for it. If
this happens, it will expose a lot of
things,” he added.
HafizSaeedregularlyappearsonTVand
hasrebrandedJuDasacharityorganisa-
tion.NoonedaresprobehimaboutJuD’s
otheractivitiesdespitethefactthatLeT
andJuDaretwofacesofthesamecoin.
UNI
33. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 33
He told India Legal it is time for
Pakistan to rethink on the policy of
using non-State actors to achieve politi-
cal and strategic aims.
“Of late, JuD rebranded itself as a
charity organisation to deflect the atten-
tion of international agencies. The mili-
tary-controlled media continuously tries
to project it as a charity organisation
and not a terrorist group. Saeed regular-
ly appears on TV talk shows and no one
dares probe him about JuD’s other
activities when the whole world knows
that LeT and JuD are two faces of the
same coin. That is why FATF did not
even mention Saeed’s name in its press
statement,” he adds.
The sudden and mysterious escape of
Ehsanullah Ehsan, a former spokesman
of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and later
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, clearly indicates how
the security agencies play footsie with
terrorists. The man involved in the
attack on Malala Yusufzai and numerous
killings surrendered after negotiating a
deal with the military establishment and
there is complete silence on the govern-
ment's part on how such a high-prized
terrorist can escape from under the nose
of the security agencies.
On condition of anonymity, the jour-
nalist added, “People believe
Ehsanullah's escape is a part of the US-
Taliban deal in Afghanistan. Pakistan is
hoping that by helping the US it might
get some relief from the FATF. However,
it sends a very wrong signal about the
intent of Pakistan’s seriousness in deal-
ing with terrorists. It shows that the
state has no qualms in striking deals
with terrorists rather than bringing
them to justice.” He further states that
the issue of Ehsanullah’s escape may
come up in the next FATF hearing.
D
r Adil Rasheed, research fellow
at Manohar Parrikar Institute
for Defence Studies and
Analyses, wonders how long Pakistan
will keep playing hide and seek with the
international community.
Dr Rasheed said: “FATF’s growing
frustration with Pakistan’s lies on the
supposedly ‘missing’ Masood Azhar and
its ‘failure to complete its action plan in
line with the agreed timelines’ has again
exposed Islamabad’s ruse on terror-
financing. Even as its economy teeters
on the brink, does Islamabad seriously
believe it can hoodwink the world with
its ‘fake arrests’ and money laundering
shenanigans? If it thinks so, then sadly
it is only deceiving itself.”
Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani
ambassador to the US, says Pakistan’s
promises of shutting down terror train-
ing camps and choking terror-financing
has to be taken with a pinch of salt as
there is little change in its attitude
towards militancy, particularly the one
directed against Afghanistan and India.
However, for the first time Pakistan
is facing real pressure from the interna-
tional community as the FATF action
plan on compliance with the terror-
financing regime presents a real danger
to the country, which has been on and
off the FATF’s grey list for more
than a decade.
The FATF decision not to blacklist
Pakistan, which would have delivered a
severe blow to its already weak econo-
my, has given another breather to turn
around things. But the question is how
long Pakistan will continue to define
terrorism in its terms. Even China, its
trusted ally, which has helped it at inter-
national forums, too seems to have run
out of patience.
It has been more than 18 months
since Imran Khan, propped up by the
military, came to power. The economic
mess he inherited forced him to seek a
$6 billion IMF bailout and bilateral
loans of billions of dollars from friendly
countries like China, Saudi Arabia and
the UAE. The strict IMF terms, instead
of reviving the economy, have choked it.
New taxes and hikes in power, gas, and
water tariffs as part of the IMF plan to
increase revenue, has hit the middle
class, the main supporters of Imran.
The Pakistani army knows that not ful-
filling the FATF action plan can lead to
problems in getting development funds
from international agencies like IMF,
World Bank and Asian Development
Bank. Will the Pakistani military estab-
lishment change its 30-year narrative of
using terrorist proxies as the national
security imperative or will the cycle of
international warnings and Pakistani
denials continue?
Let's wait for the June meeting
of the FATF.
“Asitseconomyteetersonthebrink,
doesIslamabadseriouslybelieveitcan
hoodwinktheworldwithits‘fakearrests’
andmoneylaunderingshenangans?”
–DrAdilRasheed,fellowatManohar
ParrikarInstituteforDefenceStudies.
“Pakistan’spromisesofchokingterror-
financinghavetobetakenwithapinchof
saltasthereislittlechangeinitsattitude
towardsmilitancy.”
—HusainHaqqani,formerPakistan
ambassadortotheUS.
34. My Space/ Artificial Intelligence Avinash Ambale
34 March 9, 2020
ET us imagine a lawyer’s
chamber. To indulge our
imagination further, the
lawyer is behind an invisible
pane of glass—unseen and
unheard. We can interact
with this lawyer only through the medi-
um of written or typed text. Below the
pane of glass is an envelope-sized slot.
We slide a note with written or typed
questions into the slot. After a while, we
retrieve typed or written legal opinions
from this slot. Sounds futuristic?
Hardly. This law machine was conceptu-
alised, a mathematical abstraction for-
mulated and a Boolean code for com-
puters created in 1958. What is signifi-
cant about 1958?
It follows 1956 by a mere two years.
