The author has written:
There is at least one Supreme Court judgement  clearly stipulating that the only valid DOB record of a person is his / her school certificate at the stage of passing out from school (the old “matriculation certificate”).

But the author, claiming to be a Supreme Court Advocate, has not given any details of the decision – citations as they are legally termed. There have many cases involving the date of birth of Government officials at various levels.
To start with the rules relating to age dispute and a few decisions are clear.

But it would be wrong to say that the Supreme Court has ruled that  the only valid DOB record of a person is his / her school certificate at the stage of passing out from school (the old “matriculation certificate”).  Presuming that there is such a decision, I would have to go through the Supreme Court decision and the context in which the Court made the observations.

I do not know the full facts of V K Singh’s case. Therefore, at this stage, I would not like to make any comments.

The matter is coming up before the Supreme Court this week itself and all the relevant facts would be placed before the Court by the General and by the Government of India. Then I will write again.
But at the present, I can only say that the Supreme Court does not normally directly entertain such disputes. The High Court and other courts are there to start with.

I am giving the Generals profile collected from the internet.

General V K Singh’s profile

V K Singh | Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/V-K-Singh/112951392052154 – Cached

V K Singh | Facebook. … From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. General Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 10 May 1950) is the 26th General of …

http://www.facebook.com/pages/V-K-Singh/112951392052154

V K Singh

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

General Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC is the 26th General of the Indian Army and currently the Chief of Army Staff.

Early life and education

Vijay Kumar Singh comes from Bapora village in Bhiwani district of Haryana state. Singh is a third-generation officer. His father was a Colonel in the Indian Army and grandfather a senior Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). Singh was educted at Birla Public School, Pilani, Rajasthan.

Military career

Singh was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of The Rajput Regiment (Kali Chindi) on 14 June 1970. He went on to command the same unit when it was positioned along the Line of Control with Pakistan.

He graduated from the Defence Services Staff College as a honours graduate of the United States Army Infantry School, a graduate of the Rangers Course at Fort Benning and the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In the US for the Rangers course, he came first in combat operations.

Note : The date of birth given here is 10 May 1950

The following is the full text of the e-mail

WITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROM ABHIJIT BHATTACHARYYA ADVOCATE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA. THISHAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM A FRIEND OF MINE. MAY LIKE TO SEE AND KNOW THE TRUTH. SATYAMEVE JAYATE

By Jay Bhattacharjee
18 January 2012

THE PRESENT GOI PURSUES ITS CRIMINAL AGENDA OF

DESTROYING THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES

LET US WISH GEN. V.K. SINGH ALL THE BEST IN HIS STRUGGLE

TO COMBAT THIS VENAL ORGANISATION (THE PRESENT GOVT. OF INDIA)

______________________________________________________________________

I suppose the entire affair had to come to this stage. The soldiers’ soldier, V.K. Singh, has been compelled to knock at the doors of the apex court, to defend his honour and integrity and to combat the slurs cast on him  by a vicious gang of babus and netas.

At this stage, it is vital to analyse the issues that are involved in this sordid conspiracy.

Let us look at the undisputed facts :

(1) The COAS, Gen. V.K. Singh (VKS) has at least 11 documents to demonstrate unequivocally that his date of birth  (DOB) is 10th May 1951, not 10th May 1950

(2) The AG’s Branch in the Indian Army is the accepted and unquestioned authority for all documents, records etc. pertaining  to Army personnel. The records of the AG cannot be queried. It is not disputed that the AG’s files show the DOB of VKS as 10th May 1951.

(3) The only document that shows 1950 as the DOB of VKS is that in the Military Secretary’s Office. Now, the MS only determines promotions etc. – in the case of VKS, the DOB data in the MS office is based on the NDA application form that was filled up by the schoolmaster of VKS when he was applying for his NDA admission test.

How many of us at the age of 14 to 15 in the early 1960s to mid 1960s relied on our seniors (whether in the family or in our schools) to help us in completing the admission forms for NDA / university / IIT etc. ? Almost all of us, I can guarantee.

(4) The COAS duly submitted his birth certificate and school certificate to the NDA authorities, showing his 1951 DOB. His entire career in the Army was based on his 1951 DOB until 2006 (see later), when his elevation to Lt. Gen. was under consideration (see later).

He valiantly fought for the country and loyally served the country without ever knowing that there was this anomaly in his DOB records.

(5) Only in 2006, did the anomaly in the records surface. VKS promptly asked for the two conflicting DOBs to be reconciled on the basis of the correct facts (recorded in the AG’s files).

Let it be said categorically that VKS is not asking for / has not asked for his DOB to be changed, as is being made out by some of the muck – raking media. He is only asking for the correct DOB (as per law) to be recorded. There is at least one Supreme Court judgement  clearly stipulating that the only valid DOB record of a person is his / her school certificate at the stage of passing out from school (the old “matriculation certificate”).

This is when the fun and games started. The babus got into the act and the charade commenced, only to reach the stage of the Chief’s Supreme Court petition yesterday.

The denouement is, of course, yet to come, but, in the process, the country and its armed forces have been thrown into this cauldron by the calculated acts of commission and omission by a coterie of dishonest, anti-national and unpatriotic people in Raisina Hill.

Who are the principal actors in this potential Greek tragedy ?

(A) The two former Chiefs of Army Staff JJ Singh and Deepak Kapoor occupy centre stage in this Machiavellian plot. Both of them have highly questionable career records and have served their own interests rather than those of the country and the Army.

Singh was rewarded with a Governorship because of his pliancy when he was Chief. In the case of Kapoor, the disclosure of his venal involvement in the Adarsh affair surely put paid to his post-retirement ambitions but he had already damaged the Army considerably before his Adarsh peccadilloes. JJ Singh, notoriously, was photographed crying in public after his appointment to the COAS was announced. Hardly a Chief who inspired confidence in his officers and men.

These are the two “stalwarts” who bullied, blackmailed and cajoled VKS not to contest his DOB when VKS was being considered for elevation to the post of Army Commander.

