An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

Home Minister Ramesh Bagwe and his 19 Degrees

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:23:23 +0000

In April 2010, Maharashtra’s Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe announced in the Maharashtra Legislative Council that Pune’s Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh would be transferred and steps would be taken to upgrade security following a spate of high profile crimes in the city.

Political observers were surprised, when within hours of his announcement, his senior, Home Minister R. R. Patil, distanced himself from Ramesh Bagwe and said he was not aware of the announcement and that Bagwe had not discussed the move (to transfer the Police Commissioner) with him.

Incidentally, Home Minister R. R. Patil belongs to the NCP, while Ramesh Bagwe belongs to the Congress and represents the Pune Cantonment constituency.
Some observers will remember Ramesh Bagwe for picking up Rahul Gandhi’s shoes at a public function as an act of shame.

Later sequence of events, clarified the reasons for Ramesh Bhagwe’s ire and announcement.
Lakhmi Gautam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) later confirmed that :

There were 19 criminal cases against Bagwe
15 of those were cognizable offences, and
4 were non-cognizable offences.

Lakhmi Gautam clarified that that Bagwe had been acquitted by the courts in some cases, while some cases were still pending against him.

All the furore arose at this point of time because Bagwe had applied for the renewal of his passport in January. All passport applications are sent to the police for verification. They verify whether the applicant has any criminal record.

The police found that some cases were registered against Bagwe in some police stations in the city.
The police sent their report about the cases to the Passport Office in Pune which refused renewal of his passport.

On the 15 May 2010, the Maharashtra Home department sought explanation from Pune’s Police Commissioner, Satyapal Singh as to how a junior police officer was allowed to speak to a journalist against the minister of the department that governs the police force.

The Real Issues

The real issue is not whether Bagwe manages to get Satyapal Singh the Police Commissioner transferred out of Thane.
The real issue is also not whether the Lakhmi Gautam, Deputy Commissioner should not have spoken to the press and some minor action will be taken against him.
The issue is also not about the renewal of a minister’s passport.
The issue is are we so much short good politicians and administrators that the ruling party(ies) find it difficult to find a clean person for a sensitive post.
The issue is whether a person with as many as 19 cases in different courts can or should be appointed a Minister of the very department which is in charge of investigations against him.
Think over. Morality, ethics, common sense and judicial propriety all defy any logic in this appointment.

Issue of Passport

The State Government can not issue a Passport.
Issue of Passport is the Centre’s prerogative.
The Regional Passport Officers have to necessarily refer all applications to the police for verification. And they have specific guidelines on what to do after receiving a negative report.
Obviously, the police could not have suppressed mentioning the case in their report.

Minister with 19 degrees

Come to think of it, when I was Commissioner of Income Tax in Chennai during 1986 to 1993, I used to take part time classes for MBA and P.G. diploma courses in Madras University.

I decided to acquire a number of PG qualifications. I obtained 4 PG Diplomas and a Masters in Law in 6 years.

So in hindsight, a person with so many pending and disposed off criminal cases is perhaps the best person to head the department.
He would know the ins and outs of the working of the police.
And to say the least, Bagwe’s threat to file a defamation suit is simply ridiculous.
And it would be far more ridiculous for the Congress to support him in this infamous case. They should remove him or at least transfer him.

Convocation Uniform and the Lawyers Uniform

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:46:21 +0000

I studied law; and by a quirk of fate, instead of becoming a professional lawyer, I became a bureaucrat.

I never dreamt of joining any service. But one day, I saw an advertisement for the Indian Administrative Services Examination which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and filled the form. I was not serious about the examination. So I did not do any preparation and did not take any coaching. But I was selected !

I was offered the Indian Police Service and the Indian Revenue Service. My mother did not like the idea of her second son becoming a police officer and could not understand why a softie like me should be selected for the Police. In those days, mothers ruled the roost and had the final say. Right or wrong, the mother was always right. So I landed up in the Indian Revenue Service.

But unlike my colleagues, friends and foes alike, I continued with my studies, getting a Masters in Law, 6 Post Graduate Diplomas in different fields, and the highly coveted Ph.D. in law.

Convocation Dress

When I was declared to have qualified for the Ph.D., the University of Bombay sent me a form for the next convocation – whether I would like to attend the convocation, and take the diploma in persona or take the diploma in absentia (which means collecting it from the University office after the convocation).