The significance of 1956 cannot be over-
stated—it is the official birth year of the
field and the term “Artificial Intelligen-
ce” (AI). Following the birth of this new
field of study, its founding fathers, John
McCarthy and Marvin Minsky, led the
symposium on “Mechanization of
Thought Processes”. The objective of
this symposium was grand in its avowed
mission—to mechanise thought process-
es of experts across a wide range of dis-
ciplines: doctors, lawyers, scientists, i.e.,
knowledge workers as they would be
characterised in the latter part of the
20th century.
In 1958, we see the first presentation
of a law machine, seemingly behind a
pane of glass—a computer screen. In the
same year, at the very first symposium
on “Mechanization of Thought Pro-
cesses”, Dr Lucien Mehl presented his
paper on “Automation in the Legal
World”. The first law machine was a
mathematical abstraction. This was a
logical framework with associated sym-
bolic language to create both an Infor-
mation Machine and a Consultation
Machine.
The Information Machine was pre-
sented as a mechanised alternative to
achieve speedy, accurate and reliable
information retrieval; speed, accuracy
and reliability not achievable by tradi-
tional human thought. Dr Mehl saw the
ever-growing scale (an alarming scale,
in his own words) of the number of laws
and regulations and scope of jurispru-
dence. To tame this beast, as it were, of
the vast volume of data and provide
speedy, accurate and reliable informa-
tion, he conceptualised the Information
Machine. This Information Machine
would free up time for proper legal
research and logical thought.
The goal of the Consultation Ma-
chine was to bring to legal science the
mathematical tools to create a systemat-
ic logical argument for legal problems
whose solutions could unambiguously
be drawn from available data. This is the
precursor to what the 21st century calls
data-driven decision-making. Combined
with the Information Machine that ta-
med the “big data” of laws and regula-
tions, the Consultation Machine was
envisioned as a mechanised version
encapsulating the wisdom of Solomon.
Ask the Consultation Machine a legal
question and it would provide a fully
data-driven decision, without human
biases and cognitive shortcomings.
Big Data, in the 21st century defini-
tion of it, is characterised by volume,
variety and velocity. In the introductory
notes to his seminal work, Dr Mehl, in
1958, describes a problem with the mul-
tiplicity of legal sources, aka volume and
variety in its current characterisation.
As an example, the governing laws and
jurisdictions might be provincial, federal
or global. The laws might be manifested
InthetimescaleofevolutionofAIforlaw,alookattwo
seminalworksfromthelate1950sandearly1970s,
respectively.Thedecadesspanningthetimelinearealsothe
decadesofAIingeneral
Thefirstlawmachinewasamathemati-
calabstraction.Thiswasalogical
frameworkwithassociatedsymbolic
languagetocreatebothanInformation
MachineandaConsultationMachine.
L
The Law Machine
35. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 35
as governing edicts laid by legislating
bodies or as treatises and reviews by ju-
dicial authors; across a wide variety of
documents, such as contracts, treaties,
laws and decrees.
To create a foundational platform for
the Information Machine to work, Dr
Mehl recommended a codification of
texts from divergent sources of law—leg-
islature, statutes or jurisprudence—into
a common, harmonised standard prior
to automation. Again, Dr Mehl was pre-
scient—the foundation for the Informa-
tion Machine that is a prerequisite to
the Consultation Machine is what the
21st century calls machine-readable and
machine-executable law.
The theoretical logic Dr Mehl used to
conceptualise the Consultation Machine
was both ingenious and futuristic. His
brilliant insight into the theory of know-
ledge of law was that the whole body of
law can be reduced to a few basic or ele-
mentary concepts. Or, to construct his
argument differently, a limited set of
elementary concepts expands into the
wide body of legal knowledge.
D
r Mehl’s breakthrough was
ground-breaking. The mathe-
matics of the logic, while sim-
ple, illustrates a very sophisticated
mind—seemingly echoing the parable
about Columbus’ egg. He modelled ele-
mentary legal concepts as moving in an
arithmetical progression.
Simultaneously, he modelled data,
notions, situations and problems evolv-
ing from these basic concepts as increas-
ing in a dual exponential fashion. This
unified model invented the mathemati-
cal basis for expressing legal language in
a Boolean framework. Boolean algebra
is the basic concept underlying all com-
puting.
Thus, expressing legal knowledge in
Boolean algebra is a significant break-
through even to date. Dr Mehl’s use of
Boolean operators to simultaneously
construct exponential functions while
deconstructing to arithmetic progres-
sion provided a strong conceptual
framework to translate legal language
into computerised codification; thereby
laying the foundations for mechanisa-
tion and automation of law.
To illustrate this, Dr Mehl took the
India Legal
36. the ability to out-perform human intelli-
gence in narrow tasks like image classi-
fication and speech recognition.
Even with the technological advances
of today, selecting a narrow and deep
area of focus in law seems to serve the
cause of AI for law better than a broad,
grand unified theory for codification of
all law and justice. Seeking a Grand
Unified Theory to codify and automate
all areas of law is like seeking Artificial
General Intelligence (AGI).
McCarty’s observation that “simplest
legal problems of first-year law students
are the hardest for AI because they re-
quire ordinary human experience, which
is so alien to AI, but inherent to stu-
dents” seems prophetic. Artificial Intelli-
gence (Deep Learning) has not pro-
gressed to the stage where it can repli-
cate human learning and experience.
Differences between Deep Learning and
human learning include the inability of
the former to learn causal models of the
world from very little data leveraging
prior knowledge.