Then there is the Attorney General Vahanvati, a squalid little lawyer, who had a murky track record of representing crooks and criminals in the 2G affair and in other matters. This fellow had the audacity to override the written opinions of 4 former CJI’s on the basic validity of the DOB of VKS. And, there is,of course, the wretched Khurshid fellow – the chap can only act as his nature dictates.

The 4 former Chief Justices of India have all said that the DOB of VKS, in the eyes of the law and based on the facts of the case, is 10th May 1951.

However, Vahanvati mian, throws out all law and jurisprudence and gives a notoriously outlandish opinion that the DOB of VKS must stay as 10th May 1950, because, otherwise, the “line of succession” already decided for the next COAS would be affected.

This perverted view is, of course, promptly accepted by Anthony lungiwallah, Salman Khurshid (the low-life Minority-quota wallah), Chiddu Spectrumambaram, and the other assorted deviants in the current GOI’s centre of power. The ever-complicit PM is equally involved, though, later on, the slippery eel will claim he didn’t know what was going on.

Now, what is this gibberish “line of succession” that Mian Vahanvati is talking about ? The Indian Army is not a tinpot monarchy that has these orders of precedence laid out for the top position. Any Army Commander or equivalent, is eligible for appointment as COAS. Certainly, the senior-most, among them,  has been the usual choice, but this seniority is on the basis of a valid DOB scenario for everybody.

Vahanvati cannot say (and must not be allowed to say) that a wrong record of DOB of a current chief must determine the “line of succession”. And that, too, a “Line of Succession”  that was allegedly prescribed in 2006 and in 2008 by two unworthy Army Chiefs ?

This bizarre nonsense must be strongly challenged and refuted.

Now, I am constrained to mention the unmentionable. The logical conclusion of Vahanvati Mian’s and Khurshid’s contortions is that VKS will be succeeded as COAS by Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh, presently heading the  Eastern Command in Kolkata.  Now, why is this development ominous ?

Bikram Singh, indisputably, has a Pakistani daughter-in-law. Why is that a red flag ? Either the PMO, MOD, and the babus – netas in Raisina Hill are dreaming in colour or they are subscribers to the flat-earth theory. Surely, the India – Pakistan interface is not like the U.S. -  Canada scenario. This is not to cast aspersions on the poor lady in question, but to realise that we all live in a real world environment where we cannot take risks with the nation’s security at the highest level. This is not a stage or a platform where we can adopt a posture best described as utopian. Some would say “ostrich like”.

In the past, this country’s leaders like Nehru have taken great risks with our security by adopting this blinkered, naive approach. In the late 1950s and the early 60s, we had a very senior Foreign Service mandarin whose own brother was in the Pakistani foreign service in an equally senior position. For some time, the two brothers were Chiefs of Protocol in India and Pakistan. No one is saying that the IFS mandarin was unpatriotic, but there were grave risks involved – the situation was a recipe for disaster because of the possibility of totally involuntary mistakes. 

A similar risk scenario in the late 1950s was when Humayun Kabir (for some time, a Minister in the Union Cabinet) had a first cousin  who the chief of police in East Pakistan.

In the present context, we have to be even more cautious. Therefore, alarm bells must ring when people like Vahanvati and Khursheed, aided and abetted by Antony lungiwallah, Chiddu Chidambaram and MMS, are batting for a person who has an Achilles Heel, admittedly not of his own making.

This is a slightly long piece but I strongly feel that is my duty to pen my thoughts.

Let us hope the Supreme Court gives justice to the brave General.

In the meantime, I can only wish him courage and fortitude,  and offer him my unflinching support. My fellow citizens will do the same, I know.

Jai Hind.

Jay Bhattacharjee

PERICLES : FUNERAL ORATION (431 BC)

“The greatness of Athens has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it, who, in the hour of conflict, had the fear of dishonour always present in them, who, if ever they failed in an enterprise, would not allow their virtues to be lost to their country, but freely gave their lives to her as the fairest offering which they could present at her feet”.

P.S. These noble thoughts, I know, will be totally alien to the despicable bunch of reprobates in Raisina Hill.

                                                                                                                   Binoy Gupta

Vanishing Vultures 

Perhaps you have noticed that at present there are considerably less vultures in our skies than there were a few years back.

In the early eighties, there were about 40 million vultures in India. The Oriental white-backed vulture was so abundant in India, that it was probably the most common large bird of prey in the world.
The vulture population has declined…….. by more than 97%……. in the last few years and their numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate.

Vultures endangered

Of the nine species of vultures found in India, three species – the white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed vultures have been categorised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as critically endangered.
These three species are also listed in Schedule I species in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, along with the tiger and one-horned rhino.

A survey by the Bombay Natural History Society in 2007 estimated that there were about:

• 1000 slender-billed vultures,
• 11,000 white-backed vultures, and
• 44,000 long-billed vultures in the country.

Reasons for the decline

 The main reasons for the decline in vulture population in the entire South and Southeast Asia are:

• Rapid urbanization which has caused habitat destruction – felling of the high-rise trees, where the vultures nest;
• Aeroplanes and other moving objects in the sky;
• Electric power lines;
• Rampant use of pesticides like DDT, and to a great extent diclofenac.

Diclofenac

Many experts believe that the drug diclofenac is the main culprit for the decline of vultures in India.
India introduced the diclofenac in 1993. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been campaigning against diclofenac since 2003 because diclofenac, which is used to treat cattle, is toxic to any vulture that feeds on the carcass of recently treated cattle.

In 2006, the Government of India banned the manufacture and import of diclofenac – but only for veterinary purposes. Nepal and Pakistan followed the ban.

In 2008, the Government of India placed more stringent restrictions on diclofenac for animal use, making contravention punishable with imprisonment.

But diclofenac, which continues to be legally used and sold for humans, is available across the counter in most medicine shops, and is illegally used for animals.

Dr. Vibhu Prakash, the principal scientist for the vulture conservation breeding programme at BNHS, Mumbai found that, over 75% of vultures which were discovered dead or died of visceral gout had diclofenac in their tissues.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/vultures/ 

The Indian Veterinary Research Institute also conducted tests and detected heavy content of diclofenac, in samples of dead vultures.  

