Fruit of introspection
THE deliberations of the Congress Working Committee on the A.K. Antony Introspection Committee Report have yielded little evaluative or awakening result.

Parbati project is on
DELAYS have been an inevitable feature of all mega-projects but the Parbati hydroelectric one has been having teething troubles for an exceptionally long time.

Wedded to ostentation!
MILLENNIUM has become the most over-used and abused word in the English language.

A LOOK AT CBI'S FUNCTIONING
Connivance, convenience & corruption
by Poonam I. Kaushish
QUESTION: Name India’s premier investigating agency which is the favourite political tool of the powers that be to hit ones opponents with? A clue: which can also double up as a foolproof surety for law-enforcers to become law-breakers.

Model of stability for Africa
by Hari Sharan Chhabra
NAMIBIA, a late entrant in the comity of Independent African nations, has impressed Africa watchers with its political stability. The country, which became free from racist South Africa’s control in March, 1990, has just held the third multi-party elections for the President and 72-member National Assembly.

When the elite subvert the system
by P. Raman
EARLY THIS year, Realpolitik has discussed at length the genesis of the young generation of the arrogant rich. Instances of this new breed’s irresponsible and criminal behaviour were analysed and factors that have contributed to this largely post-1991 phenomenon were highlighted. Some well-meaning readers had then expressed doubts on whether by doing so we were not unnecessarily amplifying a few stray cases and jumping to sweeping conclusions.

The fruits of fraud!
by Gopal Kaith
JANGI and Lippa are two adjoining villages in upper Kinnaur. Both the villages are quite big. The two villages are separated by about a 15-km-long stretch of dense chilgoja woods. But the lovely woods fall mainly in the territory of Jangi. Once upon a time, about a century ago, there was a serious boundary dispute between the two villages. The temptation of reaping a rich chilgoja crop led to an intermittent tug-of-war.

75 Years Ago

December 14, 1924
Lytton’s purpose
IN our leading article we have had something to say about Lord Lytton’s Malda speech. Not the least amazing part of this extraordinary speech is that in which His Excellency asked for the confidence of the public on the ground of his professed partiality for Indian freedom.

Fruit of introspection

THE deliberations of the Congress Working Committee on the A.K. Antony Introspection Committee Report have yielded little evaluative or awakening result. The committee has, however, done a good job by providing a consistent and formal account of the causes of the debacle of the Congress in the last General Election. The 200-page volume gives a clear idea of the state of the party immediately before, or at the time of, the poll. What the 21 members got to see or study before their meetings was a 33-page summary. Some called the miniature document prepared by AICC Secretary Mani Shankar Aiyar "the gist of the recommendations". Others described it as "an executive summary". But a few expected things have come out from the available written information and the media briefings. Glaring organistional weaknesses were noticed by the Antony committee. These included the whole gamut of the preparatory electoral process — from the eleventh-hour clearance of names of candidates to gross indiscipline and internal sabotage. Poor communication between the voters and the leaders had affected the understanding of the basic relevance of the Congress to the current trends of coalition politics and "alliances of convenience", resulting in the formation of unstable governments. The need for the widening of the "ambit of the consultative process" between the state leadership and the central leadership was not being given serious thought. Democratisation was necessary from the grassroot level. There had to be a thorough implementation of the nationally evolved participatory programme — from the Block Congress Committees to the Central Working Committee and this had to be done not in a pyramidal form but at the transparently wide ground level. Then there was the inevitable mention of the winning over of the voters of the Scheduled Tribes, the Scheduled Castes, the backward communities, the OBCs, the Dalits and the minorities. This fact showed the acceptance of the factor of the alienation of the masses. The 19 points mentioned in the Aiyar summation included the need for the establishment of close links with the media, the obtaining of the support of the intelligentsia, social activism and the use of electronic gadgets in opinion-making.