I have chronicled the history of
thought underlying both AI and law and
AI in general to illustrate and differenti-
ate the theory of knowledge underlying
both.
We looked at seminal works that
serve as book-ends to the founding
decades of AI and law. These book-ends
serve to illustrate two very important
doctrines that are valid todate, one, the
representation and reduction of the
body of law into elegant mathematical
logic and, two, better approximations
into computer-executable law that are
achievable by a laser-focused restriction
to one narrow area of the law.
In the timescale of evolution of AI
for law, I have looked at two works
from the late 1950s and early 1970s,
respectively. The decades spanning this
timeline are also the decades of AI
in general.
—The author is an expert on
Artificial Intelligence. He is an
entrepreneur and inventor and has
founded a research lab, Ovid
My Space/ Artifical Intelligence/ Avinash Ambale
36 March 9, 2020
example of trade law. He reduced trade
law of the day to six basic concepts that
would increase in a linear, arithmetic
progression to 64 logical combinations
of trade law. From these 64 logical com-
binations, the number of notions, situa-
tions and problems moves in an expo-
nential progression resulting in 16
quintillion (10 followed by 18 zeros) log-
ical functions.
The computing power available in
1958 was not sufficient to calculate the
16 quintillion logical functions in one
specific illustration of tax computation
of goods sold by a trader. It follows nat-
urally that the technological implemen-
tation of this AI in trade dispute settle-
ment was not feasible. Nonetheless, the
ability to deconstruct and reconstruct
legal language into Boolean operators
is an extremely strong foundational
framework for the construction of AIs
for law.
S
hifting forward in time, let us look
at the work of another leading fig-
ure in AI and law, L Thorne
McCarty and his TAXMAN AI. McCarty
took his work forward from Dr Mehl’s
“elementary concept” logic foundation
and is often regarded as the “Father of
AI and law”. McCarty created computer
representations of legal concepts in a
very narrow area of US corporate tax
law—the reorganisation of corporations.
McCarty used corporate tax law as the
area of law for implementation of com-
puter models as, in his view, it has many
layers of commercial abstraction that
are “artificial and formal systems them-
selves, drained of much of the content of
the ordinary world”, and because, by
legal standards, it is very technical.
The ultimate goal McCarty sought to
achieve was for AI to understand and
distinguish between “form” and “sub-
stance” and translate them to more pre-
cise and concrete concepts.
McCarty used abstract symbolic rep-
resentations to model legal concepts due
to the ability of these abstractions to be
linked to computational structures.
McCarty’s TAXMAN is one of the first
computer embodiments of the systemat-
ic logical models for legal reasoning.
His choice in 1972 of a narrow area
of law that is an abstraction, lending
itself to be materialised with ease in
computer languages seems prescient
now in 2020. Current state-of-the-art of
AI through Deep Learning is ANI
(Artificial Narrow Intelligence) i.e. it has
Theyear1956gavebirthtothetermandanewfieldofstudy,“ArtificialIntelligence”.
Followingitsbirth,itsfoundingfathers,JohnMcCarthy(left)andMarvinMinsky,leda
symposiumtomechanisethoughtprocessesofexpertsacrossalldisciplines.
38. 38 March 9, 2020
The coronavirus effect continues to reverberate
around the world, disrupting supply chains,
suspending flights, tanking financial markets and
sporting events, undermining tourism and travel
for work or pleasure. Now, add one, for religious
pilgrimages. Saudi Arabia has suspended the entry
of foreigners to the cities of Mecca and Medina,
the two holiest sites in Islam. Millions of Muslims
from across the world, a large number from India,
make the pilgrimage—the Umrah—around the
year but the peak for visitors is the Haj pilgrimage,
for which preparations had already begun.
Now, with the entry suspended for visits to
Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad
and home to Islam’s holiest shrine, as well as
Medina, where he is buried, millions of Muslims
will have to change their plans. Every adult
Muslim must perform the Haj at least once in a
lifetime and the travel ban has come as a huge
shock. Saudi Arabia’s ministry of foreign affairs
said the suspensions were temporary but did not
say when they would end. So far, 400,000 tourist
visas have been issued, mostly for Muslims plan-
ning the holy pilgrimage.
International Briefs
The
Mecca
Ban
According to the MIT
technology review, a
new class of anti-ageing
drugs has begun human
testing. These drugs are
meant to target specific
ailments, thereby slowing
or reversing the process of
ageing. What this means
is that a number of differ-
ent diseases, including
cancer, heart disease,
and dementia, could
potentially be treated by
new drugs which also
slow ageing.
The drugs are called
senolytics, and they have
the potential to remove
certain cells that accumu-
late as we age. Known as
“senescent” cells, they cre-
ate low-level inflamma-
tion that suppresses the
normal process of cellular
repair and creates a toxic
Slowing Ageing
UNI
39. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 39
In America, television and
billboard ads featuring
Hollywood heartthrob
George Clooney promoting
Nespresso coffee machines
and pods are fairly common.
