JUDICIAL MAFIADOM IS BORN

Before pointing out the facts relating to the issue existence of the Judicial Mafiadom, this is necessary to mention here the reasons which compelled me to examine this very important issue? 

            With due respect for the Judiciary, I must submit that I do have full faith in the judicial system and respect for the judiciary, but at the same time, being a Citizen of India I also feel that this is my humble duty to point out some of the missing that now a days reflects in the fairness, in the judiciary as appeared to me in certain cases under the direct impact of the embracement of the newly grown and developed 'judicial mafiadom'.                  

But, before coming to this point, I should be allowed to refer some of my good experiences based on serious and active judicial sensitivity, which now is going to be missed. Only thereafter, I myself may also try to answer of the aforesaid developments based on my own sufferings. I hope that for the protection of the true efficacy of the judiciary, my this expression must produce some good results, contrary to my recent past experiences.

My Very Good experiences based on serious judicial sensitivity:-

In or about in the year of 1980-82 Birla's Hindalco moved before the Kolkata High Court challenging the Aluminium Control Order. I intervened in the matter, but my petition was dismissed by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipak Sen of the Kolkata High Court, just on the grounds that I was not  the personally interested party in the matter. In the said matter the present Hon'ble Attorney General Mr. Milon Bonerjee, appeared on behalf of the MMTC in his the then capacity as Addl. Solicitor General of India. On behalf of the Birla's Hindalco, Senior most Lawyers of the country including Mr. Sidharth Shankar Ray, Bar-at-law, Mr. Dipankar Gupta, Bar-at-law, Mr. Bhasker Gupta Bar-at-law, and a number of other Senior Advocates appeared to oppose my aforesaid intervention Petition. However, after the dismissal of my said Petition, I took courage to resort to start sending telegraphic messages to the Union of India and Hon'ble Chief Justice of India. Finally Birla lost the said case in the Supreme Court. This was a case of serious judicial sensitivity.

            In an another case, I had challenged the Merger of the Indian Aluminium Co. Limited (INDAL) with the Mahindra & Mahindra Limited with the strong supporting prima facie data evidences against the merger, though the merger proposal was fully supported by the then Government led by Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, and was in full and final swing. I felt that this matter of challenge of merger by me was within the knowledge of the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tarun Chatterjee of Supreme Court who was at that time a practising Advocate of Kolkata High Court, if I am not wrong. Finally, upon my telegraphic petition to the then Acting Chief Justice of India (at that point of time he was an Acting CJI) Mr. P. N. Bhagawati, with prayers to hear all the matters by the SC, which were then pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, 2 High Courts of Kolkata and Mumbai, MRTP Commission and Company law Board. Reportedly, after the cognizance was taken by the SC, the Government of India, hurriedly went in to the course-corrective mode by declaring the merger proposal against 'National Interest', just in the nick of time, when the merger was at the verge of being implemented. This was another matter of serious  judicial sensitivity. M/S. Indian Aluminium Company Limited was an important client of Mr. Dipankar Gupta, Bar-at-Law. So from the said looser of the merger proposal by his important client. My impression is flowing from past experiences is that thereafter, Mr. Dipankar Gupta, Bar-at-Law, always took me as his adversary,  and hence even at the cost of professional ethics, never lost any occasion to damage my legal or constitutional rights.   

            In one more matter I got arrested by the then Munsif, 5th Court Alipore (Kolkata), after getting me forcibly lifted in the before the very eyes of more than 500 people present in the Court compond, by fabricating against me and thereby implicating me in a false case that: “I was caught red-handed while I was tearing out some Court Records”. After I could come out on bail, I put in a very strong protest in a Complaint to the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice as well as to some other Judges of Kolkata High Court also. The Hon'ble Mr. Justice A. N. Sen of the Kolkata High Court ordered an inquiry in the matter, and after due inquiry, for the first time in the judicial history of India the respective Judicial Officer was sacked from the judicial service. I as an ordinary common citizen, having no political connection or any other influence, got justice done to me, simply because  it was based on merit and because of the impartiality in the judicial system. This was a strong and a very positive experience of the judicial sensitivity of a common man like me against a powerful lobby which was busy behind the scene which included personalities no less than Mr. Som Nath Chatterjee, (then) M. P., Mr. Dipankar Gupta, Bar-at-law, and a number of other Advocates form Kolkata.

            In my humble view the following developments in Judicial System is also responsible for the missing of judicial sensitivity in certain matters:-

            Now-a-days for the reasons best known to God, such sensitivity is not seen. The Hon'ble Supreme Court appears to be a Court, as if, reserved only for the multimillionaires or those capable to wield influence in one way or the other, since the genuine Petitioners-in-person are discouraged through various means and methods, even by taking recourse to such methods as to change even the SC Rules through backdoors, without any regard of the constitutional modalities. I am myself a victim of such backdoor manipulation of amendment in the S. C. Rules, while keeping in the dark the Collegium of the Judges of S. C., except those who were involved in the manipulation thus committing even the violation of the constitution to that extent, which caused me   immense suffering because of the abuse and misuse of such modified and amended Supreme Court Rules w. e. f. 1997.