What is new in all these diagnostically garnered items of the Antony examination and prescription? The Congress ceased to be a party of peasants and workers a long time ago. Corruption and opportunism corroded the remnants of its idealised interior. The report is a good document as a report. It will soon start being looked at as a routine study if the synthesised sub-text would not be followed by a thorough reading of the full text. That exercise, or the labour, will be rewarding. One may get clues to some disturbing questions: What effect did the toppling of the Vajpayee government or the tricks played in Haryana have on the electoral fortunes of the Sonia Gandhi-led party? How united are the present decision-making bodies in the support of the party President? Will the invoking of the Panchmarhi Declaration have any meaning in the presence of the ifs and buts added to it to opt opportunistically for coalition politics? Can all new blood be accepted as the right kind of blood? Will the party leadership make a distinction between dissent and dissidence? Is there the possibility of a rebellion in the party? If the answers are vague and ambiguous, will the organisation be freed by stern action by throwing out the parasite and encouraging the responsible worker? And will the party chief herself do sufficient introspection? She may represent some light. But there is too much darkness around that light. Over to the CWC.

Parbati project is on

DELAYS have been an inevitable feature of all mega-projects but the Parbati hydroelectric one has been having teething troubles for an exceptionally long time. It was envisaged way back in 1991 and has reached the stage of foundation stone-laying only now. Even Sunday's ceremony was uncertain almost till the very end. Fortunately, it proved third-time lucky. It was slated to be performed in July this year when the model code of conduct came in the way. Then the Prime Minister announced the cancellation of his visit, perhaps because of some objections raised by environmentalists. One hopes that it will have a smooth sailing from now on. As we have stressed many times before, the economic salvation of a State like Himachal Pradesh lies in tapping its rich hydroelectric potential. These projects can not only wipe out its poverty but also become the engines of industrialisation of North India. However, things have been moving at a snail's pace due to various reasons. It is nothing less than criminal for various States to fight among themselves over the share of water when a large quantity of water is flowing untapped into a neighbouring country. The Parbati basin project, the biggest in Asia, should spur action at many other places. While that is a fervent hope, there are reasons to suspect that there would be many hurdles on the way. One could come in the shape of objections of environmentalists. The controversy over denotification of 10 square kilometres of area of the Great Himalayan National Park has not really been laid to rest by the claim of the state government that the area was never notified in the first place. They are also up in arms that heavy project construction in the ecologically fragile area would wreak havoc. It is necessary that these issues as well as that of rehabilitation are amicably resolved. Moreover, there is a question mark even on the continuing existence of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation because there is a move to merge it with the National Thermal Power Corporation. A mechanism has to be evolved so that the project can be executed smoothly even in the face of such hiccups.

Himachal Pradesh will get 12 per cent of power free, in addition to a 15 per cent share of the generation cost. The free power will earn the state Rs 400 crore annually, the revenue that it badly needs. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee also announced a package of Rs 400 crore for the state while laying the foundation stone. Substantial that it seems, the fact is that Rs 200 crore of it has to be returned to the Centre. That means the package boils down to only Rs 200 crore, which is meagre, given the state's record so far, its needs and the social upliftment that it has managed to bring about in the recent past despite limited resources. It needs to be recalled that the Chief Minister had recently demanded nine times as much. Himachal Pradesh can transform itself into a modern state if it has adequate finances.

Wedded to ostentation!

MILLENNIUM has become the most over-used and abused word in the English language. The use of the expression "millennium marriage" for describing the magnificent wedding show organised by Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav for their daughter Misa in Patna betrays the lack of understanding of the meaning of the word and the country's history of the past one thousand year. The stories of India's boundless wealth are largely responsible for the country's current state of poverty. Most invaders came just to loot and plunder the wealth which an average Indian did not seem to care for. Yet the rajas and maharajas of yore still had enough in their depleted coffers for them to justify leading a life of vulgar ostentation. Some of them spent more money on the "wedding" of their favourite cat or dog than what could have been available, through honest means, to Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav for arranging the "millennium marriage" of his daughter Misa to Sailesh Kumar. It was not even the marriage of the decade, for that honour [if indulging in vulgar display of wealth is indeed an honour] must belong to Ms Jayalalitha. Her friend-today-and-foe-tomorrow, Dr Subramaniam Swamy, claimed that the income tax and vigilance departments had placed the cost of the wedding of her foster son in September, 1995, at Rs 117 crore. The points which were raised when Ms Jayalalitha arranged what was then called the "mother of all marriages" are still valid. It would not do to say that the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu had at least a successful film career, before she entered politics, to explain the source of her fortune. Similar questions were raised when Mr Madhavrao Scindia's daughter was married to Dr Karan Singh's son. They are both from former royal families, and yet they too had no right to mock at the India struggling to make two ends meet, even after 50 years of Independence, by letting money flow like water.