Diet of the vultures

Vultures usually feed on carcasses of livestock and wildlife.
They do not hunt living animals, though sometimes, they attack and  kill wounded or sick animals.

A mature vulture eats almost half a kg meat everyday. Vultures detect dead animals faster than any other animal, and follow migrating predators and other large animals feeding on the dead and help in keeping the environment clean.

Captive Breeding

The BNHS advocated the captive breeding of vultures as the only viable option to save the creatures

“By bringing some vultures in captivity, the life of these vultures is saved and once they start breeding, they would augment their population. The vultures will be released back in the wild once we are sure that there is no diclofenac available in system,”

The Govt. of India permitted BNHS to run three vulture conservation breeding centres at Pinjore of Haryana, Rajabhatkhawa of West Bengal and Rani of Assam. BNHS is supported by a number of international organizations like the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK), Zoological Society of London , Peregrine Fund (US), and the newly-formed consortium Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE).
(There are conservation breeding centres linked to the SAVE programme also in Nepal and Pakistan.)

The three conservation breeding centres in India have 271 vultures. And they have successfully bred of all the three endangered species. 

2011 has been the most successful year for the Indian captive breeding centres.
The number of fledged chicks is almost double than last year’s. 
Eighteen vulture chicks were successfully reared, 15 at the Pinjore centre in Haryana, and the remaining three at Rajabhat Khawa in West Bengal.

Four fledged birds were a direct result of ‘double clutches’: some pairs produced a second egg after the first was removed, hatched in incubators and reared by BNHS staff.

Some experts are against captive breeding of vultures. But the three breeding centres are making very good progress.

An exclusive sanctuary for the Vultures

The Tamil Nadu Government is now examining a proposal  to set up a home for vultures in the Sigur Plateau in the Nilgiris. This would be the first of its kind in the country. 

Why should we be concerned about vultures

About a year back, I saw a large group of vultures flying over the Fort in Jodhpur. Someone explained that this place was one of the biggest nesting and breeding places of these vultures.

Why should we be concerned about vultures?
For one, they are nature’s scavengers.
There are other scavengers, but they are not as efficient as the vultures.  The vultures are usually the first to detect dead carcasses and others follow them. Besides  they carry a host of diseases like rabies, which can easily be transmitted to humans.

Love them or hate them, vultures are uniquely adapted scavengers and their loss would have numerous negative repercussions for other species inhabiting our planet, including us.
http://blogs.peregrinefund.org/pages/article.php?eid=683

November 8, 2011 – I came across the above headlines in the Mumbai Mirror today. After having served the Government of India for four decades, and observing how it, or rather those who subvert the entire system function, I was not surprised.

A high ranking officer, allegedly caught taking a bribe of Rs. 2 crores is back in his post after a 18 month deemed suspension. What is surprising is why and how ?

The same tabloid contains a news item that a bus conductor sacked for Rs. 119 gets his job back after 11 years. The charge against him was there was shortage of Rs. 119 in his cash. 

 The Facts

Back to our hero, Mahendra Singh Bali (59), a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, then Chief Postmaster General of Maharashtra, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 25, 2010. for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2 crores from a builder.

The CBI  took the action on the basis of complaint by Rita Shah, a former Mira-Bhayander corporator. According to the complaint, Bali had asked for the bribe to issue a No Objection Certificate for developing a 2,000-sq-mt plot in Mira Road, part of which was reserved for a post office.

According to reports, after Bali’s arrest last year, the CBI carried out searches of his office and residence in south Mumbai,  and found 34 lakh in Indian rupees, and foreign currency – $10,722, £3,050, 3,470 Euro – from four briefcases.
The CBI also seized laptops, and 45 bottles of imported liquor.

Further enquiries revealed that Bali owned several properties in Faridabad, Panchkula, Dwarka, Bhopal and Gurgaon. The CBI found that he had 22 bank accounts with a total balance of Rs 26 lakhs. The collective value of the properties is still to be evaluated.

Central Administrative Tribunal

Bali challenged his suspension before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Mumbai which ordered his reinstatement last week. On November 4, 2011, Bali  was reinstated as the Chief Postmaster General of West Bengal.

The reinstatement was ordered on a technical ground  -  violation of the central civil service rules. “This was a case of deemed suspension. In such cases, the suspension has to be reviewed in 90 days, and as this was not done, the initial order was rendered invalid before the law,”

The issue is not about Bali. Even though Bali is reinstated, proceedings and prosecution will continue.

What should be done

It is for the government, for the CBI and the CVC to find out who are the officers who did not follow the central civil service rules, who did not review the suspension in accordance with the law, and allowed the central administrative tribunal to pass the order it did.

Some one should find this out and take action against the concerned officers.
Otherwise, this sort of aberrations will continue….the guilty will continue to be back in their posts……….

Any one has any better suggestions ?

November 9, 2011

Someone in Delhi has read the news and the result….
Bali has again been suspended yesterday.

I belong to the 1968 batch of Indian Revenue Service, senior to her in age and experience by several years.
A petty clerk, or for that matter, any other employee, both in the private and government sector, is dismissed from service for a single instance of similar over (or false) billing. Here we have a series of systematic false billings.

For all I know, the allegations may not be correct. I would be extremely happy if they are proved to be false.
Or they may be partly distorted.
But Kiran Bedi owes it to everyone to disclose the facts and come out clean. It is not sufficient for her and her friends to say, “ let the authorities make any enquiry against her and hang her  if she is guilty “.

Coming to the allegations.
What are the allegations? What are the facts? And why Kiran Bedi should disclose details of the concerned expenses?

It is a fundamental expectation that those who fight for transparency should themselves be transparent. Otherwise, they lose the moral authority to be leaders. The public will discard them like rotten maggots.

For the moment, the allegations may not prove corruption, but they certainly demand and merit transparency. Kiran Bedi should make public the relevant facts.

My own conclusions (which of course, may not be fully or even partly incorrect) are as follows:

1.      Kiran Bedi did ask for, and received, reimbursement of her inflated air travel fares, consistently and systematically, over several years. These were probably made on the basis of estimates (or proforma invoices) conveniently supplied by Anil Bal, her travel agent and co-trustee.