Aforesaid amendment in the Supreme Court Rules, 1966 was a serious affair of tampering. Had this been done by a common man, he would have been hauled up behind the bar. In the whole constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is credited to have provided the most important provision empowering every citizen to be able to directly move to the Supreme Court seek remedy against the infringement of his/her fundamental rights. But, the then Chief Justice of India Mr. A. M. Ahmadi, and then Justice J. S. Verma, adopted a path of keeping the other fellow SC judges in complete darkness about the real purpose and object behind the proposed agenda Item No. 3 and thus without going into the discussions regarding the affect of the impact of the proposed amendment got through the amendment in the Supreme Court Rules and thus  snatched away the guaranteed rights of ever citizenry to move directly to the Supreme Court, provided by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

            The result is that after the aforesaid amendment in the SC Rules, the powers of the Supreme Court, have been assigned or transferred to the Registrar in violation of the Scheme, Object and Provisions of the Article 32 of the Constitution of India, empowering them to refuse to register any Writ Petition seeking remedy against infringement of, which causes serious barrier against petitioner-in-person like me, thus allowed to misuse by Judicial Mafiadom, through gratification or otherwise, to cause obstruction against the genuine petitioner-in-person who intends to move directly to the Hon'ble Supreme Court for remedy of restoration of the guaranteed fundamental rights. This misnomer of working has curtailed and snatched away the fundamental rights of Citizen.

            Possibly I was the first victim of the said amended Rule. Since in my Writ Petition Mr. Gopal Subramanium, Sr. Advocate, was amongst the Respondents. My Petition was neither a Letter Petition nor a Fax  message, but was refused to be registered, possibly just to help the respective 'Land Mafia' who had a strong patronage of Shri Jyoti Basu, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal and Shri Som Nath Chatterjee, (then) M. P. , and other political leaders from West Bengal. The said Land Mafia also hatched separately plots to kill me and my son, resulting in severe attempts not once but twice. This story was also covered as a news item by the Amrita Bazar Patrika dated 15th November, 1994. If the decision in the matter of registration of the Writ Petitions in the Supreme Court Registry is left at the mercy of the consideration of the political clout of one party or other, then only God can help to save the efficacy of the judiciary, and thereby the democracy.

            On the basis of hard experiences gained as learnt through the Supreme Court proceedings, the Petitioner now come to know that under the lens of the principle of finality of final order of the Supreme Court, (Nine Judge Bench (AIR 1967 SC 1:(1966) 3, SCR 744) Judgment), the mind-set of the Supreme Court gradually but slowly started to shift from its responsibility, as a Guardian, Guarantor and Watchdog-Protector of the individual's rights guaranteed under Article 32 of the Constitution as held by Six Judge Bench (AIR:1950,Sc: 124, Kania CJ, Fazl Ali, Patanjali Sastri, Mahajan, B.K.Mokherjea, And Das JJ.), that: “The Supreme Court is thus constituted the protector and guarantor of fundamental rights, and it cannot, consistently with the responsibility so laid upon it, refuse to entertain applications seeking protection against infringement of such rights”

by deviating towards a complete negative  direction:

“………… it is a settled position in law that no judicial order passed by any superior court in judicial proceedings can be said to violate any of the fundamental rights enshrined in Part III”.

Such shifting was not consistent with the object, scope, meaning and ambit of Article 32 of the Constitution, as also appears from the observation from another Judgment of SC.  

“These contentions pose the question, whether an order passed by this Court can be corrected under its inherent powers after dismissal of the review petition on the ground that it was passed either without jurisdiction or in violation of the principles of natural  justice or due to unfair procedure giving scope for bias  which resulted in abuse of the process of the court or miscarriage of justice to an aggrieved person” 

In fact such shifting causes serious development of situation with fall outs of severe magnitude, for which  Supreme Court cannot absolve itself from the responsibility. By such shifting the Supreme Court is admittedly not only denying the guaranteed remedy against the infringement of the Fundamental Rights, but is also giving strength of firmness to the Nexus between the Land Mafia, and the Powerful Politician with the active support of some such Senior lawyers, who also have access to the corridors of power. 

            In this regard, I am constrained to say that the Advocates Act is completely incompetent to protect the rights of the litigants, who are fighting against the organised crime committed by the Mafia with the tacit support of renowned Lawyers. The Act completely shows its imbalance by the tendency of tilting in favour of the wrong doings by the Court Officers.