What make the recent "wedding shows" organised by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal an unmitigated tragi-comedy is their public commitment to socialist values. They should ask themselves whether Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan would have approved of the amount of money they spent on the weddings of their children to prove whatever to whomsoever. Even Mr Sharad Pawar had spent a fortune on the wedding of his son in Baramati some years ago. As it is, the above middle class family in India has been forced to turn a private affair like "shaadi" into a public show of pomp and splendour by the ubiquitous market forces, which are the ultimate gainer in an open economy. Instead of preaching the virtue of austerity to the average Indian, by at least seen to be practising it, public figures like Ms Jayalalitha, Mr Madhavrao Scindia, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav through their "shaadi politics" actually encourage him to beg, borrow or steal for living life kingsize. The slogan "uski saree meri saree sey safaid kaisey" helps sell only a particular brand of detergent powder. But the unuttered slogan of "uski shaadi meri shaadi se bari kaise hooyi" sells a message which the honest Indian is not in a position to even dare to dream of. When honest means come in the way of turning dreams into reality the easy and tempting option for the Indian in a hurry would be to join politics, embrace the cause of social justice, and live life beyond even such dreams as were once dismissed as wild. So what if half of India still cannot afford to have what has been promised to it by the Constitution in the chapter on human rights. After all, it is the duty of the State and not the responsibility of individual politicians to fulfil constitutional obligations!

A LOOK AT CBI'S FUNCTIONING
Connivance, convenience & corruption
by Poonam I. Kaushish

QUESTION: Name India’s premier investigating agency which is the favourite political tool of the powers that be to hit ones opponents with? A clue: which can also double up as a foolproof surety for law-enforcers to become law-breakers.

Answer: Of course, the Central Bureau of Investigation.

This query is neither a part of a juvenile quiz contest nor a quiz of a quiz master but a judicial affirmation, or call it indictment, in the sensational case of rape-murder of 23-year-old Priyadarshini Mattoo in 1996. A Delhi Sessions Court has acquitted accused Santosh Kumar Singh despite candidly conceding: “I know he is the man who committed the crime (murder). But the CBI has not only fabricated the DNA report, it has also deliberately withheld evidence. Its investigations are mala fide and motivated. By acting in this manner negatively, intending to help the accused, the CBI has betrayed the confidence reposed in it.”

Striking the death-knell, the court added: “The influence of the accused’s father, Inspector-General of Police J.P. Singh, has been there in the matter and there was deliberate inaction by the police suggesting that the rule of law is not meant for those who enforce law or for their near relatives.” Affixing the political seal was irrepressible Raghuvansh Prasad Yadav of Mr Laloo Yadav’s RJD, who remarked: “The Mattoo case is a big blow to the CBI’s credibility. But why the outrage? Each government runs the CBI according to its own agenda.”

What else is new? This is perhaps the umpteenth time that the CBI has been hauled up. (But not over the coals). That it finds itself in the eye of a storm. (Only a paper storm, here today, gone tomorrow). Remember, a similar indictment was made in the 1996 Jain hawala case wherein the Supreme Court held that “the CBI would not take any instructions from, report, or unfurnish any particulars thereof to any authority personally interested in or likely to be affected by the outcome of the investigations into any accusation. This direction applies even in relation to any authority which exercises administrative control over the CBI by virtue of the office he holds.” But all has come to naught. Even when the politico-criminal nexus was lucidly detailed by the well-known Vohra Committee, set up amidst much fanfare on the coat-tails of the brutal Sushil Sharma tandoor murder case.

Be that as it may, what makes the Mattoo case judgement stand out is the fact that it is the first time that a judge has put in black and white what has been India’s best known secret, wherein the CBI is merely a toothless, diseased paper tiger whose roar is more effective than its maul. The CBI Director, Mr R.K. Raghavan, has himself acknowledged that serious lapses have occurred in the investigation of the Mattoo case.