I had never attended a convocation before. So this time, I made up my mind to attend the convocation. I asked my staff to obtain a convocation dress for me.
They searched everywhere (I really could not understand why they had to search so much), and after a lot of effort, managed to hire a set of convocation dress from an old time photographer.

On the day of convocation, I proudly dressed up in the hired convocation dress and arrived at the university premises. I was shocked to learn that the Bombay University had discontinued the old traditional convocation dress several years ago and males were to be dressed in simple white shirt and trousers.

So I had to take off the convocation dress which only made everyone stare at me and since I was not wearing the white shirt and trousers, I could not take part in the convocation procession. I had to be content with watching the entire proceedings from a chair in the University Convocation Hall.

It was therefore a bit of stale news to me to learn that at a convocation function at the Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal, the Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh found the traditional attire ’barbaric’ and ‘a sign of colonial slavery’ and discarded the square hat and the red and yellow gown he wore.
The Indian Institute of Forest Management is a under Jairam’s ministry. Which sane person could question his outburst?

I am surprised to hear that soon after, Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar called for a debate on convocation clothes.

But my dear sirs, both of you are a little too late.
Bombay University has already taken a lead.

Advocates Robes

After my retirement, I appear in some courts and forums. An advocate is required to wear the traditional lawyers dress…..black coat, tie or band, white shirt and trousers.
Of course, lawyers may not wear the black coat during the summer for a month or so.

The dress is colonial no doubt. But it is still in vogue in many countries of the world.
I have no grievance on this score.
The dress is all right in air conditioned environment. But it is really awful to see lawyers perspiring in the lower courts and forums, where some times even fans don’t work.

Is it not time to become practical and have a more practical dress code for lawyers in India?
You don’t need public debate on this. The Bar Council of India, the Supreme Court, the Government ..in fact, anyone can take the lead.
I am sure everyone will welcome the change.

Club and School Dress

For these, who are allergic to dress codes, I can only point out that some elite clubs and most elite schools have some sort of dress code.
And the dress code is not imposed by any one from outside, but by the management themselves.

If you don’t like the dress code, don’t join these institutions.
Don’t join the elite club.
Don’t send your child to that elite school.
That’s all……

The matter is as simple as that.

Lalit Modi and the Indian Premier League

Binoy Gupta — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:52:15 +0000

Lalit Modi and the IPL

There can be no doubt that Lalit Modi (born November 29, 1963), Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), created the IPL in 2008.
There can be no doubt that Lalit Modi took IPL to its dazzling, dizzy heights.

There can be no doubt that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and many, many people minted money, directly or indirectly, through the IPL.

Lalit Modi has been unceremoniously ousted from the IPL.
In the legalistic jargon, he has been suspended from the post of Chairman and Commissioner of the IPL and from all committees and sub committees of the BCCI.
A show cause notice has been issued to him.
He will have to submit his explanation.
And the BCCI will take a decision in due course.

Is Lalit Modi alone to blame ?

Let us presume for a moment that Lalit Modi is guilty of all the charges,
of numerous irregularities, and a host of deed or misdeeds.

He was heading the IPL as a functionary under the broader control of BCCI.
What were the members of the Governing body of BCCI doing all these
years?
Why did not even one of them enquire about the financial transactions, about the various agreements and payments.
Why did the auditors of BCCI not verify the huge transactions with reference to the different agreements.
Did the auditors ever point out a single irregularity in their audit reports?
Probably every one was content with the free tickets and other freebies.

Lalit Modi, IPL and the future

What is the future of Lalit Modi and IPL?
Personally, I feel Lalit Modi is in a mess.
He has bitten more than he can chew.
He will find it difficult to wriggle out of the strangle hold.
Even he is lucky, he would have to remain out of cricket for several years.

In my view, Lalit Modi had grown larger than the institution he had build.
He equated himself with the IPL.
He thought he was the IPL.
Or he thought he owned the IPL.

IPL is an institution.
All institutions survive their founders.
IPL will survive after Lalit Modi.

Dr. Verghese Kurien

I am reminded of Dr. Verghese Kurien who literally built Amul.
He ushered the milk revolution into India.
He made India from a milk deficient country to one of the largest milk producing countries in the world.

He received due recognition and several honours in India and all over the world including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), Wateler Peace Prize Award of Carnegie Foundation (1986), World Food Prize Laureate (1989), International Person of the Year(1993) by the World Dairy Expo, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Padma Vibhushan (1999).

