Any effort to weaken progress has to be nipped in bud: Supreme Court judge

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, April 26

Justice Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court on Friday said there seemed to be a concerted effort to discredit and weaken India’s progress on every possible frontier and any such effort “has to be nipped in the bud”.

Justice Datta, who was part of the SC Bench that dismissed PILs filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and others, noted that in recent years, a trend was fast developing where certain vested interest groups were endeavouring to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation, earned through the hard work and dedication of its sincere workforce.

“There seems to be a concerted effort to discredit, diminish and weaken the progress of this great nation on every possible frontier. Any such effort, or rather attempt, has to be nipped in the bud. No constitutional court, far less this court, will allow such an attempt to succeed as long as it (the court) has a say in the matter,” said Justice Datta.

“I have serious doubts as regards the bona fides of the petitioning association when it seeks a reversion to the old order. Irrespective of the fact that in the past efforts of the petitioning association in bringing about electoral reforms have borne fruit, the suggestion put forth appeared inexplicable,” he wrote.

“I have no hesitation to accept the submission of senior counsel for the EC that reverting to the ‘paper ballot system’ of the bygone era, as suggested, reveals that the real intention of the association is to discredit the system of voting through the EVMs,” Justice Datta said.

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