The Oscar-winning actor has
been the company’s brand
ambassador since 2006 but
now faces an embarrassing
situation, thanks to a media
investigation which showed
the use of child labour at
Nespresso’s coffee bean sup-
pliers in Guatemala. The
investigation by journalist
Anthony Bartlett for Channel
4 in the UK appeared to
show children
picking beans in
coffee plantations
in Guatemala, a
major coffee pro-
ducer. Clooney
issued a statement
saying he was “sur-
prised and sad-
dened” by the
exposé. Clooney
also happens to be
a member of Nes-
presso’s sustain-
ability advisory
board, which ma-
kes his position
even more con-
tentious. In his
statement, he
added: “Clearly this
board and this
company still have
work to do. And that work
will be done.” Nespresso is
owned by Swiss food giant
Nestlé, which says it has la-
unched its own investigation
to identify the farms at the
centre of the allegations. The
company said it has stopped
purchase of coffee from all
farms in the region until they
guarantee that child labour is
not being used. More than
Nestlé, it is Clooney’s image
as an environmentalist and
actor with a strong social
conscience that has come
under the grinder.
The Hollywood movie,
People vs Larry Flynt,
was a biographical drama,
starring Woody Harrelson as
editor/publisher of Hustler,
the pornographic magazine,
and his frequent clashes with
religious institutions and the
law. Though not as famous
as Hugh Hefner’s Playboy,
Flynt’s Hustler is far more
explicit and also profitable.
While Flynt has been in-
volved in numerous contro-
versies, he is best known for
thumbing his nose at the
government, which is reflect-
ed in his long-time practice
of sending issues of his mo-
nthly hardcore porn maga-
zine to each member of the
US Congress. It is actually a
form of protest against leg-
islative actions that have
been taken against him in
the past, which led to a brief
stint in prison. However, his
brazen—and bizarre—pro-
test has been going on for
almost 40 years. In 1984,
Congress took legal action,
trying to get him to stop but
a court ruled in Flynt’s
favour, saying that the people
are given the right to petition
the government, even thro-
ugh the use of porn. For
Congressmen, who receive
individual copies each mon-
th, the problem is how to
dispose of them without
looking awkward or guilty.
The Hustler’s Way
There are still concerns
that the Tokyo Olympics
may be cancelled if the co-
ronavirus becomes a pande-
mic and threatens the health
and lives of visitors to Japan,
including athletes. If, how-
ever, the Games do go on,
there will be one star who
will occupy centrestage, just
like Usain Bolt did in earlier
Olympics. He is pole vaulter
Armand Duplantis, a 20-
year-old phenomenon who
has been breaking world
records with consummate
ease. The US-born Swede
recently cleared 6.17 metres
in the pole vault to set a new
world record. Later, he broke
his own mark with a 6.18-
metre vault on his first att-
empt. That earned Duplan-
tis a $30,000 bonus.
Pole vaulting has been in
his blood. His father was a
former American pole
vaulter who built a pit in the
back garden of the family
home in Louisiana where
Duplantis started training
when he was three years old.
“There are a lot of rea-
sons why this event is so
complicated and so many
things go into making a
good jump,” Duplantis said
in an interview, “but the
Olympics is where I want to
be the best.”
The Star of Tokyo
environment for neigh-
bouring cells.
San Francisco-based
Unity Biotechnology is
developing drugs to treat
age-related diseases of the
eyes, lungs and knees,
among other conditions.
Another company
called Alkahest says it
hopes to halt cognitive
and functional decline in
patients suffering from
mild to moderate Alzhei-
mer’s disease. The compa-
ny also has drugs for Par-
kinson’s and dementia
which are undergoing
human testing. Other re-
searchers are looking at
whether creams could
slow ageing in human
skin. All this reflects new
efforts to learn if the
many diseases associated
with getting older can be
treated with new drugs to
delay their onset.
Clooney’s Clash
40. Focus/ Dog Bites
40 March 9, 2020
EARLY four years ago,
the Supreme Court of
India had asked the state
governments to specify
the criteria for granting
compensation to dog bite
victims, especially when someone bitten
dies. The criteria are still elusive.
As a result of this, victims of dog bites
are confused which forums they should
move to for compensation. Should the
state government be liable to pay com-
pensation in such cases? Or, should
the local bodies be held accountable?
More importantly, what is to be the
exact compensation?
The case of a girl, who died of dog-
bite in 2016, has moved the Madhya
Pradesh Human Rights Commission
(MPHRC) to seek the MP High Court’s
advice. When the commission first took
up the case of the death of the girl from
Khargone district due to dog bite in
2016, it was surprised to discover that
there was no provision of financial assis-
tance in the Revenue Book Circular
(RBC) of the revenue department in
case of loss of life due to animals.
When the lacuna was communicated
to the state government, the revenue
department replied to the rights body
that there were no such provisions in
other states such as Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh too.
The enormity of the menace in
Madhya Pradesh can be gauged from
the fact that every two hours a person is
bitten by stray dogs in Bhopal, accord-
ing to recent data.
As per district health department
estimates, over 4,800 cases were report-
ed in 2017 and there could be well over
10,000 cases, if all the hospitals had
reported, said a senior health depart-
ment official.
In its petition to the High Court filed
on February 21, the rights body has
expressed concern that the victims of
dog bites have been struggling to get
compensation for the past four years.
The court has issued summons to the
state government in the case and posted
it for next hearing on March 16.
MPHRC Chairman Justice (retd)
Narendra Kumar Jain says the commis-
sion had passed an order in May last
year, recommending the formation of a
Dog Bite Victim Compensation Scheme
(DBVCS). It also recommended amend-
ments to the RBC within three months
to provide for compensation to victims.