2.    Later, Kiran Bedi made payments for her travel expenses to Anil Bal, her travel agent and co-trustee on the basis of actuals, which of course are far less.

3.    Kiran Bedi claims that all the amounts she received, including some from other activities, like books, etc. went to the trust.

4.     The question arises whether or not Kiran Bedi attended the meetings and conferences in her personal capacity. If she did, then the entire excess of receipts less actual expenses would constitute her personal income. Of course, she can make donations to NGOs and claim exemption as per law. But all the receipts and expenses must be shown in her personal income tax returns.

5.     On the other hand, if she attended the meetings, etc. on behalf of her NGO, were the activities justified by the objects of the NGO.

6.    In any event, claiming air fare on the basis of false bills, I repeat false bills, is a serious crime.  The motives are not relevant. Robbing the rich to help the poor would constitute the same serious offence. The law is as simple as this.

7.    Kiran Bedi says enquire and hang me if I am guilty. Great words !  Who will file a complaint against you and invite problems?  Every prudent person will just keep mum.  And even if you are guilty, you cannot be hanged. There is no such penalty for such financial crimes. And everyone knows that an enquiry takes a long time……

8.    Kiran Bedi, if you have any sense of self respect, you should publish full details of all the concerned lectures and talks; names and addresses of the invitors, details of the expenses claimed, received and incurred, and on what basis you claimed the inflated expenses. You should also publish full details of your own personal contributions to the trust. After all what is there to hide?

9.     By the way, I went through the web site of her trust – India Vision Foundation.

http://www.indiavisionfoundation.org/donation-gallery.asp

There are no details of the various donations received…only a long list of names.
If this is what transparency is all about for our leaders, God help this nation.

Sanjiv Bhatt, Police and Politics.

I have just seen the following article on a popular website.
It is most distressing and dangerous.

IPS officer Sanjiv R. Bhatt suspended

Posted by: “Anjlee Pandya”
anjleepandya@gmail.com
Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:54 pm (PDT)

I have never met Sanjiv Bhatt.
In terms of service, he is junior to me by 20 years. I was offered the Indian Police Service, but I joined the Indian Revenue Service for the simple reason my mother did not like the idea of my joining the police force.
But Sanjiv Bhatt’s conduct is hardly something which can be justified by any one – either morally or legally.

Members of the All India Services – the IAS and the IPS are a privileged lot. They are appointed by the Central Government and allotted to a particular state. They draw their salaries and allowances from that state. Even though they enjoy certain safeguards against dismissal, etc., they are under the day to day administrative control of the concerned state.

Of late, IPS officers like Sanjiv Bhatt have been mixing up politics with their official duties, hogging the media and making all kinds of allegations.

Serving officers should not address the media unless the conduct rules permit them to do so. Of course, they can and should approach the High Courts and Supreme Court, wherever necessary.

The several allegations in the above paragraphs against Sanjiv Bhatt are prima facie sufficient to justify disciplinary against him. He must remember that if he himself is thoroughly indisciplined, how can he expect, demand and get unsquinted obedience from his subordinates.
They will behave in the same irresponsible manner and the system would collapse.
And if the allegations are correct, no court can support his stand.

First, before fighting against the State, Sanjiv Bhatt or any other officer himself should be clean in all respects.
Otherwise, he will end up a hapless loser the same way as Baba Ramdev.

Sanjiv Bhatt, you are treading on dangerous turf.
You will end up a sad loser.
And in the end, it will be your wife and children who will suffer.

The recent issues, incidents and happenings brought to the public glare by Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare, and hyped to the peak by the media, have left me totally bewildered and in a dizzy.

I have decided to go back to the very basics of corruption, political parties, and the role a government functionary like Santosh Hegde, can and should play in such matters.

Corruption

Corruption is a very serious issue plaguing all the not fully developed countries in the world.

Don’t be fooled into believing that there is no corruption in the developed countries. Corruption is very much there. The reasons for far lesser corruption are the very stiff penalties and swift punishment.
It simply does not make economic sense to take the enormous risks if caught.
The result is that you don’t have to pay bribes for day to day routine mundane matters.
.
Surprisingly, when we talk of corruption in India, we generally have the government employees and other public officials in mind.
After all, the Lok Pal movement is all about this kind of corruption only.

And the Karnataka Lokayukta, of which Santosh Hegde is the Chairman, broadly covers the same territory (for the State of Karnataka).

The fact is that corruption has permeated the entire society, including the private sector, down to the commonest man.
Just try to sell something to a big corporate body. The purchase manager or assistant will first talk about his commission.
Park your car in an authorized parking lot, say near the Gateway of India (Mumbai), or near the cinema theatres near V.T. (Mumbai), on a Sunday or some other holiday.
The parking attendant will ask for Rs. 100 or so in lieu of the prescribed Rs. 8 or so.

Take a metered taxi from Mumbai Airport to any part of South Mumbai.
The fare meter will show three to four times the correct fare.

When a boy is about to get married, his parents proudly flaunt his “oopari kamai”.
And this only ups his value in the matrimonial market, which translates into dowry.

If every person, who gets an opportunity to make some extra money, extracts money, things are not only serious, but call for a self cleaning movement.
Why don’t we try to preach this simple truth and meticulously follow it.

Bab Ram Dev

Perhaps Baba Ram Dev is a good yoga teacher.
Most of his claims about treating cancer, etc. remain unsubstantiated, or to be more precise, dubious.
But remember, it is not easy to extract money, call it donations or whatever you like, from powerful politicians and the rich and mighty.
Baba Ram Dev is certainly a great salesman – a salesman par excellence.

Being a sannyasi,  he should not have started the movement for such things as black money, demonetization of large currency notes, and even direct election to the post of prime minister.
But having started the wrong movement, he blotched up the movement,  more so,  by threatening to raise an armed army.
He should have retracted at the right moment and his public image would have remained untarnished.
Now there are more questions than he can answer.
And he has rightly chosen to keep mum.

I was shocked to see him jumping down the stage, running away like a pursued criminal, and then escaping in a sari.
I am yet to see a greater act of cowardice from a sannyasi.
Who could have hurt him in that public place ?
The media was his guarantee of safety, if any was needed.