Dr. Verghese Kurien resigned from Chairmanship of the Gujarat Milk Marketing federation (GCMMF) on March 20, 2006.
The real reason is that eleven out of the 12 chairmen of district dairies (who constitute the GCMMF board) had moved a no-confidence motion (slated to come up in a March 24 meeting) against him.
Rather than face the humiliation, Kurien resigned.

Kurien has left Amul.
But Amul survives because it a strong institution.

Lalit Modi and the future

There is no doubt that Lalit Modi has proved himself a marketing wizard.
He will go back and head the Rs 3,500-crore Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), the makers of Marlboro, Four Square and Red & White cigarettes.

And may be he will prove even more successful in his business endeavours.

Supreme Court errrs not once, twice, but thrice

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:51:26 +0000

The Supreme Court of India errs – not once, twice, but thrice.
It takes the Supreme Court a fourth attempt to get it right.
Supreme Court of India New Delhi, April 22, 2010

From the highest to the lowest, from the most intelligent to the greatest duffer on earth, any one can make mistakes.
Most of us do make mistakes.

After all, to err is human.
But to accept a mistake and correct it is divine.

In this glaring case of unprecedented injustice, the Supreme Court Judges made serious mistakes, not once, but three times. As a result, three innocent persons languished in jail for several months.

October 1991

In October 1991, a Sessions Court in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh convicted Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir (along with four others - Sugar Singh, Laxman, Onkar and Ramesh) and sentenced them to 6 years imprisonment on charges of rioting and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

January 2003

The eight convicts appealed to the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court In January 2003, the High Court acquitted all the accused.

The Madhya Pradesh Government accepted the acquittal of Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir; but filed appeal before the Supreme Court against the acquittal of the other four.

November 7, 2008

A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, C.K. Thakker and L.S. Panta set aside the High Court order and held all the eight accused guilty in the case, even though

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had acquitted Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir;
The Madhya Pradesh Government had accepted the verdict and had not filed any appeal against it, and
The issue relating to these four persons – Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir – was not before the Supreme Court (Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir were not even parties to the case).

Bhoja, Pooran and Balvir surrendered and were put back inside the jail.

March 9, 2010

Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir filed a review petition for reconsideration of the matter. The matter went to the same bench, which through another quirk of fate, released the four other persons instead of Bhoja, Pooran, Balvir and Raghuvir.

April 20, 2010

On April 20, Aftab Ali Khan, Advocate for the four accused pointed out the mistake to a bench comprising of the Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and three senior most judges, Justices S H Kapadia, Altamas Kabir and R V Raveendran. The Bench promised to examine the matter in May.

April 22, 2010

This matter was widely reported by the media.
In an unprecended move, the Bench comprising of the Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and three senior most judges, Justices S H Kapadia, Altamas Kabir and R V Raveendran, convened on an urgent basis, called the lawyers and passed order “acquitting” Bhoja, Puran and Balbir, who had been languishing in jail due to two wrong consecutive orders passed by the Supreme Court in November 2008 and March 2010.

My humble request

At last a serious error has been corrected and justice has been done to the accused. Or has it been done ?

** Was it not the duty of the Govt. prosecution to point out on each occasion that the courts orders were wrong, that wrong persons were being sent to jail ?

*** Was it not the duty of the Judges to do their home work ?

*** Was it not the duty of the Present Bench of the Supreme Court to award damages on their own ?

Do the Supreme Court judges really expect the poor accused to engage in one more round of litigation for damages. Would they have the money and energy to file a case at all.

The Supreme Court should have been magnanimous to award damages to the wronged persons. They can pay such damages from the funds of the Supreme Court or direct the Govt. to pay the same.

But in my humble view, the Supreme Court should award the damages.
That is the least they can do now to rectify all the wrongs done.

Dr. Binoy Gupta, Retd. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai

King Cobra and the PIL

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:57:25 +0000

Indian Express February 11, 2010

Today, I was pleasantly surprised to read a news article about a Public Interest Litigation involving a snake….a king cobra…… to be precise.

The report said a 16 feet king cobra was rescued from a monk and is under the care of Solapur Municipal Corporation. More about this later…..

The news transported me back in time …..more than four decades back ….to 1968.
I was then a probationer in the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur where new entrants to the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) are trained to become what they finally become.