According to sources in the MPHRC,
absence of clear guidelines for compen-
sation to victims amounts to a violation
of their human rights. Many high courts
have dealt with cases of dog bites and
awarded different amounts as compen-
sation. But state governments are not
serious about adequately compensating
the victims.
In July 2016, the Supreme Court had
posed the question as to which forum
the victim should go to seek compensa-
tion in dog bite cases, especially in cases
of death of the victim. A bench headed
by Justice Dipak Misra was hearing a
petition filed by one Jos Sebastian
whose wife, an MGNREGA worker, died
after she was bitten by a stray dog.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate
VK Biju argued that it was the State’s
Unenviable
Record
Indiahasthelargeststreetdogpopulationandhighest
numberofdog-bitedeathsintheworld,butthere
isnosetcriteriaforcompensationtovictims
By Rakesh Dixit
N
TheMadhyaPradeshHumanRights
Commissionwassurprisedtofindoutin
2016,thattherewasnoprovisionof
financialaidintheRevenueBookCircular
incaseoflossoflifeduetoanimals.
UNI
41. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 41
responsibility to look after its citizens.
He complained there was no depart-
ment to look into the grievances of dog
bite victims.
Acknowledging the enormity of the
menace, the Supreme Court directed
forming of a committee headed by for-
mer Kerala High Court judge S Siri
Jagan to hear dog-bite victims, examine
the severity of their injuries and inspect
the medical treatment meted out to
them. The committee had awarded a
total of Rs 1.73 crore as compensation to
dog-bite victims by December 2017.
However, the Kerala government
found the compensation awarded to
dog bite victims by the committee
overly generous.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led government
approached the Supreme Court in Janu-
ary 2018, saying that the committee had
been awarding “exorbitant amounts” in
dog bite cases. It said that the compen-
sation suggested by the committee was
as high as Rs 20 lakh in some cases.
T
he Kerala government informed
the court that the Justice Jagan
Committee had been considering
and deciding the claims of victims of
dog bites, and so far 154 such claims,
out of a total of 752, had been decided
and 18 compensation claims settled.
Calling for a “balance”, the state gov-
ernment filed an affidavit in the top
court, urging it to cap the committee’s
ability to grant compensation at
Rs 5 lakh since that is the amount that
the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund pays to
victims of tragedies.
However, the Supreme Court was not
impressed by the state government’s
pleas. In May 2018, a bench comprising
Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices
AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud
directed the committee to file a report in
four weeks after it was alleged that dog
bite victims, despite being awarded the
compensation by the panel, had not
been paid by the state government.
SAFETY CONCERNS
Stray dogs at streets pose a
threat to pedestrians
42. 42 March 9, 2020
The Kerala government filed a report
as directed by the Supreme Court but
confusion over the amount to be paid
as compensation persists. Kerala’s is
not an isolated case when it comes to
lack of uniform rules in awarding com-
pensation.
Bombay High Court had ordered the
Maharashtra Government and the
Municipal Corporation of Sangli to com-
pensate the parents of the deceased,
Tejas, who died on December 23, 2013.
The court ordered the civic authorities
and the state government to compensate
the parents with an interim relief of Rs
50,000 out of the sought compensation
of Rs 2 lakh by the petitioners.
Tejas, a five-year-old boy, along with
his father, was returning home after
watching a cricket match when he was
attacked by a group of stray dogs.
The court observed that sufficient
powers are vested in the authorities
under the provisions of the Animal
Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, to
prevent dog attacks. It also stressed that
under Article 21 of the Constitution,
whose scope had been widened by the
Supreme Court in various judgments,
the state is responsible for the protec-
tion of citizens and for providing them
with a dignified life, and it had failed to
do so in the case of the parents of the
deceased.
I
n February 2018, the Chhattisgarh
High Court held that if the state or
a local body failed to control strays
or rabid dogs, resulting in the death of
an individual, they must pay Rs 10 lakh
compensation to the victim’s family.
Petitioner Shobha Ram, from Balod dis-
trict, had moved the High Court in 2017,
seeking compensation from the state
government for the death of his wife,
who contracted rabies after being bitten
by a stray dog.
Allowing his appeal, Justice Prashant
Kumar Mishra pointed out in his order
that the law obligates gram panchayats
to “detain an unclaimed dog and destroy
it after three clear days”. “In this case,
the gram panchayat failed to perform its
statutory function. For its failure, the
gram panchayat, jointly with the state
government, would be liable to compen-
sate the petitioner,” the order said.
In the case, Shobha Ram’s wife was
bitten by a rabid dog when she was on
her way home. She was admitted to
three hospitals but there was no
improvement in her condition, and she
died in June that year. Her husband
sought compensation from the collector,
but nothing came of it.
Justice Mishra noted in his order
that the petitioner’s plea for compensa-
tion was not processed at the collector’s
office because of a memo issued by the
tehsildar, Gunderdehi, that there is no
provision under the RBC for awarding
compensation on account of a stray
dog bite.
In June 2018, in the aftermath of the
death of a one-and-a-half-year-old due
to multiple dog bites, the Chandigarh
municipal corporation framed a policy
under which victims of stray dogs will
be granted compensation. As per the
policy, the corporation will give Rs 3
lakh in case of death and Rs 1 lakh in
case of permanent disability.
The Uttarakhand High Court in the
case of Ajay Singh Rawat v. Union of
India in April 2015 directed that in a
case of dog bite, the victim shall be paid
compensation of Rs 2 lakh by the con-
cerned local body and Rs 1 lakh by the
state government, within a week from
the date of the incident.
