The Election Commission is yet to respond to the Patna High Court's order. No doubt, there are some problems in implementing the directive. First, while the Representation of People Act does not disqualify an undertrial from contesting an election, it only bars him from exercising his franchise. Moreover, an undertrial is said to be innocent until he is proved otherwise. Secondly, doubts have arisen on the justifiability of retrospective application of law since the election process has already started. In Bihar, for instance, of the 40 Lok Sabha seats, elections for 28 seats were over on April 20 and 26. Thirdly, the commission has to tackle the problem from a national angle without confining itself to Bihar.

Despite the celebratory mood, it would be fallacious to presume that integration, especially one such as this, would be a painless pursuit of common policies. The partnership is not only for economic progress but also underpinned by the EU's avowed commitment to a common defence and foreign policy. While the new states have a long way to go to catch up with the EU standards of per capita income, they are already harnessed to US-led military engagements. The gung-ho support of some eastern European countries to the US invasion of Iraq is a sore point with the pillars of the Old Europe such as France and Germany. The New Europe as an adjunct of the US and pitted against Old Europe can but sharpen trans-Atlantic divide.

Those who have to interact with courts regularly insist that the problem is not limited to Gujarat, but is rather all-India in nature. The lower judiciary has become the byword for sloth and corruption. Since the common man comes in contact mostly with these courts, his faith in even this critical pillar of democracy stands shaken. It can be restored only if the High Courts keep an eagle eye on the functioning of the courts under their charge.

A puppet government has been installed by King Gyanendra, who with the support of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) is in supreme command. The economy is a shambles. Rebel Maoists run a parallel administration and control more territory than the state. They frequently call the country to a halt through bandhs. Are these not the symptoms of a failing state ?

Article 127 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990, contains “Power to Remove Difficulties”: “If any difficulty arises in bringing this constitution into force, His Majesty may issue necessary orders to remove these difficulties. The orders so issued shall be placed in Parliament.” People believe that the King, instead of removing difficulties, has introduced fresh ones and what is more: there is no Parliament to review his actions because “the King can do no wrong”.

In a bid to revive a monarchy discredited by the palace massacre of 2001, the King has appropriated all power. It is widely believed that monarchy choreographed the demise of democracy and the rise of Maoists. Sadly, Nepal’s political leadership displayed immense pettiness and paucity of talent when the country was being squeezed by the Maoists. The King, first the late King Birendra and later Gyanendra, did nothing to unify the country: instead, allowed the Maoists a free run by not permitting the use of the RNA till it was attacked by them in November 2001. The present status quo suits the monarchy as it gives the King time to rebuild royal institutions. That is precisely what King Gyanendra has been doing these last few months, touring his country, showing off the monarchy as the only surviving institution.

Lately, he has felt the heat of the agitating political parties and international forces to announce last month that an election would be held by April 2005. Clearly disregarding the constitution, the RNA swears allegiance to the King and not the people and the elected government as decreed. One of the key demands of the Maoists is to sever this nexus and place the RNA under civilian control.

The Maoists are the second power-centre in Nepal. They want Nepal to be a totalitarian republican state and intend to come to power by using the bullet, not the ballot. They possess an effective army which only recently showed after a lapse of 18 months that it could overrun a government-controlled district though at a considerably greater cost than before. They have engaged four different governments in peace talks, including the one with a comprehensive seven-month-long ceasefire, but negotiations were fruitless. It seems that while they agreed to shelve the issue of monarchy, the government did not reciprocate on their demand for a constituent assembly. They have said that fresh elections can only be held after the underlying causes of the revolution are addressed first.

The democratic forces have been completely marginalised and made irrelevant after the nomination by the King of a government under Article 127 from the Royalist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party. The five-party alliance has been agitating for the restoration of democracy mainly though the revival of Parliament, which they say was illegally dismissed by the ruler. King Gyanendra has managed to divide the democratic alliance and rule, but his game has now been seen through. The street power of the democratic forces coupled with the students’ unions has spread to the rural areas and begun to worry the King. Hence, his call for elections. But there is serious doubt whether an election is feasible. Hence the rumour that the King might reinstate the Sher Bahadur Deuba government with retrospective effect from October 3, 2002.

The fourth element in the power game is the RNA. It has enhanced its operational capacity - manpower, firepower and mobility - significantly . Bulk of this upgradation has been done by the ongoing Indian military assistance worth Rs 300 crore. The security forces — Army 80,000, armed police 15000, civil police 45,000 — are under the unified command of the RNA, which is under the illusion that it can bring the Maoists down to their knees. For the last four months it has been tied down providing security for the Royal tour out of which the Maoists made political capital. A military resolution of the conflict is impossible.

The people of Nepal are trapped in the crossfire. Neither side respects human rights. In the eight years of this war, nearly 12000 to 14000 persons have been killed, at least 50 per cent civilians. Maoists have admitted losing 4,500 cadres while the casualty figure for security forces is 3,500, though the officially given is much lower.

There are new outside post-9/11 players in Nepal, occupying the space vacated by India. The US sees the Maoists not just as terrorists but, more ominously, as communists also. The US recently reversed its preference for stability over democracy. Ms Christina Rocca last week called for a more representative government in Nepal. Britain has traditionally favoured monarchy. The European Union, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and the UN have offered to play the role of facilitators. But Nepal has rejected external mediation. India has consistently maintained that stability in Nepal rests on the twin pillars of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy. The international community led by India must set time-specific benchmarks for the King, who has to take the initiative to restore democracy.

