DailyPost 2797
COURTING THE COURTS!
If you start thinking of executive decisions in recent times, which had no reason to go to court, if taken diligently, and with legal and other substantiation, you can name a large number of them. If you talk of decisions taken contrary to legal opinion provided by the bureaucrats and government entities; experts in their area, you can still make a long list. If you make another list where government tries to test waters after taking a decision, waiting for the decision to be challenged in the court of law, it would also run into large numbers,
If the court overturns the decision, they will have to accept. It sustains well and good. If it is not challenged, then again they are able to ride roughshod. This is a strategy followed by every government, the scale is different.. The delay of the judicial process and the hassle for the other party, are in itself good enough reasons to allow it to happen. Large part of success is achieved at this level itself, given the politically well calibrated moves. These are few of the categories in which they operate, but this is not the end of their playbook. The methodologies are endless. The executive and political class by the narration so far conspicuously court the courts mostly to their advantage.
In their vested interest; the courts, judicial administration and criminal justice system fit perfectly well. Misusing the system seamlessly has become their forte. Presuming if everything were to work picture perfect, in their overall strategy of things, they have learned to manipulate the system, however fair and efficient that one component might be. They are into multi pronged attack and defence simultaneously. Their rules and processes are innovatively put on their head only. Tareekh pe tareekh can be one manifestation of it. The quality of affidavits submitted to the courts by legal luminaries of the government, bottom to top, reveal a story, very different from cooperating in the collaboration of justice.
Everything is done with a purpose. See the various cases which emanate during government formation, trust vote et al., whatever be the judicial proceedings and even judgement, they succeed finally. The Maharashtra government is a shining example of it. A Constitution bench was constituted to take stock of nefarious work being done; not under the carpet, but out there in the open. We have found in very critical cases that the final judicial decision itself turns out to be operationally infructuous. What about the ostensibly false affidavit filed by SBI in the electoral bonds case. Rest in history. If it were to be believed? Nearly all public servants get away with the law. And the final nail in the coffin is, after years of trial, evaluation of evidence and the law and when a law or government decision is shown the door, it comes back through an ordinance and later enactment. Do we need a totally different judicial regimen to outbeat the ones who are successfully courting the courts.
THE LAW WILL TAKE ITS OWN COURSE, IS AN EPITHET TO MISGUIDE IT.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.