- This article gives some instances where the
Supreme Court has worked extra hard, including burning mid-night oil.
I heard a video of researcher and author
Ratanji Sharda where he thanked the Supreme Court for providing speedy protection
from arrest to a woman lawyer. And all hope that all Indians are provided the
same degree of service.
Who was granted bail and why?
According to an Indian Express report the lady, who
claimed to be part of a fact finding committee that visited Manipur post the
recent violence. She is Mrs Annie Thomas, wife of D Raja a well known Communist
Party of India leader.
The report states, “The FIR was registered at Imphal police station on Saturday night against the members of the fact-finding committee, including CPI leader and National Federation of Indian Women General (NIFW) secretary Annie Raja. The FIR has been registered under sections including those pertaining to conspiracy to commit offences, provocation with intent to cause a riot, defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration, and promoting enmity between different groups.”
I am not getting into the facts of the
case. The FIR was filed on Saturday night i.e. July 8. With courts being closed
on Sunday, she was given protection from arrest on Tuesday, July 11, morning.
Wonder why she did not approach the
Manipur High Court? Points worth noting are two, the respected SC moved
quickly. Two, is SC undermining the authority of the High Court this way?
Three, it was a government appointed fact-finding committee. The NIFW is
associated with the Communist Party of India.
Another interesting case is that of
activist Teesta Setalvad.
On Saturday July 1, 2023 the Gujarat High Court rejected Teesta’s bail application and asked her
to surrender immediately. Hours later, on the same day the HC order was stayed
for a week by the SC and she was granted interim protection. What happened?
According to this Indian Express report, her
matter first went to a two judge vacation bench who differed on granting her
interim protection. Hence, they requested the Chief Justice of India to assign
it to a large bench. So on Saturday, a larger bench was constituted who held a
special hearing at night, past 9.15 pm and pronounced its order.
I must appreciate the hard work put in
by respected judges. This India Today
report gives us three cases where the SC opened its doors post-midnight – all three were appeals against death penalties.
One was in 2015, appeal against hanging
of Yakub Memom convicted in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts case.
“Yakub Memon’s lawyers reached the CJI’s residence at 11 pm triggering rumours of a rare midnight hearing. This was one of the rare few times that the country was about to witness a court hearing to give all possible legal avenues to a convicted terrorist who was behind the deaths over 200 people. The courtroom was abuzz at 4 am and within a few hours the court dismissed Yakub Memon’s last appeal.”
Two, SC heard the appeal of a Nirbhaya
convict at 2.30 am before the hangings.
Third was in 2014, when SC heard an
appeal by the Nithari killers and stopped their hanging.
Some more instances of late night
hearings based on media reports.
Four, was the famous Billa Ranga case in the 1980s when the father
of the current CJI Chandrachud sat late in the night to hear a plea that they
should not be hanged. Source
Five was in 2018 when SC burnt
midnight oil in a plea against the swearing in of BJP leader Yeddyurappa as
Karnataka Chief Minister. To read in detail what happened that night
Six was in 1985 when SC doors were opened past midnight to
hear a bail plea against the arrest of a prominent businessman in a FERA case. Source
In 2006 CJI Sabharwal had mooted the idea of evening courts.
I hope the idea is explored. It shall reduce congestion and perhaps help result
in faster disposal of cases. Source
Errors if any are unitended and without malafide intent. Post seeing live videos of proceedings in SC, I have a better understanding of the challenges faced. So am sharing links of earlier articles that have ideas for the higher judiciary.
1. Ideas to have more Women Judges in Higher Judiciary
2. Issues relating to the Higher Judiciary
3. Efficient judicial system shall enhance ease of doing business
4. Vacation Policy SC needs to shed its colonial past