Being an animal lover from early childhood, I purchased a baby python from a local snake charmer. Till that day, I never knew humans are so scared of snakes. The result was that on the third day, I was directed to dispose off the baby python or get out.

I went to the local Maharajbagh Zoo and managed to meet the acting Director. I offered to donate my baby python. But he was averse to taking anything as donation. I requested him to keep my baby python for a few months. I would pay for the upkeep and take back the baby python later. But this was completely ruled out.

I then went to his boss…a senior professor. He called the acting Director and asked him whether the zoo had too many pythons. No…that was not the case. The zoo had two pythons earlier and both had died. So there was a clear vacancy. The senior professor almost forced him to accept the baby python.

I wanted a receipt for my baby python. The acting Director refused. I suppose he had had too much of me.
Again, I went to his boss…the senior professor. He called the acting Director and asked him why he could not issue a receipt and how he would account for the baby python in the zoo’s inventory. The acting Director said they would show it as found while digging the ground. The senior professor convinced the acting Director that pythons are not recovered while digging and finally I got my receipt.

I later found that the acting Director was from the University’s Botany department. That explains his apathy to animals.

Today’s news is mentally stunning. The Public Interest Litigation application wants the High Court to order the king cobra to be released in the wild.

A division bench of Justices J N Patel and B R Gawai of the Bombay High Court has called for report from the Central Zoo Authority and the Solapur Municipal Corporation.

I am sure there are enough wild life experts and government departments who could have taken a well reasoned decision in the king cobra’s interest and done for him (or may be her) what was best and given better facilities in some good zoo.

I really find it difficult to understand how this issue could become a matter of public interest litigation when our courts are almost choked with cases.

I would have probably understood the situation better if the issue involved a community or group of king cobras. But this case involves a single king cobra!

Of course, some things are better left unexplained, because there is no rhyme or reason or logic.

Incidentally, the king cobra is one of the five most venomous snakes of India. It is found in dense forests and the chances of sighting it in the wild are rather rare.

The Government has already established a special reserve for king cobras in Agumbe (about 90 kms. from Shimoga) in Karnataka.
The king cobra, which is the subject matter of the Public Interest Litigation, can be relocated to the Rani Bagh Zoo, in Mumbai; Sanjay Gandhi National Park or can be easily sent to Agumbe – even without the High Court’s intervention.

Haryana ex-DGP S P S Rathore Convicted

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:07:52 +0000

It took the legal system 19 years and 400 hearings

to convict and sentence the former DGP to 6

months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 1000 for

molesting a teen……..who was driven to commit

suicide

S S Rathore, (who retired as Director General of Police, Haryana) then a senior police officer and President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association molested Ruchika Girhotra, a 14-year-old tennis player in August 1990. She committed suicide in 1993.The following is the sequence of events:

AUG 11, 1990
S S Rathore, then Deputy Inspector General of Police, Haryana and President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association visits Ruchika Girhotra’s house at noon.
He persuades her father, S C Girhotra, a bank manager, not to send Ruchika to Canada.
Promises special training for the teenager.
Asks her father to tell Ruchika to visit his office-cum residence the next day.

AUG 12, 1990
Ruchika and her friend Aradhana visit Rathore’s office-cum-residence in Panchkula (10 km from Chandigarh).
Rathore asks Aradhana to fetch the coach.
Aradhana returns to find Rathore molesting Ruchika.
On seeing her, Rathore lets go Ruchika, who rushes out of the room.
Rathore asks Aradhana to talk to Ruchika and that “he would do whatever she would say”.
Considering Rathore’s powerful position, the two teen age girls decide not to talk about the incident to their parents,

AUG 14, 1990
Ruchika and Aradhana go to the tennis court.
Rathore calls Ruchika again to his office.
This time, the girls decide to share it with the parents.
Ruchika confides in Aradhana’s mother, Madhu Parkash.

AUG 15, 1990
Both families, along with parents of other trainees of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association hand over a written complaint to Home Secretary J S Duggal.
The Chief Minister marks it to then DGP R R Singh.

AUG 26, 1990
The DGP summons Rathore.
In retaliation, Rathore arranges 45-50 hoodlums who raise slogans against Ruchika and smash the window panes of her house.

SEPT 3, 1990
DGP’s report finds the allegations true, recommends registration of case and investigation by CID.