Apart from the high courts, district
courts and human rights bodies have
also adjudicated on cases of dog bites
resulting in either injury or death. But
they have dealt with the cases as per
their perception of the severity of the
matter rather than on clear-cut guide-
lines, as was desired by the Supreme
Court in 2016.
The Court had also expressed con-
cern that, “India is a nation with sub-
stantial fatal rabies cases, mainly due to
stray dog bites. There have been inci-
dents of stray dogs chasing, attacking
and biting schoolchildren, aged persons,
pedestrians, morning walkers and two-
wheeler riders”.
It’s been four years since, but nothing
seems to have changed.
Focus/ Dog Bites
InJuly2016,aSCbenchheadedby
JusticeDipakMisraposedthequestion
astowhichforumthevictimshouldgoto
seekcompensationindogattackcases,
especiallyincaseofdeathofvictim.
ThePinarayiVijayan-ledgovernment
approachedtheSCinJanuary2018,
sayingthatthecommitteehas
beengiving“exorbitant”
compensationindogbitecases.
43. NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
January27, 2020
TheLegalChallengeFollowingKerala’slead,PunjabandChhattisgarhhavejoinednon-BJPstatesthathave
challengedtheconstitutionalvalidityoftheCAAandtheNationalInvestigationAct2008in
theSupremeCourt.Howstrongisthelegalargument?
Internet Curbs:
Analysing the apex court’s ruling
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um
NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
February3, 2020
TheSupremeCourthasrevivedfaithintheconstitutionalideasoffreedomofexpression
intheirjudgmentoninternetshutdowninKashmir,saysProfUpendraBaxi
Justice Narendra Chapalgaonkar:
Ways to fast-track justice
GAL
fof
Pr
NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
February10, 2020
HANGING
FIREThetrendamongdeathrow
convictstogettheirexecution
delayedthroughappealsand
curativepetitionsisamajor
talkingpointinlegalcircles
witheventheCJIsayingitis
extremelyimportantinsuch
casestohavesomefinality
Shiv Visvanathan
Profiles Pranab Mukherjee
Inderjit Badhwar:
Nationalism versus patriotism
GAL
G
on
th
gh
on
n
CJ
or
s
NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
February17, 2020
AQuestion
ofBailAfive-judgeConstitutionbenchtakesafreshlookatpre-convictionbail.Byinsistingon
avoidanceofreflexivereasonsfordenyingbail,theapexcourthasactedprogressively,
saysProfUpendraBaxi
Chhattisgarh: The Scam of all Scams
GAL
ct
ha
NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
February24, 2020
OutingtheCriminalsFlaggingan“alarmingriseinthecriminalisationofpolitics,”theSupremeCourtlays
downstrictinstructionsonmakingpublicdetailsofacandidate’scriminalhistory.
Whatimpactwillithaveonpoliticalpartiesandfutureelections?
Shiv Visvanathan on Shaheen Bagh Mothers
GAL
mm””tt”tt
idd
tuu
NDIA EGALEEL STORIES THAT COUNT
NI
March2, 2020
TheIronFistIncreasingly,Section144isbeenusedbypoliticiansandbureaucratsto
deprivecitizensoftheirfundamentalrights.Nowthecourtshavesteppedin
tostemthemisuse,butisitenough?
Justice Chandrachud:
“Dissent not anti-national”
44. States/ Chhattisgarh/ Paddy Scam
44 March 9, 2020
HE farmers of Chhatti-
sgarh seem to have been
taken for a ride. Politicians
and bureaucrats are dish-
ing out figures that don’t
match as far as paddy pro-
curement is concerned. The Congress
government of Bhupesh Baghel prom-
ised that it would procure 85 lakh
tonnes of paddy during this kharif sea-
son at Rs 2,500 per quintal. This is five
lakh tonnes more than the last procure-
ment by the BJP government of Raman
Singh in 2018-19.
Officials now say that they have al-
ready procured 72 lakh tonnes and paid
out Rs 11,700 crore at the rates between
Rs 1,815 per quintal and Rs 1,835 (de-
pending on the quality). This effectively
means 7.2 crore quintals at an average of
Rs 1,825. Does it match up? (One tonne
is 10 quintals, so this comes to 7.2 crore
quintals. Procurement is done in quin-
tals and compilation in tonnes.)
At the end of the season when the
procurement is complete on February
20, the government should have pro-
cured 8.5 crore quintals or 85 lakh
tonnes of paddy and paid out nearly
Rs 17,000 crore at the present rate. It
has actually promised to pay at the rate
of Rs 2,500 per quintal amounting to
nearly Rs 22,000 crore. It has so far
shied away from paying it completely.
The centre has refused to increase its
intake of rice from 24 lakh tonnes. This
is equivalent to 48 lakh tonnes of paddy
(two kg of paddy yields one kg of rice).
Back of the envelope calculations mean
that of the total paddy procurement and
post custom milling for which the gov-
ernment pays 150 per quintal to rice
Harvest of Tears
Thestategovernmentseemstohavegiveninflatedfiguresofpaddyprocurementand
squeezedfarmersateachstepoftheprocurementprocess,leavingthemagitated
By Neeraj Mishra in Raipur
T
UNI
45. | INDIA LEGAL | March 9, 2020 45
millers, the bill will stand at something
like Rs 30,000 crore. Of this, the central
government will pick up the tab for
approximately Rs 9,000 crore only. The
state will still be saddled with a payout
of more than Rs 20,000 crore, money it
does not have.
