SibalNama Episode-2 – “Court Reforms are required to release 2G scam culprits,” Salman Khurshid enters in the serial, Helpless Sibal Uncle due to Media, Court and CBI
After the invention of revolutionary "Zero Loss theory" and the lack of acceptance by the so called anti-social elements, our hero Sibal Uncle despite his old age did not keep quiet and tried to get support for his save Raja campaign from his own party. Most intelligent creature in the Universe Digvijay Singh (Diggy Chacha) and Salman Khurshid (Salman Bhaai) openly supported him. While Diggy Chacha said that cases where charge sheet has been filed the accused must gait bail. However, he didn't maintain anybody's name. Salman Bhaai was more aggressive. He asked for Court reforms so that people who bear the brunt from 2G Scam would get some bail relief.
Bhaai Tales
Salman Bhaai urged the Supreme Court to speak in one voice and reform in the direction of consistency, an oblique suggestion that the high-profile individuals arrested in the 2G spectrum scandal and other corruption cases deserve to get bail. Bhaai traced back to 1986 to prove his point (wow) and pointed to the precedent of the judiciary giving bail to industrialist Lalit Mohan Thapar in 1986. "I can't say all those judges were wrong, starting from Krishna Iyer. Lalit Mohan Thapar was given bail at the judge's residence. Indirectly, he indicated that judges should work from home if the scale is such as 2G scam.
He said now you may not like it but the point remains that that was the law of the land. That you must go the extra mile to ensure that the person does not suffer before you are able to finally, institutionally condemn him. This is not my view but the view of the Supreme Court. However, he didn't tell the reason why did he take so much efforts to trace back to 1986 judgment.
The judges can change their mind and there is nothing wrong with it. But my question is: Is it the position of the court or is it one of the positions it has taken?" Members of Parliament A Raja, Kanimozhi and Suresh Kalmadi, as well as top executives of companies, are in jail facing corruption charges, unable to secure bail, leading many to observe that the courts are parsimonious with granting bail. However, Bhaai neither said anything on the Court and CBI's remarks that the culprits could destroy the evidences nor took a guarantee that they will not destroy.
Bhaai blamed everything on media and said the relentless media attention and pressure could have played a part in courts denying bail to those accused of involvement in corruption scandals. He added "Media pressure is very great and not every judge can withstand media pressure. Forget a judge, not any minister can withstand media pressure." Bhaai, it was media because of what A. Raja is in Jail and not in his 5-Star kind of Bungalow.
Bhaai admitted the government's shortcomings, but said the judiciary, too, has failings it must correct. "They must have their own internal norms and codes which allow for a greater reflection of a collective opinion rather than an opinion of one or two benches," he said. One opposition leader said "Bhaai thinks himself as a judge who is superior to Supreme Court Judge."
Helpless Sibal Uncle due to Media, Court and CBI L
Sibal Uncle's save Raja campaign also received an unexpected support from opposition leader, Jaswant Singh (who knows to oppose BJP to show intellectual difference between him and other BJP leaders). "I personally feel... I am not a jurist/lawyer either by training or by preference. There are too many lawyers in Parliament. I feel that if somebody has been charged and that charge is not of a heinous nature like robbery, murder or any such thing and when trial is on, then that somebody should not be kept in the prison because you can't permanently deny bail. Bail by itself is a citizen's right unless he is charged with such a crime that it must not be permitted," he said.
Our hero of SibalNama, Sibal Uncle entered in this episode quite a late as he was engaged in collecting proofs. However, he came with a bang and said "We are in a slump, there is no doubt. And we are in a slump because of several factors, most of all, perception. People perceive this as a sector that is a source of corruption and in the context of the court cases going on. And, in the context of the fact that we have no decision on the 122 licenses that are still in a limbo. Banks are worried to lend to these telecom operators (he didn't name the operators?) without knowing what will be the fate of all these licenses. So it is a combination of all these factors that has led to a negative perception. (But) in the long term, it is a sector which will deliver (ha… ha…).
He also gave some emotional touch when a question was asked about what will happen to promoters of Unitech and Swan (now Etisalat-DB). "We have to consider all these issues. After all there are consumers on those networks. So what happens to them? With mobile number portability they can go to other networks, but there is also the issue of investments. So what happens to those investments? Should we auction spectrum again? Will we get the kind of price we got in 2007-08 (DCFC Note - why not boss if you said that the sector will deliver then you will also get prices, please don't copy Diggy Chacha kind of statements J), we don't know? The market reacts to an existing situation. People talk about 3G prices, but if we were to auction 3G again, will we get the same price? It is very difficult to assess what will happen," he said
Finally, Sibal Uncle gave his view on the Court's functioning and the denial of bail to Raja, Kanimozhi and their other associates (it does not include world's most beautiful woman "Maria Susairaj" who spent most important 3 years of her career in jail.. sob… sob…).
He said "You see what happens in situations like this we all get carried away by public opinion. And the function of the judge is always to rise above public opinion. Otherwise the rule of law is unsafe. Now we leave it to the judiciary because a very delicate constitutional balance that is part of our constitutional framework should not be disturbed. So my worry is that on occasions we seem to be overreaching and institutions have to be careful about it. I am seeing democracy being hurt very badly. I don't want to blame anybody. I think the executive has not only underperformed, but there are issues of corruption we have to deal with. I think the legislature has also underperformed - we are seeing the paralysis in legislative functioning, which is an anathema to growth. We are seeing a judiciary that is overperforming.
And we are seeing a media that is entirely irresponsible. I think it is the duty of the media to bring to book those who commit crimes, but that must be based on hard evidence. The generalization that occurs based on specific instances is very harmful to India's perception within as well as abroad. I have the greatest respect for the media and I will stand up at any time to fight for its independence, but independence cannot be misunderstood for recklessness. Independence comes with a certain responsibility. We say the judiciary is independent, but the more independent you are, the more responsible you have to be. The media somehow has not struck a balance between independence and responsibility, which is the hallmark of true independence. This is a problem. More so, the electronic media, and not so much the print media.
Finally agreeing the fearful situation for the government, Sibal Uncle said "Everybody is fearful. Nobody wants to get involved with the CBI. You cannot run an industry under threat of Tihar jail. No economy can flourish. (There is) this clamour... that every ministry is corrupt, every minister is corrupt, every institution is corrupt. If you have this kind of clamour continuing, you cannot have economic growth. Which sector will grow?"