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.

Abortion & Law

There are different legal provisions relating to abortion in different countries.

The Position in India

In India, abortion is not allowed after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
This has led to a piquant situation.

A Unique Case

A couple in Mumbai – Niketa and Haresh Mehta were expecting a child.
A sonography test revealed that the 25 week old foetus had a congenital heart block.
The child-to- be-born would need a pace maker right from its birth and constant medical treatment for the rest of its life involving huge medical expenses.
They decided to get the baby aborted.
Doctors refused to carry out the abortion because abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy is illegal.

The couple approached the Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court appointed an expert committee of three doctors to give their recommendations.
The team gave a report that they were in not in favour of the abortion, but the final decision had to be taken by the couple.

The Judges called the couple and discussed the matter with them.
The couple said they did want a child – but a healthy one.
So they wanted abortion – if legally possible.

The judges offered a suggestion that the state would take care of all the medical expenses of the child.
The couple did not accept the suggestion.
They did not have faith that the government would give timely help.

Dilemma

The Judges are in a dilemma.
They want to follow the law.
They have directed the expert committee to give a clear opinion.

Lord Dennings

It is a well know fact, that under the guise of interpreting laws, judges are constantly making laws.

In the words of Lord Dennings:“ Law does not stand still. It moves continually.Once this is recognised, then the task of the Judge is put on a higher plane.
He must consciously seek to mould the law so as to serve the needs of the time. He must not be a mere mechanic, a mere working mason, laying brick on brick, without thought to the overall design.

He must be an architect – thinking of the structure as a whole, building for society a system of law which is strong, durable and just.It is on his work that civilised society itself depends.”

Go ahead Judges.
You don’t need the support of a team of doctors.
You have the support of the noblest legal luminary in the world.

Dr. Binoy Gupta