You can see my comments on Baba Ram Dev on my blog.

Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare is an honest and clean person.
His intentions and motivations are beyond any shade of selfishness.

But in my view, equating  him to Gandhi is going too far.
Gandhiji was fighting against a foreign rule.
Whom are Anna’s team fighting with? Our own elected leaders
who are doing what they can legally do.

Anna Hazare’s intentions are good. His motives are honest.
But ultimately, it is the MPs and the law of the land which will have the final say.
I would wait and see how things turn out in the future.

At this stage, I would like to put a simple poser……can we say Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare are indulging in Politics ?

I am not very sure.

1. A political party is a group people who share the same ideas about the way the country should be governed.
2. They work together to introduce new laws, the alter old laws.
3. Political parties try to control what happens in Parliament by securing a majority of seats (Members of Parliament).
4. Political Parties have policies. A good example of a policy is “education must be free for all youngsters between the age of 5 to 18 years of age”.
5. Usually, when a political party wants to change Laws and Regulations they have to put their idea to all the Members of Parliament. A vote then takes place and if the majority of MPs vote ‘YES’ then the change to the Law/Regulation takes place.

http://www.technologystudent.com/pse1/polprt1.htm

The above definition deals with political parties which seek to contest elections.

Political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India (EC).

But there can be, and there are political parties, who do not wish to take part in elections.
In my opinion, what would ultimately decide whether a group is political or not would be the first two criterias:
1. A political party is a group people who share the same ideas about the way the country should be governed.
2. They work together to introduce new laws, the alter old laws.

Judged by this standard, both Baba Ram Dev and Anna Hazare’s movements are only political and their groups become political parties.

Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta, Karnataka

Well what does all this have to do with Santosh Hegde.
Karnataka has a Lokayukta Act and also a functional Lokayukta institution.
Let us see what a Lokayukta should not do:

Section 4 of the Lokayukta Act  - Lokayukta or Upalokayukta not to hold any other office

“Lokayukta or Upalokayukta not to hold any other office- The Lokayukta or Upalokayukta shall not be a member of the Parliament or be a member of the Legislature of any State and shall not hold any office or trust of profit (other than his office as Lokayukta or Upalokayukta) or be connected with any political party or carry on any business or practice any profession and accordingly, before he enters upon his office, a person appointed as the Lokayukta or an Upalokayukta shall-

(c) if he is connected with any political party, sever his connection with it; or ..

http://www.kar.nic.in/lokayukta/karnataka_lokayukta_act.htm

There is no doubt that the Lokayukta of Karnataka is a Government Servant, drawing salary, allowances and other perquisites from the Govt. of Karnataka.
I am sure he is expected to devote his entire time and energy to affairs of his office which are basically confined to Karnataka.

Yet, we find him in Delhi, along Anna group, and lobbying for his views.
How can anyone justify this kind of conduct, which in legal parlance is loosely termed….“Conduct unbecoming of a government servant.”

But again, who will bell the cat. If the Lokayukta decides to do what he should not do,
people like me can only grumble and have disturbing fitful dreams.
The reason is that the procedure for removing the Lokayukta is as follows:

Section 6 of the Lokayukta Act – Removal of Lokayukta or Upalokayukta

 (1) The Lokayukta or an Upalokayukta shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the Governor passed after an address by each House of the State Legislature supported by a majority of the total membership of the House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the Governor in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. 

(2) The procedure of the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of the Lokayukta or an Upalokayukta under sub-section (1) shall be as provided in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 in relation to the removal of a Judge and accordingly the provisions of that Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in relation to the removal of the Lokayukta and Upalokayukta as they apply in relation to the removal of a Judge.

Well, in my view what Santosh Hegde, the Lokayukta is doing is all wrong.
I would be grateful if someone could convince me that I am wrong and should modify or change my views.

When I was Chief Commissioner of Income Tax I, Chennai in 2005, I was invited to Baba Ramdev’s discourses in Chennai and to receive his blessings.
Some how, I could not attend it.

The people who had invited me, and the people who were organising the discourses, were the big business men, including tax evaders, and even people who were facing prosecution for tax evasion.
 Baba Ramdeo Pix (Click here to see picture)

If anyone sincerely believes that all Baba Ramdev’s followers are the honest exceptionalists – the pure Ganga Jumna of the society, he is obviously mistaken.
The fact is that most honest people are poor and can hardly afford the luxury of doling out huge donations with which the big religious and pseudo religious institutions are built.

Even in the good old days, robbers and dacoits used to offer a portion of their loot to Goddess Kali and other deities, when they returned back from their exploits.
The business people traditionally kept a small percentage of their income for God (Dabba – the donation box as it used to be called).
Whether this was done to appease the Gods. or lessen their anger…. I do not know.
 
Background

An online internet search about the Baba gave me the following facts:

Baba Ramdev  was born on Dec 25, 1965, as Ramkishan Alipur Yadav in the house of an ordinary family of Gulab Devi and Ram Nivas Yadav in Ali Saiyad Pur village of Mahendragarh district in Haryana state of India.

He attended school through the 8th grade in Shahjadpur.
Thereafter, he joined a gurukul in Khanpur village (Hoshiarpur, Punjab) to study Sanskrit and Yoga.
In 1995. Ramkishan Alipur Yadav, renounced worldly life and became a Sanyasi – adopting the name Swami Ramdev. 

Then he went to Jind district and joined the Kalva gurukul and later imparted free Yoga training to villagers across Haryana.
He travelled the Himalayas for several years (for which no details are available) before settling down in Haridwar.
He discovered several medicinal plants in the Himalayas (for which no details are available) which he uses for treating his patients.

He starting teaching Pranayama –  techniques of breath control and popularised the practice of Pranayama.

His discourses and talks are broadcast on Indian TV channels. Baba Ramdev claims that he was a paralytic prior to taking up yoga, but this claim has never been verified.

So far so good. No one can have any problem with Baba Ramdev and his teachings relating to Pranayama and other yogic exercises.

HIV & AIDS – claim of curing

On Dec. 22 and 23, 2006, on India TV and a couple of other TV Channels, Baba Ramdev said that Yoga Pranayama and the Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicines suggested by him can control and cure AIDS.