Arguably, who should be held responsible? The CBI for the dereliction of duty or its political bosses? Both. Unfortunately, the CBI has always been kept out of bounds and treated with kid-gloves. In fact, even Parliament has not put it under its eager microscope, despite frequent ruckus in both Houses on several CBI-related matters. The last time the agency was given a cursory glance was in 1994 by the Standing Committee report of the Home Ministry. How lackadaisical is the government’s attitude can be gauged from the fact that the report continues to gather dust.

Significant is the Chief Vigilance Commissioner’s observation on the CBI with which he has to work in cooperation. He told the Standing Committee. “I have no investigating agency under my direct control. I have to depend upon the CBI or CVOs. This is a lacuna. We are certainly handicapped. While not blaming the CBI. I wish to say that they determine their own priority of cases when we refer them to the CBI for investigation. While there has been no lack of cooperation, there is a question of delay.”

Why has its credibility suffered — and suffered so greatly? The answer lies in the CBI’s genesis. It was set up in 1941, during World War II. But it acquired a legal basis for its present structure following the enactment of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946. This provides for the direct recruitment from the constable to the Deputy Superintendent of Police. Senior officers from the level of Superintendent of Police upwards, however, join the CBI on deputation from the state cadres of the Indian Police Service. They are engrained in the doctrine of “establishment protection”, as envisaged in the Police Act of 1861 which continues to hold good even today.

Witness the sweet irony. The CBI Director asserted in the Prof Venugopala Rao Memorial Lecture in July last. “The expectation is that the policeman would act objectively and honestly within the confines of the law, and the executive will not hinder the process. Even the most naive and inarticulate observer of the Indian scene would say that we in the Indian Police have miles to go before we can reach anywhere near this utopia.” He further added: “The real issue is how far is the police independent from political influences so that socio-economic justice is not a myth but a reality. But for the vigilance and the watchful eye of the judiciary, the Indian Police would not have been half as impartial and accountable as they are.”

Brave words, indeed. But as the Mattoo case highlights, why did not the CBI Director ensure that the agency would resist undue influence from politicians or colleagues under him? Also why did the agency take more than a week to make up its mind whether to file an appeal or not? Is it not a fact that it was the ruckus in the Lok Sabha over the acquittal of the IGP’son that goaded the CBI to act? Even today Mr Raghavan hums and haws over taking action against his officers, who allegedly made a false statement about a key witness not being traceable when, in point of fact, he was found in his village by a mediaperson. Importantly, the lacunae in the Mattoo case would not have been there if only the CBI had acted on the recommendations of the National Police Commission of 1977, headed by a much-respected person Mr Dharma Vira, formerly Governor of West Bengal and Karnataka and Cabinet Secretary. The commission included one of India’s top policemen, Mr K.F. Rustamji.

The commission observed: “It has been noticed that the CBI has a tendency to launch prosecution on the conclusion of investigations, irrespective of the strength of evidence for a reasonable acceptance of conviction in a court. The witness is not associated during the preparation of the scene of offence and merely asked to sign the panchanama. Naturally, they turn hostile in 90 per cent of the cases. The statements of the eye witnesses are recorded at the whims and fancies of the policemen. Thus, a statement is put in the eye-witness’s mouth. There is lack of corroboration among the statements recorded and between facts and circumstantial evidence. Delay in filing complaints is not taken note of and not explained in investigation reports. Police officers conducting investigations would actually be present elsewhere.”

More. The “Pairvi” of cases in trial courts is totally neglected by the agency. The normal tendency is to depute court prosecution counsel on long-term basis, who is the only link between the agency and the court. There is no quality investigation. Nor a system of periodical progress report made to ensure the scrutiny of progress in investigation. Thus, investigation of cases is generally left to the mercy of the court.”

At another level, why has not the Prime Minister, who has bifurcated various ministries to accommodate his allies, not bifurcated the law and order police into two departments as recommended by the commission? Besides, when he talks of transparency why has he retained the CBI under his charge, just as his predecessors did, beginning with Indira Gandhi, who wanted to concentrate all instruments of effective power in her own hands? Why has it not been made an autonomous and indeed, independent agency so that everything becomes really transparent?