MARCH 11, 1991
Change of government brings in a new DGP, RK Hooda,
He too recommends departmental action against Rathore.1992
Government agrees that an FIR can be registered against Rathore.
The case is transferred to the Chief Secretary.

AUG 12, 1992
First of the six auto theft FIRs is registered against Ruchika’s brother, Ashu.

OCT 23, 1993
Ruchika’s brother, Ashu is arrested, kept in custody for two months.
He is beaten up in custody and one day taken to his house, where Ruchika is told that her father would meet the same fate if she did not withdraw the complaint.

DEC 28, 1993
Ruchika consumes poison, dies next day.
Her brother Ashu is released.JAN 1994
Government withdraws all charges against Rathore.

APRIL 1997
Ruchika’s brother Ashu is discharged from all theft cases.

NOV 1997
Aradhana’s mother files a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
A year later, the High Court directs CBI to conduct an inquiry.DEC 1999
The Supreme Court upholds the order of High Court.

JAN 2000
The CBI files charge sheet against Rathore, recommends his removal in the interest of “free and fair deposition”.

JULY 2002
Rathore retires as DGP.

NOV 2009
The Case is transferred to CBI Chandigarh.

DEC 11, 2009
On Monday, 21^st December 2009 the special CBI court in Chandigarh sentences , S.P.S. Rathore to six months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 1,000.

The family was harassed so much that after Ruchika’s deatgm it shifted from Panchkula to an undisclosed location.

Authors note

Ø What is surprising is that not only successive governments did not take any action against Rathore, but promoted him.

Ø During the pendency of the case, Rathore was promoted by successive governments in Haryana, till he became DGP and retired in 2002 as the Director General of Police.

Ø He was also awarded the Police Medal in 1985.

Ø According to Lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj, who has been fighting the case free of cost for the last 13 years. “Rathore’s atrocities over Ruchika’s family forced the innocent girl to commit suicide”.

Ø Only now the Home ministry has issued show cause notices on S.P.S. Rathore, in an attempt to strip off the medal and also for reduction of his pension owing to the gruesome crime he committed.

Chief Justice of India

I hate people who are now saying that they tried to help in the case, but at that time remained silent spectators.They could then have leaked the information to the media and appropriate action would have been taken.

Does not this case call for suo moto action ?

This is my humble request to you..

Dr. Binoy Gupta
Retd. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax

Flamingoes in Mumbai – December 2009

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:08:52 +0000

After the monsoons, Flamingoes – the lesser and the greater ones – and a lot of other migratory birds come to the coastal mudflats of India from the North.They feed on the mudflats during the next five or six months and return to their homelands in April or so.

They also come to Sewree in Central Mumbai in large numbers. Sewree is hardly four kilometres from my residence.
But I never saw these birds in the mudflats there.

Call it a Christmas determination or whatever, on the 27th December 2009, I decided to see the flamingoes. We made phone to different people to learn about the tides, how to reach the best location to see the birds and whatever we could learn.

Its simple. You have to go to Sewree Station. You have to cross the gate (phatak) which takes you to the eastern side of the station. Ask any one for the Sewree Jetty (or Indian Oil Corporation) or Sewree Khari (Sewree Bay). It is less than a kilometre away. We reached the jetty in no time.

You should go there when the tide is low.
What a scene it was! I could not count the birds. But there were more than 15,000 flamingoes all around. The younger ones had a blackish colouration and moved around in small groups of their own. There were a lot of other birds.

At the jetty, we clambered up the iron ladder on to a large ship which was undergoing repairs.
(Of course, we first asked for and took permission from the first person we sighted on the ship.)I am attaching some of the photographs.
I am giving the web site from where you can see the tide table for any day.
I am not reproducing my earlier article on flamingoes. I am giving its link.
Read it if you like. And oh, like any other writer I would love to have your views and comments.Binoy GuptaEmail:, eleena100@hotmail.comWebsite of the Mumbai Port Trust:
http://www.mumbaiport.gov.in/newsite/PORTINFO/weather.htmLink to my earlier article on flamingoes:
http://www.binoygupta.com/travel_india/flamingo-greater-flamingo-lesser-flamingo-migratory-birds-sewree-creek-mitthi-river-an-indian-bureaucrats-diary-travelogue-on-india-binoy-gupta-234/

Justice Dinakaran – Strange Case of

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:37:49 +0000

The appointment of Chief Judges of different High Courts of India and Judges of the Supreme Court is made by the President of India (read Home Ministry) on the recommendation of a collegium of judges headed by the Chief Justice of India.
In August 2009, the collegium comprising K.G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice Altamas Kabir, recommended the names of Justice P.D. Dinakaran,
Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and four other Chief Justices for elevation to the Supreme Court of India.

