Sloppy it always has been!

The much-awaited judgement on 2G scam is delivered, acquitting all the accused, including A. Raja, the then telecom minister, and Kanimozhi, the daughter of M. Karunanidhi and a member of RS and another 15. In the words of the Special CBI Court Judge OP Saini, “There is no material on record to indicate that the Prime Minister was misled and that the DoT officers themselves are responsible for the entire mess.”

Raja has already served a prison term of 15 months in Tihar jail and Kanimozhi, 193 days. Today was a day of reckoning for the two and the former minister’s private secretary, the union telecom secretary and a few businessmen, including top executives from Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADAG, Ruia’s Essar group and Loop telecom, as all of them walked out free instead of herded back to prison.

The former CAG Vinod Rai had indicated a loss of Rs.1.76 lacs to the national exchequer from the improper allotment of 2G Spectrum, which stirred a political storm, leading to the resignation of Raja. Later the possible losses were scaled down to Rs. 30,000 crores. 122- 2G spectrum allotment licenses were cancelled as secret conversations between lobbyists like Niiraa Radia, officials and industrialists were leaked to the media. Niira worked as a conduit between business houses and the telecom minister.

BJP picked this as an important poll plank to attack the UPA during the last Lok Sabha polls and every election that followed, the nation led into believing that a serious crime has been committed. The judge, while acquitting all the accused remarked that he waited for seven years for the prime investigating agency to produce some credible evidence, in which it failed miserably.

Political grapevine was louder than ever, when PM Modi made a surprise visit on the nonagenarian patriarch of the DMK family, Karunanidhi, whose party was an arch rival of BJP and a partner to the Congress party. BJP has no chance of entering the southern state of Tamil Nadu, unless it takes the help of either one of the Dravida parties, the AIADMK or DMK. AIADMK, with which BJP has an unwritten alliance, suffers from many fissures and is considerably weaker after the sudden demise of its charismatic leader Jayalalithaa. Therefore, Modi might attempt break the alliance between DMK and Congress, attempting to wedge BJP in and allying with DMK. What will happen to the pending 2G scam cases against the DMK leaders, was the question on most minds.

This being one angle, why did the CBI have to keep a former minister and an MP for long periods in jail, if there was no clinching evidence at all? If such things can happen to law makers, where to ordinary mortals stand in this country?

Though it is hasty at this point to state, if BJP exploited a scam that may never have been, as per the court, UPA may be justified to retaliate in and outside the parliament and take its share of blood, at least over 2G scam. In the meanwhile, the spokesperson of CBI has announced that it will appeal against the exoneration of the accused, though it sounds unconvincing and hollow.

The case smacks of an overreach by CBI, a sloppy prosecution, immature and lackadaisical approach in collection of evidence, an inordinate delay and of course, usual exasperation of common people. The much touted ‘Swatchh’ seems dented, at least for now.

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide voix

No your Lordship III

The Judiciary does it again. The Delhi High court, while hearing an appeal from a harassed parent couple who wished to evict their son and daughter-in-law from their house decides that an adult son lives at their parent’s home only at their mercy.

The High court upheld the decision of the lower court, while ruling that a person can stay at their parents’ house only at the mercy of the latter. This conditional on the fact that the property not being an inherited one and is a self-acquired by the parents. The son can live only at the mercy of the parents up to the time the parents allow it.

It cannot be always denied that the son’s attitude changes after marriage, when he has to share his life with his wife. This finds difficult to digest by an adoring mother, who starts finding fault with the daughter-in –law, the differences often reaching to breaking point. Who could be really at fault could be a tough question to decide legally, as several psychological factors may influence the situation.

The second factor is the character of the father himself. What if he is of a loose moral character and wishes to send his son and daughter-in-law away to move in with another live-in partner, or even a second wife, which is altogether not strange? What if the daughter, influenced by a crooked son-in-law engineers the eviction of the son to gobble the property of her parents?

Lastly, the joint family system is a time-tested system, being given a go-by these days, particularly in the urban centers, leading to disconnect from the roots and culture. This will also lead to lesser emotional bonding and consequential fragile family relationships as we see in the west. Are we ready to embrace the western culture, with respect to our children or parents, just because the judiciary decides so?

Can the son, who has to struggle through his life, particularly while fighting to get a job of whatever kind, becoming a load on the parents is evicted? In Hindu families the son performs as long as he lives the monthly and yearly rituals for his deceased parents, by way of Tarpan and Shradh. Can the judiciary also snap these?

On the other side, vulnerability of the old parents, who are bundled out to far off old age homes, when they require not a shelter, but a bit of love need to be controlled by the judiciary, which they have begun recently.

The case in Delhi court has generalized the scenario and failed to take into factors, which transcend judicial points alone and should be reviewed, recalled to make it more comprehensive. Can the court merely order either of the spouses to fulfill the carnal desires of the partner? There is something called heart and emotion, which judiciary alone cannot decide! Would the applicable to daughters too or is gender specific? I must hasten to add that I have not undermined the plight of the hapless parents in the said case, but merely looked at the flip side of such orders.

There is shortage of effective judicial minds in the country!

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide voix