Knowing our polity and its hypocritical culture, we will continue to hear some correct noises or see some cosmetic measures adopted. It is absurd to say that the CBI cannot be set right. It can. But it requires clear and firm political will. The foremost corrective (from which others will flow) is to ensure that the appointment of the CBI Director is truly above board and is based on his genuine expertise and competence. It should have nothing to do with political affiliations, which would see him dubbed as the Prime Minister’s hatchet man. The CBI chief should have an honest and impeccable record, which would go a long way in establishing the credibility of the agency down the rank and file. This would ensure an impartial, just and unbiased assessment of all important cases, and bring the much-needed accountability to inspire confidence among the widely disgusted and highly sceptical public.

A question that needs to be urgently answered is: will the CBI be guided by the law of the land only or by the government of the day? The powers that be must desist from playing further havoc with the CBI and converting it into a bureau of convenience, connivance and corruption.

Model of stability for Africa
by Hari Sharan Chhabra

NAMIBIA, a late entrant in the comity of Independent African nations, has impressed Africa watchers with its political stability. The country, which became free from racist South Africa’s control in March, 1990, has just held the third multi-party elections for the President and 72-member National Assembly.

Seventy-year-old President Sam Nujoma, father of the Namibian nation, has completed two five-year terms as President. The constitution of the country does not provide for a third term. However, finding Mr Nujoma irreplaceable, the South African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) leadership — the party that led the liberation struggle and the party that has ruled Namibia since independence — thought it fit to amend the constitution to give him a chance to serve his country for a third term. His third term will end in 2004. Mr Nujoma has told his party leadership in no uncertain terms that at the ripe age of 75, he will not be interested in a further extension.

As was predicted by Namibia watchers, SWAPO and Mr Nujoma swept the polls with a more than two-thirds majority, way ahead of their rivals. Mr Nujoma bagged nearly three times the votes of his nearest challenger, Mr Ben Ulenga, 47, who is the leader of the 10-month-old Congress of Democrats. Mr Ulenga had served as the Namibian High Commissioner in London.

It is remarkable how SWAPO has remained united all these years under the able leadership of Mr Nujoma. With Parliamentary democracy having taken firm roots, Namibia has, in fact, become a model for stability and steadfastness in the African continent. Another remarkable feature of all democratic elections in Namibia (in 1989, 1994 and 1999) has been orderly campaigning and polling. The independent Election Commission has proudly announced that the third elections were free and fair.

As was expected, SWAPO has retained its decade-long hold on political power in Namibia. It has literally swept Ovamboland in the north, the country’s most populated area and a traditional stronghold of SWAPO. And Mr Nujoma has again emerged as the unchallenged and charismatic leader of 1.8 million Namibians.

An important point to note is that as a result of the policy of national reconciliation adopted by Mr Nujoma, there is inter-racial harmony in Namibia, even as a few thousand whites — mainly of South African origin — are still in possession of 75 per cent of the country’s wealth. Whites own the corporate sector, export-import trade and best of land. Some of the white farmers own thousands of acres of land; the situation in Namibia is thus not much different from that in South Africa.

The Namibian economy is in reasonably good shape. Inflation is well under control. Diamonds and uranium, the two major minerals in Namibia, bring the country the much-needed foreign currency.

Copper, zinc, lead and manganese are other minerals that make Namibia prosperous. But it is a pity that Namibia cannot feed itself, and food has to be imported, mainly from South Africa. White farmers dislike the idea of producing food which they do not find lucrative. Instead they find cattle farming and meat and beef canning a more prosperous venture.

With the process of land reforms underway, landless black farmers are getting plots of land on which they love to grow food — corn, millet and sorghum. It will not be long when Namibians become self-sufficient in food. With a long Atlantic coastal belt, fisheries is also a big business in Namibia.

Perhaps the most prosperous region in Namibia is the busy port of Walvis Bay and the offshore islands that were transferred by South Africa to Namibian sovereignty on February 28, 1994, just before a non-racial, democratic and free South Africa was born.

