Role of Media in Investigation

EI investigation: The US media and the attack on Gaza -In the first three days of the Israeli offensive from 28-30 December, editorials and op-eds from five major US papers overwhelmingly adopted the official US and Israeli government talking points on the conflict -- even where this version was clearly contradicted by the legal and historical record, widely available to the public. The editorial pages erroneously put forward the view that Gaza was no longer occupied, ignored Israel's numerous cease fire violations, and blindly asserted Israel's right of self defense regardless of what was happening on the ground. Overall, the commentary presented a disturbingly false and misleading picture of the conflict to the American public. The legal status of Gaza is repeatedly being misrepresented in the op-ed pages and the American mainstream media generally. While the international consensus position at the UN and among human rights organizations is that Gaza remains occupied even after the 2005 Israeli disengagement, the editorials and op-eds collectively refused to acknowledge this view. Instead, the editorial pages chose to adopt and promote the Israeli government view of a 2005 "complete withdrawal" from Gaza so that Israel no longer retains official responsibility there. The issue has important implications for determining accountability in the conflict, the humanitarian situation in the Strip, and even military operations that can be taken. Link:http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10139.shtml.

Media policy

The media plays an important role in disseminating information to the public, and the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services (NTPFES) policy is to provide timely assistance to the media and to also provide the public with information that supports the mission statement of the NTPFES in: “Work together to reduce crime and protect the community from fires, other emergencies and disasters.”For the media to report accurately it is necessary for police, fire and emergency service personnel to assist them by providing appropriate facts. Indeed, the media can give valuable assistance to the NTPFES.When police, fire and emergency service personnel deal with the media there is, however, a degree of risk that outcomes might be unforeseen and undesirable. Therefore the NTPFES undertakes to support fully any officer acting within the guidelines of this policy.Link:http://www.nt.gov.au/pfes/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&p=369&m=24&sm=58.

The role of the media in constructing and reinforcing fear of crime should not be overlooked. They have a powerful role in reporting criminal behaviour, and reinforcing the anxiety which individuals may have with regard to their potential experience of crime. Furthermore, the media's coverage of crime can contribute to the differences
which exist between the level of crime and the perceived and feared level of crime in
an area.
Role of media in the society- Today television channels and newspapers are making fast money by cashing on the news in wrong sense and wrong way. In the race to become more popular and to make money they have broken all the limits media must follow while serving to build a healthy and progressive society. They have no respect for the sentiments and ethics of the people and land whom they serve to, with their immense power to influence the massses they just make judgment like a true dictator rather than a good advice of a true friend as they previously used to do. If it will be going in the future then we people have to think about the role of media in our life.The media plays a very important role as a source of information,education and entertainment.It accommodates the world in to a single village which is saturated of media-information. Media plays an important role. Its a mirror of the society. It's duty is to inform, educate and entertain the people but nowadays we see that media is not doing its duty honestly. Instead of giving important information and educative programme it is giving emphasis to sensationalize the public. They are only trying to attract people to increase their TRP rating. They raise the matter for 2 or 3 days then they forget that and never try to get the feedback of the cases.Media has a constructive role to play for the society. Today News Channels and even some Newspapers are mouthpiece of some political parties. Their work then limits only to spread the ideology of the party rather than giving the correct news. People have to judge on their own by looking different channels for the same news and then form a conclusion. Link:http://dimdima.com/forumnw/message.asp?Tid=1043& q_title=Role+of+media+in+the+society.

Media in India—initiated since the late 1700s with print media started in 1780, radio broadcasting initiated in 1927, and the screening of Auguste and Louis Lumière moving pictures in Bombay initiated during the July of 1895 —is among the oldest and largest media of the world. Indian media—private media in particular—has been free and independent throughout most of its history. The period of emergency (1975–1977), declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was the brief period when India's media was faced with potential government retribution.The country consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007—making it the second largest market in the world for newspapers. By 2008, India had a total of 60,000,000 Internet users—comprising 6.0% of the country's population, and 4,010,000 people in India also had access to broadband Internet as of 2008— making it the 18th largest country in the world in terms of broadband Internet users. also ranks 8th in the list of countries by number of television broadcast stations by 1997 statistics.The first major newspaper in India—The Bengal Gazette—was started in 1780 under the British Raj. Other newspapers such as The India Gazette, The Calcutta Gazette, The Madras Courier (1785), The Bombay Herald (1789) etc. soon followed. These newspapers carried news of the areas under the British rule. The Times of India was founded in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce by Bennett, Coleman and Company, a colonial enterprise now owned by an Indian conglomerate.The Times Group publishes The Economic Times (launched in 1961), Navbharat Times (Hindi language), and the Maharashtra Times (Marathi language).During the 1950s 214 daily newspapers were published in the country. of these, 44 were English language dailies while the rest were published in various regional languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with 209 English dailies. The total number of newspapers published in the country reached 35,595 newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies).The main regional newspapers of India include the Malayalam language Malayala Manorama (published from: Kerala, daily circulation: 673,000), the Hindi-language Dainik Jagran (published from: Uttar Pradesh, daily circulation in 2006: 580,000), and the Anandabazar Patrika (published from: Kolkata, daily circulation in 2006: 435,000).The Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, and the Anandabazar Patrika Group are the main print media houses of the country.Newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22% in 2007. By 2007, 62 of the world's best selling newspaper dailies were published in China, Japan, and India. India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007—making it the second largest market in the world for newspapers.

