New Delhi, July 1
An advocate of the Supreme Court Sonia Raj Sood is desperately seeking to undo what she believes is a humiliating and demeaning judgment handed down by the Lahore High Court 80 years ago that Punjabis are habitual liars even in the face of death.
Stunned that the judgment continues to be the law of the land and that even after the trauma of Partition, it has not been overruled by a superior court, Ms Sood made a representation to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam here today urging him to take up the matter with the British government to assuage the susceptibilities of the industrious Punjabis who have made their contribution in all walks of life, including the judiciary.
The memorandum signed by at least 400 Punjabis, including religious leaders, observed that the remark of the then British judges, Scott-Smith and J.J. Martineau (AIR 1925, Lahore 549), during the Colonial Raj was not only unwarranted and derogatory but also not relevant to that case. It was demonstrative of the utter contempt that British Colonialism had for all Indians and Punjabis in particular, who were in the forefront of the freedom struggle as evidenced from the recorded history.
The offending portion of the judgment states: “It is well known that inhabitants of the Punjab will often in dying declaration not only accuse the actual offenders but will also add the names of other enemies.”
Ms Sood, who hails from a traditional Punjabi family of Moga, regretted in the representation to the President that the Lahore High Court order was never appealed against and remains the law of the land till this date.
She informed the President that she had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court praying that the derogatory remarks should be expunged from the law books in India. She has also sought compensation from the Union Government for the Punjabi community as a whole for failing to appeal against this order even after the country gained freedom and became a welfare state thus transiting from a colonial one.
The representation called for taking up this matter diplomatically at the highest level with the British government for a formal apology as a grave insult and injustice had been heaped on the Punjabi community.
The representation has been signed by Mr Kuldip Nayar, Col R.S. “Pickles” Sodhi, Mr Harinder Pal Singh, member, SGPC, Amritsar, several members of the DSGMC and Sarbjit Kaur.