Tourism in Namibia is a big industry. The country has a wide variety of tourist attractions mainly in the form of spectacular scenery and large wild-life reserves. Namibia also hosts an array of floral and faunal oddities. A good majority of tourists come from neighbouring South Africa.

Though supposedly a Marxist, Mr Nujoma has steered a very pragmatic course. His reconstruction programme is based on the retention of the mixed economy and partnership with the private sector, both local and overseas. Foreign direct investment comes in plenty.

Pertinently, Mr Nujoma is an acknowledged and trusted friend of India. His numerous visits to India before Namibian independence and after, testify to this fact. He is a great votary of Indo-Namibian economic and technical cooperation. He once told this writer that he would never forget that India was the first country to give diplomatic recognition to SWAPO before independence.

During his last visit to India this July, Mr Nujoma’s description that the Pakistani intrusion in Kargil was nothing but a “naked aggression” has, for justifiable reasons, come as music to Indian ears. His support to India for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council is well known. — IPA

The fruits of fraud!
by Gopal Kaith

JANGI and Lippa are two adjoining villages in upper Kinnaur. Both the villages are quite big. The two villages are separated by about a 15-km-long stretch of dense chilgoja woods. But the lovely woods fall mainly in the territory of Jangi.

Once upon a time, about a century ago, there was a serious boundary dispute between the two villages. The temptation of reaping a rich chilgoja crop led to an intermittent tug-of-war. Repeated parleys failed. Possible compromises were scuttled by a few unruly elements at the last moment. They lost all hope of any negotiated settlement. Any third-party intervention was pooh-poohed and totally ruled out.

Fed up with countless failures, the Jangians proposed a novel formula. The Jangians are supposed to be extremely shrewd and diplomatic villagers, whereas the Lippans are said to be straightforward, simple and naive. The Lippans agreed to the formula. As per this formula, the Jangians and Lippans gathered in front of the huge hillock. This was, in fact, the disputed thick chilgoja wood. The villagers decided to ask the hillock the question whether it belonged to the Jangians or the Lippans. Both parties believed that the hillock would trumpet the hidden truth. And it was decided to accept the hillock’s verdict as unchallengeable.

A group of panches representing both the villages was constituted. The group put the million-dollar question to the hillock in a chorus. Lo and behold! The voice from the hillock echoed, “Lily, Lily!” Lily meant the Lippans. The Jangians were shocked. They shouted intimidatingly at the hillock. “O, you fool! why are you telling a lie. Correct your verdict or else...!” they yelled and left the hillock to guess the nature of their threat itself. And then after a painful pause, the hillock spoke in a weak and timid voice: “Giangang, Giangang!” This meant the Jangians. The Jangians were jubilant.

The Lippans bowed to the divine W(h)ill! and forsook their claim to the rich chilgoja wood. After sometime the Lippans came to know that their neighbours had stabbed them in the back. The Jangians had played a cunning trick on them. They had groomed an intelligent villager and concealed him in an inaccessible cavern on the hillock well in advance. For a moment the God-fearing villagers had forgotten the interest of his village and decided to play the impartial judge. But the threat of his fellow-villagers forced him to voice the untruth! The Jangians had sworn every villager to secrecy. But somehow the truth was out. Who was the human oracle? A God-fearing person sent to the hillock to lie for the good of his village!

All that the Lippans could do was to curse and warn the Jangians that the fruits of their fraudulent game would always be bad and bitter. It is said that every year the sale of chilgoja fetched good income to the Jangians.

But most of them somehow got addicted to opium-eating. And the dangerous addiction made big holes in their rich pockets!

When the elite subvert the system

by P. Raman

EARLY THIS year, Realpolitik has discussed at length the genesis of the young generation of the arrogant rich. Instances of this new breed’s irresponsible and criminal behaviour were analysed and factors that have contributed to this largely post-1991 phenomenon were highlighted. Some well-meaning readers had then expressed doubts on whether by doing so we were not unnecessarily amplifying a few stray cases and jumping to sweeping conclusions.