The Role of the Media in a Democratic India--Media plays a mediator role between the people of the nation and the government; it is highlighting the people’s problem in front of the government and taking feedback from the government upon social and safety issues of the nation in terms of national welfare.In a democratic India, media is a fourth pillar of the democracy due to its social responsibilities, but at the age of 60 years of independence and the economical growth towards no.1 power of the world by 2020, the role of the media is very uncertain and putting question mark on Indian journalism. Before going ahead, we have to stop and think: Is Indian media plays a role for that it is been known - fourth pillar of the nation? If not, then what role it should play? And the answer is fair, impartial, reliable reporting and accurate news analyzation. As far as news concern, media should take a very rigid stand to analyze the news, how it happens and how it came into the existence to know the root cause of the problem. But, rather going deep into the problem, journalists are blindly accepting the truth which is formulated by the police or some social evil elements and proliferate the same publicly. In many cases innocent people have been charged and guilty enjoy their sin with the contentment to commit it again.India is a multi-cultural country, thus, we have very sensitive social structure, once someone caught or labeled as guilty, he will never be able to re-start his life again. Instead he will be welcomed by taunts and social grouses, so that he detains himself in a dark life. We are proud to be Indian because of our multi-cultural and value system of India, which gives every Indian an equal opportunity to live and grow in a national stream-line upon his capabilities and skills to be a part of modern develop India. Thus, this is the responsibility of every Indian to play a part of his role to facilitate others in terms of fair living, equal opportunity, communal harmony and social welfare ness.As it is an established fact that everyone is responsible for his own deeds or sins, therefore, it is not wise to target a community or a religion for a sin of one person or few people. Similarly, entire community of journalists should not be fall under suspicious category for the misdeeds or inappropriate reporting of few journalists. Everybody knows police plays a partial role during riots or investigation on terrorism; we have several examples like Sri Krishna Commission Report, Godhra and Gujrat Riot Reports, etc.Recently Banglore and Ahmed are witness of terrorist attacks, here, the question is: are terrorist more organized and smart than our security agencies. Center had the information and they have also informed state government to be ready to tackle such situation. Amazing! Terrorist are attacking one after another, but we are unable to trace them. If we had the information of attacks then why attacks are not averted? Why terrorists are not caught before the attacks?We all know that some organizations are distributing weapons among their community; what happens to this issue? Nothing; neither reported nor propagated so precisely. We can consider the double standard of police and politicians, but how could we expect the same standard from the journalism! Which is the fourth pillar of the Indian democracy? We know better, when one pillar collapse, whole building tumble on the ground.Many sensational, burning, social and national issues need the concentration of journalism to break the ice and bring them back in the news to explore, discuss and analyze to make the truth distinct from ambiguous or falsehood, only then social evil die and people of the state and the nation will live in peace and harmony in this charismatic and multi cultural nation.When this will happen, indeed, this would be the first step towards the healthy society and a step to fulfill our dream towards number one power of the world. Now, this is the responsibility of the Indian journalism, how they are going to shape and direct the new generation of the nation towards prosperity, communal harmony, equality, tolerance, and national-integrity or towards communal hatred and inequality. Link: http://content.msn.co.in/MSNContribute/Story.aspx?PageID=953e1a5a-7031-4228-9214-5b1bcc3d7f73.