So what did the Chhattisgarh govern-
ment do? It tried to limit its liability by
procuring less and showing more. It
started by squeezing the farmers at each
step of the procurement process. First, it
started a survey of all land under culti-
vation by farmers. This perhaps was
necessary to weed out fake farmers,
many of whom had sprung up in the
past 15 years of BJP rule.
It has yet to put out figures of how
much actual land is under paddy culti-
vation and how much is lying fallow.
The only figure officially given out is
that 19.6 lakh farmers have registered
to sell their produce to the state which
offers the best minimum support
price. The state now claims that 13.5
lakh farmers have sold their produce
and they have already procured 72
lakh tonnes.
So if another six lakh farmers were to
approach the mandi, there will be a del-
uge of paddy. But in reality, each farmer
is being squeezed to show much less
area under cultivation than he had
last year.
The next step the state took was
announcing that it would procure 15
quintals per acre from each farmer.
Then it delayed the procurement date
from November 15 to December 1.
When the farmers started coming in, it
announced that only eight quintals
would be taken and the rest later.
Registration receipts being issued to
farmers were stopped.
This led to restlessness among farm-
ers at the gates of the mandi in each
procurement centre. At Kawardha, they
gheraoed the local tehsildar and kept
him prisoner for hours. At Bijapur, they
sat indefinitely on the road. In Durg,
which is the chief minister’s home dis-
trict, the farmers took out a huge rally
against such deliberate mismanage-
ment. The government relented and
perhaps juggled its books to find some
money for the procurement. The date of
procurement was extended till February
15 and extended further to February 20
because of unseasonal rains.
If this wasn’t enough, farmers were
harassed in the name of “fake produce”.
This is the produce that millers or
some farmers bring in from neighbour-
ing states and show on a bona fide kisan
book. The local machinery then issues
a receipt to the farmer but now they
are being harassed in the name of
fake produce.
T
o add to farmers’ woes, unseason-
al rains in January and the first
week of February not only hit
stocks but disturbed the procurement
process. Several thousand tonnes of pro-
cured paddy at various centres have
been destroyed. Then local body elec-
tions intervened. The process has just
been completed and as the ruling party
Congress has done reasonably well in it,
it does not reflect the simmering anger
farmers feel.
The farmers here as everywhere else
in the country are a miserable lot. But
perhaps more here because they wait
endlessly for their elected representa-
tives to give them what has been prom-
ised. So far, the equilibrium has not
been disturbed because free rice or rice
at Rs one per kg has been made avail-
able to all BPL families. The Baghel
government has decided to extend the
facility at Rs 10 per kg to APL families
too. Thus, free rice quantities required
for the year are estimated to be 32 lakh
tonnes.
Now look at the figures again. The
entire paddy crop in the state should be
around 1.2 crore tonnes. Of this, the
government seeks to procure 85 lakh
tonnes. There are 19 lakh registered
farmers, of which nearly six lakh don’t
sell to the state.
The bill stands at around Rs 30,000
crore. The entire state annual budget is
around Rs 90,000 crore. The receipts
from excise, mining, transport, etc are
only about Rs 35,000 crore. The state’s
share in the GST and royalties will be
about Rs 20,000 crore. It has been
clamouring for an increase in coal and
ore mining royalties but to no avail. If
central assistance does not come in
paddy procurement, where will the state
get the money to pay the farmers? The
centre at any rate is not likely to endorse
the Rs 2,500 per quintal rate that has
been assured by Baghel. It did not allow
the Raman Singh government to pay Rs
300 extra over the MSP, which ulti-
mately was paid as bonus. Baghel also
aims to give Rs 650 as bonus but that is
another issue as most states have been
demanding that paddy MSP should be
Rs 2,500.
Can this bonus distribution go on
year after year for the next five years?
Raman Singh managed it once in five
years and that too at the rate of Rs 300.
No one has the answers but the state
publicity machinery continues to claim
that farmers in the state have become so
rich that their buying capacity has gone
up by 17 percent as compared to the rest
of the country. The farmers know that
they have been fooled.
InDurg,whichisChiefMinisterBhupesh
Baghel’shomedistrict,thefarmers
tookoutahugerallyagainstthe
mismanagement.Thegovernmentthen
extendedtheprocurementdate.
46. P
rint publications were the first but
now even news portals are follow-
ing suit. The latest to put its con-
tent behind a paywall is LiveMint, the
business news website which is part of
the Hindustan Times group. To ensure
that the news website does not lose any
unique visitors in terms of traffic, it will
apply the paywall under what is called the
user propensity meter. This allows non-
subscribers to access a limited number of
articles for free. Once the user reaches
the maximum article consumption limit,
the paywall will kick in.
However, its e-paper will only be
accessible to subscribers.
The news website has launched sub-
scription plans, ranging from Rs 999 to
Rs 2,599. As an added incentive, the
digital publication has partnered with the
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) to provide sub-
scribers with WSJ content.
LiveMint joins publications like The
Indian Express e-paper, The Hindu, The
Hindu BusinessLine and Business
Standard in putting their content behind
a paywall.
LiveMint is part of HT Digital Streams,
the digital arm of HT Media Ltd which
currently claims 42 million unique
monthly users.