The way ahead is through anyone of the three routes: revival of the Deuba government; appointment of a more representative new government (but not under Article 127); and fresh elections. If a government does not materialise through the existing constitutional process, a fresh election is the only answer. An election is feasible and can be held anytime after November 2004 in three phases and in two months. The RNA has reportedly confirmed to its supreme commander, His Majesty the King , that they would be able to conduct an election by the end of the year. It is worth recalling that the Deuba government was dismissed in October 2002 for its failure to organise an election when the latter sought more time to do so.

Last Sunday, I was loafing on the Mall flexing my tired back and stiff knees. The hawk-eyed Shahzaada (his nickname) sighted me from a distance, and decided not to avoid me this time .

He smiled disarmingly and asked anxiously: “How’s your stomach, sir?”

“Not too bad , Luthra .”

“How’s your knee, sir?”

“It is alright, boy.”

“Oh, that’s very good sir, very good!”

I quickly realised that Shahzaada was trying to keep the conversation focused firmly on my health. Just to pre-empt me from reminding him of an unpleasant task like finding a job.

“Sir, I shall meet you in five minutes. I have to make an urgent phone call.”

“Regarding an interview or something? “ I ventured.

This time he dropped a wall of bricks around me. “Well sir, actually, I just have to communicate my acceptance,” he smiled briefly and walked away.

Minutes later, when Shahzaada returned there was a light tune on his lips and a proverbial spring in his step. “Thank God, sir, it’s all settled now.” I congratulated him warmly, lectured how perseverance always paid, and took him to a dhaba nearby.

“The thing is, sir, my friend Deepak has come here on a holiday from the States. He thinks, I should start working now. Even you have been persuading me to do so. After all, what is the harm in working, sir.”

“No harm, at all!”

“So sir, Deepak wants me to be his agent in Shimla. I shall collect garments here and export to his company in the States.”

“But how will you manage all this?”

Luthra flashed a broad, knowing smile. “That’s a good question, sir. I need a spacious office with computers, fax, etc and, of course, efficient staff. In fact, I want to recruit straightaway. Sir, you must help me in this. Please send me some hardworking boys and girls. Oh, I’ll pay them well. The initial capital, just a few lakhs, can be raised easily.”

“Where? On this Mall itself?”

“Oh, come on sir! You know I have a big circle of friends. I want to start working on this project right away. I should also spot some talented youngsters, immediately.” He rose, allowing me to take care of the bill.

Mr Justice Babu is not bothered about his short tenure and looks at it only as an eventuality in his 39-year-long career as a jurist, which includes 16 years as a Judge of the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Known for his strict discipline and toughness in the court room and sharpness of judicial verdicts, Mr Justice Babu, the 34th CJI, will be in office exactly for 31 days. He believes that the performance of a judge is expected to be viewed with his sensitivity to social problems.

He has fully lived up to his belief as it is evident from his various judgements on sensitive issues during his six-year tenure as a Judge of the highest court of the country. But a judge has limitations as he cannot go beyond the parameters of law, he says.

Born on June 1, 1939, in Karnataka, he started his career as an advocate in Bangalore in 1965 and was appointed a Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 1988. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in September 1997 and is slated to retire on June 1 when the court will be having two-month-long summer vacation beginning on May 8.

He has a grip over a variety of legal subjects, be it the Constitution or criminal or civil laws, and has shown his activist approach in matters relating to the environment, degradation of which poses a big challenge to humanity. Taxation is considered the field of his expertise as before being appointed a Karnataka High Court Judge, he had been a standing counsel of the Income Tax Department for several years.

Mr Justice Babu says that the law is only an instrument to provide justice, which cannot be made available to the common man unless the judiciary understands the dynamics of society and the problems faced by it. He has full faith in the system, which he believes would continue to evolve itself to correct the maladies, but avoids to talk about “corruption” in it.

He says that despite several flaws in the justice delivery system in India, it is by and large alive to the needs of society. That is why people consider courts as temples of justice.

During his tenure as an apex court Judge, he was a member of various Benches, which had dealt with important matters like the Ayodhya dispute, disinvestment issues, corruption cases against high-profile politicians, validity of POTA and matters related to the fundamental rights of people.

Among the very important verdicts pronounced by him were setting aside of the NDA Government decision on the disinvestment of public sector oil companies — HPCL and BPCL — exoneration of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the Tansi land scam case in the absence of evidence with severe strictures, which legal experts had described as nothing less than her “moral conviction”.

His verdict in the HPCL and BPCL disinvestment case was described by legal experts as upholding of the constitutional superiority over the policy decisions of the government of the day. The government had tried to bypass Parliament to implement its decision to sell the shares of HPCL and BPCL to private parties even when the two PSUs were created through an Act passed by the legislature. But a Bench headed by him ruled that the government could not ignore Parliament, which is supreme in a democratic set-up like ours.

Similarly, in the Jayalalithaa case, he said though the prosecution failed to produce concrete evidence against her, the Chief Minister’s “conduct” was not above board. Mr Justice Babu had reminded that the politicians, in whom people reposed their faith in every election, were expected to live up to their promises and work within the “code of conduct”, which was not meant to be preserved as an “ornamental relic”.

Another important verdict delivered by him was on correct interpretation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which was “misused” by several state governments to oppress the opposition. Though the judgement had upheld the constitutional validity of the anti-terrorist law, it had laid down clear guidelines for the trial courts and how the law should be strictly applied only against the persons posing threat to the security, unity and integrity of the nation.

A secret about Mr Justice Babu, which only his close friends and brother judges know, is that he has a great interest in Hindu mythology and has good command over Sanskrit.

Since he would be relinquishing his office after a month, he has spelt out his future plans clearly. A keen lover of children, he plans to have regular interaction with school students and teach them about the great Hindu epics and the ethical values they spread.