Trial by media

Trial by Media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of any verdict in a court of law.In the United Kingdom there is a heated debate between those who support a free press which is largely uncensored and those who place a higher priority on an individual's right to privacy and right to a fair trial.During high publicity court cases, the media are often accused of provoking an atmosphere of public hysteria akin to a lynch mob which not only makes a fair trial nearly impossible but means that regardless of the result of the trial the accused will not be able to live the rest of their life without intense public scrutiny.The counter-argument is that the mob mentality exists independently of the media which merely voices the opinions which the public already has.There are different reasons why the media attention is particularly intense surrounding a legal case: the first is that the crime itself is in some way sensational, by being horrific or involving children; the second is that it involves a celebrity either as victim or accused.

History- Although a recently coined phrase, the idea that popular media can have a strong influence on the legal process goes back certainly to the advent of the printing press and probably much further. This is not including the use of a state controlled press to criminalize political opponents, but in its commonly understood meaning covers all occasions where the reputation of a person has been drastically affected by ostensibly non-political publications.

Trial by Media in India- n India, trial by media has assumed significant proportions. Some famous criminal cases that would have gone unpunished but for the intervention of media are Priyadarshini Mattoo case, Jessica Lal case, Nitish Katara murder case and Bijal Joshi rape case. The media however drew flak in the reporting of murder of Aarushi Talwar, when it preempted the court and reported that her own father Dr. Rajesh Talwar, and possibly her mother Nupur Talwar were involved in her murder, thus reviving memories of JonBenet Ramsey murder, which was hauntingly similar. The CBI later declared that Rajesh was not the killer.Between September 2004 and March 2005, the media - print, audio and visual all wrote about His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, a Hindu religious leader, suggesting his guilt in a murder case, but the High Courts of Madras and Andhra Pradesh and the Supreme Court of India repeatedly found that there was no material evidence to find him guilty and came down heavily on the media and the Government of Tamilnadu for misuse of government machinery.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_media.

Arushi case: A trial by media or a trial of media?

New Delhi: The Arushi Talwar case has raised several troubling questions for the media and the police, questions that strike at the heart of the process of investigation and news reporting.When the CBI finally conceded it could not find any evidence against Talwar, many thought it was all over.But a day later - on Saturday - when Rajesh Talwar walked out of Dasna jail, there was more of the same.Fifty days on, and there's no sign of fatigue, no end in sight to the media frenzy.“Please let me spend some time with my family, in the past 50 days I have not been able to share my grief with anyone,” Talwar said.The murder was a classic whodunit for the media. But it was the UP police that provided fodder for speculation.A press conference addressed by IG Meerut Zone, Gurdarshan Singh, days after the murder added fuel to fire. “Arushi and Hemraj were aware of the extra-marital relationship of Doctor Talwar. And slowly they both developed intimate relationships,” he said.Friends of the Talwar Family, ordinary citizens as well as the Women & Child Development Minister expressed outrage.Renuka Chowdhary demanded Singh be suspended and charged for character assassination of the victim.Faced with a bungling police force, the media, in a way, decided to play cop. The two families - Talwars and Durranis - continued to be taunted and harassed the moment they stepped out of their house, by an army of reporter.After the CBI took over the case on June 1, it added two other suspects. But it was still Rajesh Talwar who was hounded by the media. When his bail application was rejected, most of the media and their viewers felt vindicated.Warnings from CBI Director Vijay Shankar – “We will keep reminding the media what its limits are,” he said – did not help.New versions kept doing the rounds. Media critics say techniques such as reconstructions run the risk of distorting facts.“Any case that is still under investigation, I am not sure if you have the ethical right to do reconstructions and make a crime show out of it,” says media critic, Shohini Ghosh.India records over 30,000 cases of homicide every year and going by that figure, there must have been at least 4,000 cases in the past 50 days. There have been floods, terror attacks and political developments of national significance. But none of these has been able to distract media's attention from the Noida double murders.In fact according to a study conducted by the CMS, special programmes on the case hogged almost 40 hours out of a total 92 hours of prime time between May 16 and June 7.Just how much is too much? Going by the media's continued obsession with the case, it seems even too much is too little.Link:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/arushi-case-a-trial-by-media-or-a-trial-of-media/68748-3.html.

