- EX-Cji as Kerala governor
- Doctrine of Postponement
- Lawyer databank to select judges
- SC 2013 rules on Death convicts
- Urdu as 2nd official language
EX-Cji as kerala governor
Why controversy? Ex-CJI Sathasivam was made Governor of Kerala, after Sheila’s resignation.
Criticism | Sathasivam defends |
---|---|
Fali Nariman:This is most improper and unfortunate. I do not appreciate or approve of the idea of a former SC judge accepting a sinecure appointment, like that of a Governor. [Sinecure= An office that involves minimal duties]. | Other CJIs do arbitration or consultation work for corporates after retirement. (and mint crores of rupees.) However, I was planning to do farming at village. But since President has offered this position, I’ve accepted. I never lobbied to get this job. |
Sathasivam had given relief to Amit Shah in fake encounter case, so Modi offered him gift of Governoship. |
|
Anti-arguments
Ex-CJI should not be made Governor because:
- Independent judiciary is the basic feature of Constitution. But when Judges seek jobs or a seat in Parliament from the Executive, this basic feature is not fullfilled.
- Promise of such post-retirement “job” can jeopardise the autonomy and accountability of the judiciary.
- This can create breach in balance of separation of powers.
- After retirement judges get appointed to Lokpal, NHRC etc. but those positions are eligibility requirements and autonomy in functioning.
- Governor’s post is seen as an ‘executive patronage’- typical reserved for ‘retiring’ politicians.
- Earlier retired judges of HC became governors. But this is the first time a retired CJI, got this job!
- Sathasivam was also a candidate for Lokpal job. So by giving him Governorship, Modi took him out of the race.
- Breach of protocol: In the order of precedence, 1st Prez, 2nd VP, 6th CJI, 8th: Governor outside their state. So, CJI should not accept such ‘lower’ job. It is beneath his ‘dignity’.
Note: as per India Yearbook Ch.32: order of precedence is following:
- President
- VP
- PM
- Governor in their respective states
- Former presidents
5A.Dy.PM
6. CJI and Speaker of Loksabha
7. Leader of Opposition in LS and RS, and ~half dozen others (list not important for the present topic)
7A: Holder of Bharat Ratna
8: Governors outside their state.
Pro-arguments
There is nothing wrong in CJI becoming governor because:
- Post of governor is a constitutional post. SC is a constitional body.
- Punchhi commission: Governorship should not be given to person active in politics.
- A Former CJI will be an expert in constitutional matters- provides him to utilise his expertise in public service. This can be a healthy trend.
- There is no breach of protocol if retired CJI accept a lesser post, because he has retired.
- President chose to accept the Modi’s proposal as there is no constitutional bar in such appointment.
Suggested reforms
- Tribunals and commissions should be manned by a separate cadre of judges. (Instead of dolling out these jobs to retired judges- and opening floodgates for such criticism.) Govt should amend constitution for this.
- There should be ‘cooling-off’ period of atleast two years before retired judges takeup any sarkaari position.
- Union government should stop treating Governor job as a sinecure for party members, sympathisers and loyalists.
Justice Sathasivam notable judgments:
- Use of natural resources through Public Sector Undertakings.
- Commuted the death sentence of Sikh terrorist Bhullar- on the ground that there was inordinate delay in disposal of their mercy petitions by the President.
- Upheld Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt’s conviction in ’93 Mumbai blasts.
- Included NOTA in EVM
- Made it mandatory for candidates to fill ALL columns in nomination papers. (=> Modi had to admit he is married.)
Doctrine of Postponement
- 2010: Home ministry made advisory on media reporting by police. But still no proper regulation.
- 2012: SC said, Judiciary can impose a temporary freeze on media report- of a particular case. IF such media-reporting is hurting the rights of the “accused”. This is called “Doctrine of Postponement”
- (at that time, it was silent on “victim”)
- But, Excessive media coverage of crime and court proceeding =Victim’s rights are jeopardized.
- 2014: some NGO files PIL.
- SC says- Yes, Media has right to freedom of speech (#19) but Victim also has right to live with dignity.(#21)
- Therefore, SC appointed Gopal Sankarnarayan as amicus curiae, and has sought responses from the Union, states and UTs about this issue.
Lawyer databank to select judges
Union law minister listed following judicial reforms during some ceremony:
- Case pendency increased due to lack of manpower and infrastructure. ~4400 posts lying vacant.
- We’ve increased no. of high court judges by 25%
- We should maintain a databank on the performance of young lawyers. So later we can select the best among them- for judges post.
- We need to promote alternative dispute resolution mechanism-so cases can be settled outside courts.
- Digitisation- computerization of courts.
SC 2013 rules on Death convicts
- 2013 SC rule, for hearing death convict’s petition- Three judges bench will decide. But such petitions are heard secretly in judges chamber.
- 2014: the Bombay blast mastermind Yakub Memon doesn’t like this. NOT ONE BIT. So, he files writ petition in SC, demanded a death convict should be given every chance to be heard in an open court, instead of deciding secretly in judge’s chamber.
- SC verdict: we will hear all the cases of review petition of death convicts in an open court with a bench of 3 judges.