Now an additional sessions judge in Delhi has stirred up a hornets’ nest exposing how the rich and powerful conspire to deliberately subvert the system of justice. His 455-page judgement has been a crippling indictment of the CBI, the pioneer investigating and prosecuting agency of the country, and the local police for maliciously fabricating evidence at every stage to save the rich and powerful. Judge G.P. Thareja’s verdict might have been confined to the law reporters’ library as an ordinary judgement but for the bold protests by the jurists, lawyers and enlightened citizens. But they all have ignored the real cause of the malaise-socio-economic factors.

Priyadarshini Mattoo, a 23-year-old law student of Delhi, was found murdered at her residence. The suspect Santosh Kumar Singh is a son of the Pondicherry Inspector-General of Police, J.P. Singh. Since the latter was a top Delhi police officer at the time of the murder, the case was handed over to the CBI. Months before the incident, the victim had registered complaints of constant harassment against the suspect with the police and she had been provided with security. The guard was mysteriously not present at the time of the murder and the suspect had been spotted near her residence on that day. A broken part of Santosh visor was recovered from the spot where the girl was found murdered.

Despite all such evidence, the judge was constrained to acquit the suspect due to “deliberate misrepresentation of facts, suppression of evidence and lying by the CBI and the local police to save the top cop’s erring son.

The judge laments over the mindless collusion by the law- enforcing and prosecuting agencies to pervert justice. “I was in a dilemma till the last moment on whether to convict or not to convict the accused, and in the end jurisprudence prevailed.... Though I know he is person who committed the crime, I acquit him giving the benefit of doubt... The rule of the law does not seem to be applicable to the children of those who enforce it.”

Constraint of space would not allow the narration of the judge’s graphic description as to how the inspector had “lied” about questioning the neighbours, on tracing the servant (the servant has since presented himself before the press to deny he was ever contacted), on the recovery of the accused’s visiting card, on tampering with blood samples, etc. Hearing about the acquittal of the culprit, the aged and lonely father of the victim, now staying away in Jammu, remarked: “What is the guarantee that the same culprit won’t find another victim like my daughter?” This is what worries those who are concerned about the growing trend of judicial subversion by sheer use of power.

Noted lawyer Rajiv Dhavan has suggested appointment of an independent supervisory authority over the CBI. Echoing this view, another eminent lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, said the CBI was the “most corrupt” investigating agency in the country. “We have seen, case after case, that the CBI conduct is mala fide.” Another legal luminary cited the case of a girl on whose face acid had been thrown by a ‘well connected’ accused. Again, there was ‘no evidence’. The legal profession is almost unanimous that there should be a full review of the functioning of the investigating agencies. In the present case, every one sought exemplary punishment to the officers who had conspired to derail justice.

Hushing up cases to protect the rich and influential have become quite common. Forthright judges like Thareja become helpless tools in face of conspiracy of power and money to tamper with evidences and doctor the witness, often under threat to life. In villages, it is the rural thugs and landlords who do it. Right this week, an additional sessions judge in Seoni (MP) sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment the block medical officer, Dr G.R. Jain, for manipulating a post-mortem report and destroying evidence to save a powerful local man.

A Lodh was murdered and his body hung on a tree. The police recorded it as a suicide. But an agitation under an NGO forced the police to reopen the case. Thus the truth came out.

Last month, a high and mighty, an accused in a rape case, was acquitted for want of ‘evidence’. The additional sessions judge of the Karkardooma court in Delhi who heard the case, came down heavily on the investigating officer who had failed to take note of the doctor’s report on the age of the victim which had led to the acquittal. In October last, three accused in a murder case were discharged by the court of additional sessions judge.

In his order, the judge reprimanded the police for the tardy manner of the investigation that had led to the culprits go scot-free. In the sensational Jessica Lal murder case, Mr Justice Anil Dev Singh and Mr Justice R.S. Sodhi of the Delhi High Court decried the manner in which the police were proceeding. A society girl, Jessica, was shot dead at an elite party of the Capital’s bold and beautiful. The provocation was her refusal to serve liquor after the closing time. Drunken youths with high connections — one of them the son of a Chandigarh big shot — had reached the night show after visiting a few five-star haunts.