He added that the CD4 Cell count of the people affected by AIDS, which had fallen to 50; 100; 150 have gone up to 400; 500; and even 600, which is quite normal. He added that even the people with CD4 Cell count of 5 to 10 have benefited. CD4 cells (T4 count, T-helper cells) are a class of immune cells that gradually get depleted in HIV infection.

On Dec. 22 and 23, 2006, India TV also showed a lady, declaring openly, in one of his Yoga Science camps to have been cured of AIDS. This lady had come to know that she had AIDS, after she lost her husband due to AIDS.

As a result of these press reports, the Indian Union Health Ministry sent a cease and desist order to Baba Ramdev; and medical NGOs threatened to take legal action against him.
Baba Ramdev responded by saying that he had been misquoted.
(The usual ploy of politicians).
His clarification was that Yoga and Ayurveda together can alleviate the suffering from AIDS, not cure it.
He also added that Yogic education was preferable over sex education in response to the AIDS crisis.

http://www.articlesbase.com/book-reviews-articles/swami-ramdev-biography-and-information-4517995.html - claim of curing

Cancer

In some of his addresses, Baba Ramdev said that Yoga and Pranayama have been successful in curing 200 cancer patients and he is ready to give evidence. (But no evidence has ever been given.)

Quoting from page 55 of the monthly magazine “Yog Sandesh” (English) September 2006. issue.
This magazine is also available along with all the Back Issues of Yog Sandesh Monthly, online at
http://www.yogapranayama.com/yog%20Sandesh.htm

Sanyasi

Baba’s actions have left me in daze. I am blundered and traumatised.
I have always believed that a Sanyasi is one who has renounced the world.
A Sanyasi is one who is free from all attachments – family, friends and enemies.
I am reproducing the definition of Sannyasa from Wikipedia. (Definitions in other treatises are similar)

“ Sannyasa (Devanagari, sannyāsa) is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and instead dedicate their entire life towards spiritual pursuits. In this phase of life, the person develops vairāgya, or a state of dispassion and detachment from material life. He renounces all worldly thoughts and desires, and spends the rest of his life in spiritual contemplation. One within the sannyasa order is known as a sannyasi (male) or sannyasin (female)……

During the sannyasa phase of life, a person abandons fire (Agnihotra, allowed to the householder stage of life, the Grihastha ashram). It means that during sannyasa ashram, one should not cook, perform fire rituals or take heat from fire. Sannyasa focuses only on the self and spirituality and not even the gods (as abandoning fire suggests). Symbolically, a sannyasi casts his physical body to fire by wearing saffron robes at the moment of taking up sannyasa itself, thus freeing his soul, while yet alive. Hence, sannyasis are not cremated after death (as most Hindus are) but may instead be buried.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannyasa 

Death Penalty for corruption

Baba Ramdev has recently taken up the issue of corruption.
He has demanded that corrupt people should be dealt with nothing less than death penalty.

I am shocked….a sanyasi asking for the death penalty…..and that too, for a crime like corruption, when nation after nation are abolishing the death penalty.
There is something wrong, somewhere. I would have expected a sanyasi to save life, not take life.

Ramdev and Politics

Baba Ramdev has launched Bharat Swabhiman – a new political party.
Baba has clarified that his party has no intention of contesting Assembly elections, but only Lok Sabha elections.
(His aims are high and lofty ….Delhi and the Parliament itself).

“I do not have any ambition to be the Prime Minister or the President of India. I will never actively participate in politics”, he claimed.
(But none the less he will form a new political party)

 http://www.goanews.com/news_disp.php?newsid=1077 

Baba Ramdev would himself play the role of Chanakya and not be directly involved in politics. I shall not be a contender to power personally, said the Yoga Guru.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-02-22/patna/28131728_1_baba-ramdev-check-corruption-yoga-guru 

Well this is what Sonia is doing…..

Back to Sanyas

Baba Ramdev….
With all the humility I can muster, mingled with all the knowledge and experience I have gained over 65 years of life, I implore you to keep away from politics, corruption, black money and such mundane things of life.

We already have far too many politicians.
Please stick to what is your rightful duty…..as a sannyani…..meditation and yoga.
Otherwise, you will be like the misled donkey….na ghar ka na ghat ka.

The Finale

Sunday morning, the police moved in and cleared Ramleela Grounds.
The Baba had crossed all limits.
Flying on private jets, owning thousands of crores worth of land and other assets, making a mockery of all that a Sanyasi is supposed to do, he was literally blackmailing the Govt.

But for all this, the Govt. of India itself is to blame. Sending three ministers and the Cabinet Secretary to meet him was a very very wrong decision.
It was sending out all the wrong signals.
Any way, better late than never.

Baba Ramdev – will someone convey this message to him

Rajbala lies paralyzed because she supported you.
The least you can do….call it ethics, sanyas, or good will,
give her a reasonable sum for her loyalty.
You should compensate her…..

Of late, I have appeared before the Consumer Forums in Mumbai on behalf of several consumers.
The procedure is simple, and the decision quite fast.
I have received a few requests to detail the procedure for filing a Complaint.

 I am summarising the procedure: But you can file a complaint before a Consumer Forum, only if you are a consumer.
You cannot not file a Complaint, if the transaction is business related. 

First, you must be a consumer. 
If you have purchased goods or services for your business, for example for re-selling them, you are not a consumer.
But if you have purchased goods or services, like medicines, computers, mobiles, etc. for your own use, or mediclaim insurance policies, you are certainly a consumer. 

Secondly, you must give a notice in writing to the supplier or service provider asking him to rectify the faults, defects, etc.
The notice should be simple, clearly pointing out your grievances, and requesting the supplier or service provider to rectify the faults, defects, etc. or replace the goods.
Normally, you should give a clear one month’s notice.
You should address the notice to the nearest address available, so that if you have to file a Complaint, it will be in the nearest consumer forum. 

Thirdly, the Complaint must be filed within 2 years of the cause of action.
If there are reasonable causes for delay in filing the Complaint, you can always request the Consumer Forum to condone the delay. 