46 March 9, 2020
T
he screaming headlines which
carried news of the discovery
of gold mines with 3,500 to-
nnes of gold reserves in Uttar Pra-
desh’s Sonbhadra district have dis-
appeared from the front pages as
fast as they appeared. The reason:
The story was fake, but once it
was carried by local newspapers
and amplified by the king of fake
news, Postcard News, it spread like
wildfire and was picked up by the
national media.
On February 22, leading media
outlets were reporting that the
Sonbhadra gold mines had gold
deposits estimated to be around
3,350 tonnes and worth Rs 12 lakh
crore—almost five times the current
gold reserves of India. The reports
quoted a district mining officer and
estimated that with this find, India’s
current gold reserve of 626 tonnes
would jump to second place in the
world behind the US. The fact that no
central minister for mines or any
government spokesman was quoted
should have raised red flags but
it didn’t.
The media celebration died down
when the Geological Survey of India
(GSI) denied any such discovery. A
tweet by Mahesh Hegde, founder of
the dubious website, Postcard News,
which interpreted 3,350 tonnes of
gold ore as 3,350 tonnes of actual
gold mined, was adopted by
several mainstream media outlets,
including ANI and Doordarshan.
Taking the cake was The Financial
Express headline: “Yogi Adityanath
strikes gold.” The GSI statement
denying any such discovery and clar-
ifying that the “gold which can be
extracted from the total resource of
52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approxi-
mately 160 kg and not 3,350 tonnes
as mentioned in the media” put an
end to the story but not before
exposing the lack of fact-checkers in
the Indian media.
Ignoring the
Golden Rule
Media Watch
T
hese are dangerous
times for journalists.
At least seven jour-
nalists were injured and
one shot at, during the
clashes in northeast Delhi.
The sharp polarisation of
society, fuelled by politi-
cians and their divisive
messages, has led to a sit-
uation where angry mobs
of lumpen elements have
started targeting journal-
ists, beating them up and
snatching their phones
and notebooks, in order to
avoid being identified.
In a strong statement,
the Editors Guild of India
said: “We have little doubt
the attackers actively
sought to prevent videog-
raphy or photography that
may lead to them being
identified. A lethargic po-
lice and politicians instigat-
ing communal violence
cannot escape blame for
attacks on the media.”
Akash, a correspon-
dent for JK 24x7 News was
shot at in east Delhi’s Ma-
ujpur. Four NDTV reporters
and cameramen were ass-
aulted by what the news
channel described as
“armed mobs” and said
that no policemen were
present when they were
being attacked. Reporter
Arvind Gunasekar lost
three teeth in a barrage of
blows while cameraperson
Saurabh Shukla was hit
with iron rods.
A Times of India photo-
journalist was asked to
prove by angry mobs if he
was a Hindu. Other repor-
ters had their phones che-
cked and photos or videos
deleted.
As Shukla recounts:
“They saw my surname—
Shukla. I also showed
them my rudraksha to pro-
ve my religion. This was
the saddest part for me—
to have to prove my reli-
gion to save my life. They
made us chant religious
slogans and warned that if
they saw us again, they
would kill us.”
Warning Signs
Paywalls Expand
![16 March 9, 2020
the common man. From issuing guide-
lines for preventing sexual harassment at
the workplace two decades ago to provid-
ing directives for granting equal status to
women in the Army this month, the
Supreme Court of India has led a pro-
gressive social transformation.”
U
nion Law Minister Ravi Shan-
kar Prasad made some waves
when he commented on the
“sinister trend” of campaigning for judg-
ments. He said: “[there is a] sinister
trend of late, developing globally, and
also in our country, that some people
start campaigning as to what kind of
judgments they expect. [When] the
judgment is not in accordance with that,
then [they] unleash all the forces of crit-
icism.” He, however, emphasised that it
is not as if dissent is not allowed. He
further observed: ”…I’m a great support-
er of social media, of freedom. I know it
is empowering, but this is a dangerous
trend. Judges must be left completely
independent to give judgment as to
what they think is correct….”
While speaking on the topic concern-
ing gender equality, Justice NV Ramana
of the Supreme Court emphasised:
“Merely having lofty declarations in law
would not satisfy the requirement to
uplift women who face discrimination
day in and day out. There is sufficient
scope for the judiciary to ensure a gen-
der-just world. There cannot be any
compromise in gender equality.”
Justice Arun Mishra of the Supreme
Court observed that today, India is the
“biggest successful democracy in the
world” and how dignified human exis-
tence remains India’s prime concern. He
said: “To strengthen the judicial system
is the call of the day as it is the back-
bone of democracy, whereas the legisla-
ture is the heart, and the executive is the
brain. All these three organs of the State
have to work independently but in tan-
dem to make democracy successful.” He
added: “The judiciary has a significant
role in the ever-changing world. Myriad
problems are being faced today… Your
presence indicates that we are united in
our steely resolve against the invasion of
human rights and terrorism. Our to-
getherness will pave the way for global
developments by evolving common
standards… In the changing global sce-
nario, the noblest profession can ill
Lead/ International Judicial Conference 2020
Theconferencewasbasedonthetheme,
“JudiciaryandtheChangingWorld”,and
endedwithsomefascinatingobserva-
tionsandinsightsandcoveredawide
spectrumoflegalopinionandviews.
PIB](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/indialegal-9march2020-200229124047/85/India-Legal-9-March-2020-16-320.jpg)