On September 9, senior lawyers Fali Nariman and Shanti Bhushan, met the Chief Justice of India and submitted a detailed letter of complaint from several Chennai lawyers under the name of the Forum for Judicial Accountability.
The complaint levelled serious allegations of land grabbing in Kaverirajapuram in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu and other “irregularities” against Justice Dinakaran.

The lawyers also wrote to President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking their intervention and calling for a probe into the allegations.

On September 11, the Chief Justice of India summoned Justice P.D. Dinakaran to New Delhi and confronted him with the allegations in the presence of some other senior judges. Justice Dinakaran denied all the allegations.

(Following the complaints and the discreet enquiries, the name of Justice Dinakaran was delinked from the list of recommendees, and the four Chief Justices have since been elevated and taken over as Judges of the Supreme Court.)

On December 14, 75 non-Congress Rajya Sabha MPs submitted a notice of Motion to Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, seeking the impeachment of Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran under the Judges (Enquiry) Act 1968.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman admitted the plea on December 17.

Charges of land grabbing and other irregularities have been leveled against a Chief Justice of a High Court.
Reports from the Intelligence Bureau and District Collector of Tiruvallur District Collector lend prima facie support to the allegations.

To make matters worse, impeachment proceedings have already been initiated against Justice Dinakaran in the Rajya Sabha.
Politicians being what they are, some will support, while others will oppose the move purely for political considerations.
There can be no possible reason for not supporting the move and going ahead with the proceedings, which are in the nature of investigative proceeding, if only to clear him of all the charges.

Dinakaran is not sitting on any bench and not discharging any judicial functions.
Justice D. V. Shylendra Kumar (58) of the Karnataka High Court has publicly demanded that Justice Dinakaran should go on leave. He has demanded that a meeting of the Judges of Karnataka High Court should be called to decide this issue.

This demand is not in good taste, most unfortunate and is not legally tenable.
Under which provision can the Judges of the Karnataka High Court sit and decide what the Chief Justice should or should not do?

The Chief Justice of a High Court has constitutional powers to discharge judicial and administrative functions.
Even the Chief Justice of India cannot force him to do otherwise.

Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma who was the Chief Justice of India from March 25, 1997, to January 18, 1998 and the author of the judgement on the issue can be considered an authority on the subject.
He has discussed the issue whether Justice Dinakaran can be denied promotion or not in his several interviews widely reported by the media.
You can see his views at:
http://www.thehindu.com/fline/fl2520/stories/20081010252003500.htm

There is no doubt that Justice Dinakaran can be denied promotion.
He can be transferred.
And of course, he can be impeached.
What the final outcome will be, I really do not know.

But the issue has become very ugly.
Justice Dinakaran should not behave like petty government functionaries and insist on proper evidence.
The sacred institution of judiciary has already suffered far too much damage.
To save the sacred institution from further erosion in values, Justice Dinakaran should gracefully resign.

Not being appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court itself is humiliating.
A transfer would spell disaster.
Impeachment would be last straw in the unfortunate chain of events.

A lot of judicial impropriety has already been committed and perpetuated in this extraordinary and unfortunate case.
Justice Dinakaran – act with the grace and dignity the occasion and circumstances demand.

Tender your resignation!

Digha

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:32:02 +0000

the most popular week end get away
for Kolkatians (Calcuttans)

Digha (originally known as Beerkul) is the most popular beach, and weekend get away, for the people of West Bengal in general, and Kolkata in particular.

In 1780, in one of his letters to his wife, Warren Hasting wrote about Digha as the “Brighton of the East”.In 1923, John Frank Smith, an English tourist was so enamoured by the beauty of Digha that he started living there. His writings about Digha brought the place into prominence.
After independence, John Frank Smith convinced Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, to develop Digha as a beach resort.

Digha has beautiful, firm, sandy beaches - so firm that you can drive cars and land small planes on them.