The ComplaintThe following is the procedure for filing a Complaint before the District Forums.
(State Forums and National Forums have their own rules, but they are essentially the same) 

Although it is not essential that the Complaint should be typed, it is always better to get it typed, double spaced, with at least 1½ inches of margin space on the left, top and bottom. 

The Complaint has to be arranged in the following Order and you have to page number all documents. 

1.  Index giving the page number(s) of each document. 

2.  Application for condonation of delay (if there is delay), giving the reasons for the delay, duly affirmed before a notary public. 

3. Complaint – containing details of the grievance, preferably arranged in chronological order;
briefly giving the ground on which relief is claimed, and
the relief (including legal costs, damages and interest) claimed.
The Complaint has to be signed by the Complainant. 

4. You can appear before the Consumer Forums in person, or allow a close relative to appear for you.
But if you are engaging an advocate to appear on your behalf, you have to enclose a Vakalatnama, But then, your advocate will be doing all the paper work and attending the hearings. 
If you are authorising, your close relative to appear for you, you have to enclose a letter of authority.  

5.  Affidavit that the contents of the Complaint are true.  

6.  Copies of all documents on which you rely upon in support of your Complaint.

 You have to submit:

1 Original and  2 zerox copies.
In addition, if the Complaint is admitted, you will have to submit as many more copies as there are parties.

Where to file your Complaint 

The jurisdiction, that is the Consumer Forum, where you should file your Complaint depends on the amount involved.

I am summarising the provisions below: 

                 
                      Amount Involved                                       Jurisdiction 

           upto Rs. 20 lakhs                                   District Consumer Forum
 
                 Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore          State Consumer Forum 

                 More than Rs. 1 crore                  National Consumer Forum 

The Fee 

 The fee, which is nominal, depends upon the amount involved. It is as follows: 

           Before District Forum 

          For claims up to Rs. 1 lakh                                        Rs. 100            

         For claims from Rs.  1 lakh  to Rs. 5 lakhs       Rs. 200
        For claims from Rs.  5 lakh  to Rs. 10 lakhs     Rs. 400
        For claims from Rs. 10 lakh  to Rs. 20 lakhs   Rs. 500 

        Before State Commission        For claims from Rs.  20 lakh  to Rs. 50 lakhs    Rs. 2000
        For claims from Rs.  50 lakh  to Rs. 1  crore      Rs. 4000 

       Before National Commission 

      For claims exceeding Rs. 1   crore                     Rs. 5000 

The fee has to be paid in the form of a demand draft on a nationalised bank in favour of the President of the concerned District Consumer Forum (Registrar of the State or National Commission if the Complaint is filed in these places). 

There is no prescribed format for the affidavit. I am giving a simple format which you can modify and use. 

Format of Affidavit

                     Specimen Draft Affidavit to be filed with the Complaint 

                 I,………….. The, COMPLAINANT ABOVE NAMED DO HEREBY SOLEMNLY AFFIRM AND STATE THAT I HAVE FILED THE COMPLAINT HEREIN AND REPEAT, REITERATE, REAFFIRM AND CONFIRM EACH AND EVERY STATEMENT MADE THEREIN AS TRUE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF. 

Affirmation 

In practice, you can get the affirmation done (or affidavit affirmed) before any notary public, but he will usually charge anything between Rs. 100 to Rs. 200; or
you can affirm before the Registrar of the concerned Forum. 

Actual Filing of the Complaint 

You, or your advocate, will have to personally file the Complaint in the office of the concerned Consumer Forum. 

The Consumer Forum’s office will go through the Complaint and point out any deficiencies.
You have to correct them and submit the Complaint again. 

The Consumer Forum’s office will give you a short date for admission.
On this date, you or your representative has to appear and explain the Complaint
to show that there is a genuine consumer Complaint.
This is a simple process and usually the Forum members are very helpful. 

Once the Complaint is admitted, The Consumer Forum will direct you to submit more copies of the complaint (as many as there are respondents). These will be sent to the Respondents along with notice prepared by the Commission’s office. 

If you have problems, you can write to me at:
eleena100@hotmail.com

The year 2010 ended leaving India riddled with a spate of corruption cases.
There seems to be a race for the top “I am the most corrupt” slot in India. I am not talking about the top politicians.  They are a breed apart.
 
Next to the politicians in queue, are our top bureaucrats……the IAS officers who rule the country…who advise the top politicians, help them loot the nation and share the loot themselves.

There seem to be a race for the top slot.
Who is the most corrupt?
Who has amassed the largest wealth?

December 2010

Neera Yadav – a 1971 Batch IAS officer from Bulandsahar –  and.ex Chief Secretary of U. P. – was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. The court found her guilty in a 2002 land allocation case during her term as Chairperson of Noida Development Authority.

In 1997, the UP IAS officers association polled her one of the “most corrupt officers” of the state.

Yet, in spite of a barrage of corruption charges against her, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government appointed her Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh in 2005.
However, in an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court intervened and directed the UP Government to remove her from the post. She is the country’s first IAS officer to be removed from the post in this manner.
Neera Yadav took voluntary retirement in 2007.

Her husband, Mahendra Singh, a former police officer, was a minister in the BJP government in the state. Singh later joined the Samajwadi Party.
Both Singh and Neera Yadav joined the BJP in 2009.

April 2010

O Ravi, a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, who is joint secretary in the Disaster Management division of the Home Ministry, and a native of Davangere, was raided by the CBI which conducted searches on 36 premises of the official and nine distillery owners in Daman, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Ravi has served at the Centre in various departments, including the ministries of Railways, Civil Aviation, Commerce and Industries and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises for over nine years. He has also served in the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation for a brief period. He is in the Home Ministry since 2007.

It is alleged that one of the distillers paid Rs 25 lakhs to Ravi to get the present Administrator of Daman transferred out.
The CBI has registered a case against Ravi, two Excise inspectors and one sub-inspector at Daman for their connivance with six liquor manufacturers (Khemani, Royal, Jupiter, Krimpy, Silver Star and Dharmesh) based in the Union Territory, and causing a loss of Rs 340 crore to the Daman Administration.