Show of crude money power has been more stunning in the MBW case involving the Capital’s super rich. Past midnight, while returning after a farmhouse orgy, drunken, youths in a BMW car had ploughed into a group of men. Sheer lure of money made witness after witness turn hostile making the prosecution case further weak. Finally, Rs 60 lakh was offered as compensation to the kith of the victims and injured for a formal settlement of the case. Thus is the might of money.

Similar is the story of all major controversial cases involving big men. Few expect anything will emerge out of Delhi’s Personal Point triple murder case. The victims, including a doctor running the famous slimming clinic frequented by the rich and his attractive woman dietician, were allegedly murdered by a rich contractor in a gruesome manner. The “Tandoor case” involves the murder of a woman companion by a small-time politician with high connections. The woman’s body was later dumped into a burning tandoori oven of a restaurant situated at the centre of the Capital. Hence the name “tandoori” murder case.

At one time, the CBI has been a highly respected institution. During the early years, even the Opposition parties had placed great trust in its integrity. Once political meddling became the watchword, the CBI officers learnt the art of obliging the ruling party without being conspicuous. Letting the cases delay under various pretexts and taking liberty with evidence became the trick of the trade. The CBI was let loose with all ferocity whenever the establishment wanted it. Old cases against Karunanidhi and the Laloo cases show how efficient the CBI could be. It depends on who is the prevailing master.

When it comes to the politico-business cases, the CBI’s record becomes more dismal. The conduct of the hawala case reveals the real might of the politician-business-bureaucrat nexus. At the start, everything seemed going smooth with enough evidence to establish that an array of senior politicians, including L.K. Advani and several Congress leaders, had received huge sums of money from the hawala accused S.K. Jain. The common cause itself was a signal to investigators and one by one every politician was let off the hook.

The reversal of the verdict in the Satish Sharma case after a review by the Supreme Court has been another pointer in the present trend.

Even this is being used by politicians to score points. Watch the way competitive demands are being made on the various politico-legal cases. First, the Congress sought the resignation of L.K. Advani and others for delay in the Ayodhya demolition case. The BJP dubs it as a ‘counter-pressure’ to slow down on Bofors. As a retort, the BJP seeks a review of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot incidents.

In the process, the more crucial socio-economic aspects of this ugly pageant are overlooked. What we experience is a phenomenon, a monstrous manifestation of the power of the neo-rich and the elite. It goes far beyond the question of efficacy of the system of prosecution and conviction. Neither is it an urban phenomenon. The rural neo-rich and the old landlords bend rules and settle scores as crudely as the urban specimen. The “spoilt kids” no more belong to the rich. The one-child norm, coupled with extreme pampering by the guilty conscious working parents make many youths look to shortcuts to riches and glamour.

This writer had intimate association with the late Shrikant Verma,” a poet, journalist and politician. It was unthinkable that the son of Shrikant and Veena Verma would resort to such criminal ways to get rich quick. The lure, apparently, is riches and fame. It is not the honest politician, a devoted social worker or a painstaking artist who figure in the media. Every day, it is the glamour and beauty, profiles of money-makers that you find on the colour pages. This mad rush to become ‘achievers’ is playing havoc with the established system.

75 YEARS AGO

December 14, 1924
Lytton’s purpose

IN our leading article we have had something to say about Lord Lytton’s Malda speech. Not the least amazing part of this extraordinary speech is that in which His Excellency asked for the confidence of the public on the ground of his professed partiality for Indian freedom.

“Why should I of all people,” he said, “wish to crush the political freedom of the people of Bengal, when it is for the express purpose of enabling them to secure political freedom and develop self-governing institutions that I have come to Bengal?”

The question reveals a simplicity of mind which is almost child-like, but its relevancy is not at all patent to us. We have no desire to question and should not for one moment be understood as questioning His Excellency’s “express purpose”, but we do hold that no matter what may be this “express purpose,” a Governor, like anyone else, can only expect to be judged by his actual policy, that His Excellency’s policy as Governor has not been such as to commend itself to the people, and that the mentality he has exhibited in this case and in the very speech in which he puts forward this claim makes it impossible for the public to give him the carte blanche he desires on the ground of his professed purpose.