- If prior petitions were heard by less than 3 judges bench, such death convicts can request CJI to setup new 3 judges bench.
Urdu as 2nd official language
- Hindi is the official state language of Uttar Pradesh (1951’s act).
- 1989: UP legislature amended that act to make Urdu, the second official language of the State.
- this time, UP Hindi Sahitya Sammelan did not like it. Not one bit. So they went to SC. Their argument- once a state adopts Hindi as official language, it cannot adopt any other language.
- 2014, SC ruled following:
- As per Article 345, state legislature may adopt
- one or more languages
- OR Hindi
- As official language of the state.
- Constitution makers mentioned Hindi separately, only to promote its use.
- Otherwise, article 345 doesn’t impose any restriction on the states to use Hindi only.
- Article 347 prescribes that a language can be made official upon the satisfaction of the President. But that is an independent process.
- Delhi’s official language is Hindi, yet, even they adopted Punjabi and Urdu as officially recognized languages. Similar scenario in Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- In short, there was no constitutional bar against a state government. If they already have Hindi as official language, Constitution doesn’t stop them from declaring other language as second official language.
- Therefore, please stop wasting courts time and UPSC aspirants’ time with all such petitions.
Friends,
thank you for liking my compilation on Polity news.
I have put the second compilation of DEFENSE news for JANUARY to MID-JULY 2014.
Please feel free to use it for the exams.
here is the link to the article:
http://aspirantforum.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/current-events-chronology-defense-compilation-jan-july-2014/
I will be posting more compilations in the coming days.
While filling up form of Bihar PSC , I was elated to find “transgender gender option “.. Long needed overhaul in place by Bihar Govt…Atleast somewhere i got to see some positive change…
It was great to see it…!
Finally, A step towards mainstreaming one of the vulnerable section of our egalitarian society!
A great effort Nick !! :) hats off…!
Thanks:)
P.S.-Sorry for misplaced earliercomment :)
Thank you Puj@
I am joining the crusade to work against the money hungry coaching walas…
Hi Mrunal,
Can you please tell me the syallabus for Paali Language in UPSC and can you please tell me the official website to check the syllabus of UPSC exam.
Bhai kaun se zamane me jee rahe ho ??? pali has been removed by UPSC from the list of optional subject !!!!
Syllabus can be found in Notification .
Another suggested reform :
Increase retirement age of SC/HC judges to 70 years so that no need arises of taking up these jobs (70 ke baad shaayad josh khatam ho jaayega :P ). According to statistics 37/50 judges held post-retirement jobs in 46 govt. appointed positions between 2002-2012
Sir please upload the remaining questions answer of CAPF 2014
Bacche bohat utsuk hai,,, sbki answer ki hai bt CAPF ki nhi
CAPF walo ke sath anyaye ho rha hai
had ho rhi hai
@Bhavana
The same thing I was trying to convey :)
NDA making UPSC, SSC irrelevant? Guys check it out………..Modi Govt. has gone mad……..these people don’t know how to run a govt. well………….check it out
http://freepressjournal.in/nda-making-upsc-ssc-irrelevant/ ……………..
I searched whole dopt and cabsec website, couldnt find anything related to it. Don’t count me as bjp supporter but this story is huge cant go unwatched from eyes of big news traders. The hindu newspaper is self proclaimed debt owner of success of many past successful candidates . if they don’t cover it, its useless to panic over this news.
some headings nd user nam and email tab are not showing properly…
Sir this is extremely URGENT plz help me out…sir I hav seen the result pdf of cgl 2013 tier 1 n I hav nt cleared it bt nw I got the admit card n on site also I m getting the sam admit card for tied 2 to be held on 21-9-2014…i hav contacted the ssc office too bt they R nt replying too….sir plz help me out…need ur help
prepare and give the exam. why so worried ? Even If an issue pops out tomorrow, you will remain harmless.
tax assistant ke liye aaya hoga. ..kauki baad mein 2nd list aayi thi miss..
This one is huge, news for some days perhaps , One lady anchor on Door Darshan read Xi Jingping As “Eleventh Xingping” . Overdose of capitalism to a socialistic body to cure the unpopularity . Now she remains sacked from job.
Epic
Thnks Caligula…bt I m worried if some proxy issue comes out in any case on my name which is comman these days….. sir kaha ho help kroooo
Mrunal Sir, you have posted PIB articles in month of March 2014, and there you mentioned some important speeches from imp personalities, so are those speech material still imp for fodder material for Mains 2014? Please help me !
thanx sir g. . .