February  2010However, the two cases mentioned above are peanuts.
The honours for being the most corrupt must go the IAS couple – Arvind  and Tinu Joshi.

Both Arvind and Tinu are 1979-batch IAS Officers of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. They have held important positions in the Centre since the late 80s.

Tinu served as Deputy Secretary in the PMO from July 1, 1988 to January 1, 1990 while Arvind was Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry during the 1999 Kargil hostilities.

The Income Tax Department conducted searches at their residence in Bhopal leading to the recovery of currency notes worth Rs 3 crores. Further follow up action has unearthed the biggest corruption case in Indian history.

A 7000 page appraisal report prepared by the Income Tax department says that in the past three years the Joshis did futures trading worth Rs 312 crores. It says that they started investing through Standard Chartered-STCI Capital Markets Limited from April 3, 2007. On June 1, 2007 they had invested in shares of 111 big companies and purchased 10,000 to 50, 000 shares in each company. They have also acquired 25 flats and 400 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land.

Most of these land dealings are benami. Over 100 acres of land have been purchased in the names of Arvind Joshi’s NRI sisters, Vibha and Abha.

The Income Tax Department has already started proceedings to attach the properties under Section 281-B of the Income Tax Act 1961.
The Enforcement Directorate has also started proceedings against the Joshis (including Arvind Joshi’s NRI sisters, Vibha and Abha) for violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999.

But the final action has to be taken by the state government.

Role of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

What has the CVC been doing all the time?
Is it not their duty to collect information about corrupt people and take appropriate action themselves?

This is a bizarre story of a high handed lady magistrate in Mumbai who travelled in local travels in Mumbai without paying for her tickets.

Arundhati Ashok Walavalkar was appointed a Metropolitan Magistrate in Bombay on 28.5.1992.
She travelled between Mulund and Dadar on First Class.
She was caught by the Railway Ticket Checkers on at least three occasions.

She behaved offensively with the Railway officials.
The Railway authorities reported the matter to the Bombay High Court.
The High Court found her guilty of ticketless travel and compulsorily retired her on 27 September 2000.

The matter went up to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court decided against her

in CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6966 OF 2004

ARUNDHATI ASHOK WALAVALKAR …. Appellant

Versus

STATE OF MAHARASHTRA …. Respondent

Order Passed by: Dr. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA, J.
Date of Order: 13 January 2011 

The Supreme Court observed:

“1. This appeal was filed by the appellant herein being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court dismissing the writ petition filed by the appellant herein.

“3. The allegation against the appellant was that she had travelled without tickets on 21.2.1997, 13.5.1997 and also on 5.12.1997 when she was caught. The charges here not only related to such incidents of ticketless travelling but also about misusing her official identity card and for making unnecessary scene on the Railway platform and giving threats to the Railway staff which was considered to be misconduct unbecoming of a judicial officer as per Rule 3(iii) of the Maharashtra Civil Services Conduct Rules, 1979.

“21. In this connection, we may also refer to a letter written by her on 8.12.1997 to  the General Manager, Central Railway, Mumbai. The said letter was admittedly written by her and it reads as follows:-

“I would like to mention to you that sometimes, I am required

to enter into your local Trains to reach my Court in time, as the

vehicle given to us is a pooling one which takes a very long

time due to unexpected traffic on the roads or break downs.

During such occasions, I am unable to buy tickets because of

short of time and consequently it had happened so, that I had

to face your nagging ticket collectors. Your lady ticket

collectors at Dadar instead of understanding our difficulties

have further harassed us in the most insulting manner and

this has left a deed scar in our mind. If you care to know how

nasty your people could be, you may depute a representative

to whom we can explain the facts.

I am aware that the Metropolitan Magistrates handling the

matters of any railway police station on central line get first

class free pass right from Nagpur to Igapturi. Even the staff

attached to such Magistrates also get free passes. We also

attend to the work of railways on Saturdays, Sundays and

holidays. Are we therefore, not entitled, at least to stand in

the first class compartments of local trains only for the

purpose of reaching our Courts in time during such

emergencies ? Please do the needful in this matter urgently

by giving necessary instructions to the ticket collectors so that

we are not humiliated by your ticket collectors on this count

and made to pay fine.

If you are of the negative opinion, that even this little courtesy

cannot be extended to us, please communicate to me, so that I

am prepared for such eventualities. Your early response

would be highly appreciated.”
“29. …..This is the case of judicial officer who was required to conduct herself with dignity and manner becoming of a judicial officer. A judicial officer must be able to discharge his/her responsibilities by showing an impeccable conduct. In the instant case, she not only travelled without tickets in a railway compartment thrice but also complained against the ticket collectors who accosted her, misbehaved with the Railway officials and in those circumstances we do not see how the punishment of compulsory retirement awarded to her could be said to be disproportionate to the offence alleged against her. In a country governed by rule of law, nobody is above law, including judicial officers. In fact, as judicial officers, they have to present a continuous aspect of dignity in every conduct. If the rule of law is to function effectively and efficiently under the aegis of our democratic setup, Judges are expected to, nay, they must nurture an efficient and enlightened judiciary by presenting themselves as a role model. Needless to say, a Judge is constantly under public glaze and society expects higher standards of conduct and rectitude from a Judge. Judicial office, being an office of public trust, the society is entitled to expect that a Judge must be a man of high integrity, honesty and ethical firmness by maintaining the most exacting standards of propriety in every action. Therefore, a judge’s official and personal conduct must be in tune with the highest standard of propriety and probity. Obviously, this standard of conduct is higher than those deemed acceptable or obvious for others. Indeed, in the instant case, being a judicial officer, it was in her best interest that she carries herself in a decorous and dignified manner. If she has deliberately chosen to depart from these high and exacting standards, she is appropriately liable for disciplinary action.

30. We fully agree with the conclusions arrived at by the disciplinary authority……..”

Well said and well decided.
The Magistrate has been rightly punished.
But the public expects the same standards from their political leaders…leaders who lead the nation’s destiny.

Such leaders should never say they are innocent till proved guilty.
If the needle of suspicion – supported by loss to the nation, loss to the public is ever raised, they should be thrown over board.