I used to visit Digha quite often to collect sea anemones, star fishes, small fishes and other small creatures for my marine aquariums. I also used to bring in sea water for these aquariums. Once, I got a large eel.

The water is shallow up to considerable distances. I used to walk into the sea for almost a kilometre. But believe me, this was fool hardy and certainly not safe.
You should never go out too far from the shore.

Activities You can play around in the sand and sea and pamper your stomach with local
Bengali cuisine.
The fried fish on the sea front is certainly worth trying.

You can shop for ornaments and curios, hand-woven mats made of weeds,
and purchase cashew nuts.

Other places to see

New Digha (2 kms) is practically an extension of Digha.
(On the way to New Digha, you can view marine life at the aquarium, or visit the Science Centre for some scientific facts.)
Shiva Temple at Chandaneshwar (8 kms).
Talasari, another lovely beach (3 kms).
Shankarpur, an untouched beach, often called the twin of Digha (14 kms).
Shankarpur is also an important fishing harbour.
Junput, another beautiful beach (40 kms).
This beach is great for fishing and sun bathing.
The State Government Fisheries Department, conducts fish cultivation and research here.
Mandarmani (14 kms), a small virgin beach with also a small fishing harbour, is a fast developing tourist resort.

Reaching there

Digha is 187 kms from Kolkata,
You can go by car, taxi or public transport.The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering great all inclusive packages from Kolkata to Digha.

Recommendation

Digha has suffered severe soil erosion. Much of its old time glory has passed over to New Digha which is almost like an extension of Digha.

The beach is lined with Casuarina trees.
The sea is calm and safe for swimming.
You can see both the sunrise and sunset at Digha.

There are plenty of hotels of all kinds at cheap rates.

Tourism Information

You can get tourist information from
West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.
New Secretariat Building (West Block) Ground FloorKolkata – 700 001 Phone; 91 33 – 2248 7302/8256/8242, 2210 3194

Indian Cheetah

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:12:21 +0000

Reintroduction in India

The Cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth.
The word “cheetah” is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘chitraka’, meaning “speckled”.

Asiatic Cheetah

Once upon a time, the Asiatic Cheetah (a different sub specie from its African cousin) was quite common and roamed all the way from Arabia to Iran, Afghanistan and India. The Asiatic Cheetah was also known as the hunting leopard, and were kept by kings and princes to hunt gazelle.
The Moghul Emperor Akbar is believed to have kept 1000 cheetahs.

Decimation of the Asiatic Cheetah

At the turn of the 20th century, there were several thousands of the Asiatic Cheetah in India.
But they were indiscriminately hunted.
The last three wild cheetahs in India were shot by the Maharajah of Surguja in eastern Madhya Pradesh in 1947.

After that, there remained a few cheetahs in different zoos of India.
But all of them died.
Since then, 35 cheetahs have been brought to India.
All of them died due to improper care and diseases in 6 different zoos – Hyderabad, Delhi, Kanpur, Calcutta, Trivandrum and Mysore.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals has listed the Asiatic Cheetah as ‘critically endangered’.
Only 75 to 100 remain in the wild – confined to Iran’s Kavir desert – with a few being sighted in south-west Pakistan.

Reintroduction of the Cheetah

We hear so much of animal species being wiped out, that reintroduction of a species is wonderful news.
We may be able to see the Asiatic Cheetah once again in our forests.
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), has drawn up a detailed plan to reintroduce the cheetah.
It has identified several locations it considers suitable habitats.

Cheetah from Numibia

The Government of India approached Iran for a pair of cheetahs.
Iran agreed to give a pair in exchange of a pair of wild lions.
But Gujarat refused to give the two lions from the Gir Sanctuary.

The Government of India then approached Namibia and Namibia agreed to give a pair of cheetahs to India.
But the Namibian cheetah is a different sub-species from the Asiatic cheetah, and scientists warn that no translocation should be done without proper studies.

Final decision to be taken in September 2009

An international conference of experts from Africa and Europe will be held in September 2009 to move the project forward.
If the plan is cleared, the pair of Numibian cheetahs are likely to be translocated to Rajasthan.

A final decision will be taken by the Government of India after the expert meeting.
However, scientists want a very cautious approach because what is being reintroduced from Numibia are not the the Asiatic Cheetah but a different sub-species.

We may soon see the Cheetah in our forests

As things are moving in the right direction, I am sure Cheetah will soon be reintroduced in our forests.