nice critical examination by mrunal
Thanks Caligula.. So as of now I should focus more on static part rather than running after newspaper, magazines and current affairs .. Just one more doubt … People say this answer writing part does not come in a month or two .. U need to develop it since beginning…considering that I was spending more time on editorials,, but I guess all these activities are of later stage .. Plz correct if m wrong..thks in advance
If you are preparing for cse 2015, your first goal should be to sail through prelims. I quote mrunal words “All serious candidates will atleast clear prelims, if you don’t clear it you were not even serious”. I hope every single guy benefits from these words. Coming to your query, consider these comments on mrunal website : Person A : “This article made my life, i will be surely Ias or atleast Ips this time” . Person B comment “mrunal you are god, no one can provide information like you” . Person C comment : “I am hugely benefited by your article, i guess i am done with this part of syllabus . (So i should stop reading other non-friendly books)” Person D : “Very helping article” . Person E : “A profound article but i think you(mrunal) should recheck XYZ fact” . The purpose of these 5 person example was to make you apprise about the “Off Track” and “On Track” statements . As you will proceed from person E to person A , the rawness will get increasing and statements will become more Off the Track. Every aspirant start from ‘near serious’ or ‘less serious’ stage and proceed towards a more, UPSC acceptable seriousness stage. The same happens with your answer, if you start at later stage, the chances are more that you will not be aware about which point and presentation will help you score more marks. In my example, there are more chances that mrunal might reply to person E and few chances remains for person A & B while they will think ‘i called him God, still he doesnt reply to us’ (Poor Mr A & B). Revision and writing will always help you in the exam process. It will help you cultivate your mind .
Good analysis friend.What you said is correct,Mrunal also most serious player(once).After reading your comment i remembered the words of “B.G.Tilak”-‘Today’s extremists are tomorrow’s moderators’,ha ha ha realization is an evolution rather revolution.So people can become serious in stages.We can dream of our success but should not be in the dream,need to step in reality.
You just polished my arguments. thanks.
Hi Caligula, i am shamik, preparing for UPSC 2015…If I am not bothering you..Can I contact you on your personal mail id…as I need some help regarding the preparation of UPSC….Sorry for disturbing you.
Start posting your questions. I want to answer any question in public . Please don’t start everything with sorry, bothering , disturbing , this attitude won’t help in long run. Stay awesome always. Upsc is also about showmanship.
mrunal bhai..iam unable to see the headings in the article??? what to do??
bhai will these articles run till dec or stopafter oct second week?
I will try my best to continue this for everymonth.
Hello mrunal…
Can you please tell some sources to prepare topics like international institutions, agriculture, disaster, internal security etc,..the strategy already given by u may be difficult to apply given shortage of time..will b grateful..thnx
Mrunal Sir,
Instead of current affair only…. pls post the articles on mains subject like ethics, culture, IR, defence related etc.
also pls post article on mains answer writing ( elaborate the terms like “discuss”, “elucidate”, “explain”,”critically Appreciate” or “give reasons for and against”).
near half of the comments would in my opinion is enough to sabotage a newbie visitor’s confidence level. Urge the esteemed fellowmens to apply a few ‘mmbtu’ of common sense while posting your absurd ‘deliberately created’ doubt’s
Apoinment of judges or cji as a governor is a welcome move since constitutional post will be held by constitutional expert and tat too Non political person.
Sir…..m confised about the governor of kerala whether he is on no. 4 or no. 8…..??
Mrunal sir,
I have finalised my compilation on Environment news for Jan to mid-July.
I am overwhelmed by a few comments of appreciation that I received.
(I am waiting for the day when I will get a comment from you.)
Nevertheless, here is the link to that page:
https://aspirantforum.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/current-events-chronology-environment/
Respected sir,
Your articles are very useful for me. I am regular follower. Since now I am targeting Dec mains, I want to read your explanation on last years mains papers and study plan. Last year I lacked 6 marks to clear mains. This time I want reshape my strategy.
Plz send me related link. Since morning I am finding it
I am not able to sign up in mrunal forums using my gmail or facebook id , it seems there is some problem in sign up , pls help me out with this.
Sir
it’s very use full article especially Rural student, and your analyses things always good for other’s
easy understanding all medium upsc aspire’s thank of lot your service sir
plz help me i m not able to workout abt ssc cgl 2014 admit card i m nt able to figure it out on their site…..
I guess they are available at regional ssc sites . Say, for northern region : sscnr dot net dot in. All the best.
thanks i guess tier2 2013 admit card been uploaded , i have to wait for admit card teir 1 ssccgl 2014
holding such a sinecure post is like planting in governor’s house garden to fulfill the dream, domesticating the constitutional post and dignity by njac and governor theory(carrot and stick theory) .
anyone who has given mains of civil services,pls guide,how much space is given to answer 250,150 words answers in civil services mains exam ? approximately?
Mrunalji mobile app is not wrkn properly on home page. Tab for various topic appears fr few seconds and then disappears. Plz fix this. It never happed before. It disaapers automatically after few seconds. I can’t see sections under various heads like economy, upsc preapation,anskey that i could before and on net too. From home page. Plz plz plz fix yhis.
Plz see the navigation tab for the app. It disappers automatically after few seconds. Can’t navigate.
there was glitch with the plugin. it has been updated, let me know if the issue continues.
Mrunal sir,
I have been shortlisted for interview of chemist post conducted by upsc in the name of combined geologist and geophysict. I am novice to this kind of interview. I wish to know what type of questions can be expected like mainly subject oriented or general.
pls can any one tell …where can i get pdf of all these matrials.
search (ctrl + f) ‘pdf’ on this page, you will get the option.
nice post