The media in India is one of the freest in the world in terms
of legal constraints. Freedom of expression incorporated in
her Constitution in Article 19(1) remains an important
facilitator for widespread engagement within a democratic
atmosphere. As beautifully remarked by the first Prime
Minister of independent India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru - “I
would rather have a completely free press with all the
dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom than a suppressed or regulated press.” But
that great man could not foresee the danger involved in the ‘administration of justice’ which is
the very essence of the natural justice and the rule of law or rather he would not have
expected the press to get involved into something which is beyond its limit and ethics too. To
realize the vision of Mr. Nehru, the media has been provided with many freedoms and
immunities so that this fourth pillar of democracy stands tall and strong. But what Lord Atkin
relates with power is also well placed with the notion of liberty. Liberty does corrupt into
license and is prone to be abused. Every institution is liable to be abused, and every liberty, if
left unbridled, has the tendency to become a license which would lead to disorder and
anarchy1. It has to be remembered that freedom of expression is not absolute, unlimited or
unfettered and in all circumstances, as giving on an unrestricted freedom of the speech and
expression, would amount to uncontrolled license.
Media has now reincarnated itself into a ‘public court’ (Janta Adalat) and has
started interfering into court proceedings. It completely overlooks the vital gap between an
accused and a convict keeping at stake the golden principles of ‘presumption of innocence
until proven guilty’ and ‘guilt beyond reasonable doubt’. Now, what we observe is media trial
where the media itself does a separate investigation, builds a public opinion against the
accused even before the court takes cognizance of the case. By this way, it prejudices the
public and sometimes even judges and as a result the accused, that should be assumed
innocent, is presumed as a criminal leaving all his rights and liberty unredressed. If excessive
publicity in the media about a suspect or an accused before trial prejudices a fair trial or results in characterizing him as a person who had indeed committed the crime, it amounts to
undue interference with the “administration of justice”, calling for proceedings for contempt
of court against the media. Unfortunately, rules designed to regulate journalistic conduct are
inadequate to prevent the encroachment of civil rights. The print and electronic media have gone into fierce and ruthless competition, as we
call them ‘aggressive journalism’ that a multitude of cameras are flashed at the suspects or
the accused and the police are not even allowed to take the suspects or accused from their
transport vehicles into the courts or vice versa. The Press Council of India issues guidelines
from time to time and in some cases, it does take action. But, even if ‘apologies’ are directed
to be published; they are published in such a way that either they are not apologies or the
apologies are published in the papers at places which are not very prominent. The most
objectionable part, and unfortunate too, of the recently incarnated role of media is that the
coverage of a sensational crime and its adducing of ‘evidence’ begins very early, mostly even
before the person who will eventually preside over the trial even takes cognizance of the
offence, and secondly that the media is not bound by the traditional rules of evidence which
regulate what material can, and cannot be used to convict an accused. In fact, the Right to
Justice of a victim can often be compromised in other ways as well, especially in Rape and
Sexual Assault cases, in which often, the past sexual history of a prosecutrix may find its way
into newspapers. Secondly, the media treats seasoned criminal and the ordinary one,
sometimes even the innocents, alike without any reasonable discrimination. They are treated
as a ‘television item’ keeping at stake the reputation and image. Even if they are acquitted by
the court on the grounds of proof beyond reasonable doubt, they cannot resurrect their previous image. Such kind of exposure provided to them is likely to jeopardize all these
cherished rights accompanying liberty.2
Earlier, journalism was not under pressure to push up TRP ratings or sales. So the
journalists did their work with serious intent and conviction, with courage and integrity. They
did not pronounce people guilty without making a serious attempt to study the charges,
investigate them, and come to their own independent conclusions, without fear or favor. They
did not blindly print what law enforcers claimed, what the bureaucracy said or what
politicians planted on to them. That is why people trusted them. But now we are seeing a
different self-acquired role of media in form of ‘media trial’. Everyone manipulates the media
to serve their own interests or hurt their rivals. The problem does not lie in media’s exposing
the lacuna of a bad investigation by cops, or mal-performance of the duties ordained to the
civil servants but the eye-brows start to raise when the media ultra vires its legitimate
jurisdiction and does what it must not do. Be it highlighting the sub-judice issues into public
keeping at stake the sanctity of judicial procedures and ‘right to life with dignity’ of accused
and suspects. The media trial has now moved on to media verdict and media punishment
which is no doubt an illegitimate use of freedom and transgressing the prudent demarcation
of legal boundaries. It is necessary to check prejudicial publicity of the subject matter
pending before a court. It should be legally permissible to pass restraint order on the media. Link:http://www.rmlnlu.ac.in/content/devesh_article.pdf.

Lawyers also guilty for trial by media: SC -The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed reservations on the increasing trend of lawyers giving out bites to news channels and media organisations in an attempt to capture their moment in the spotlight, even in cases pending trial.During the hearing of arguments by amicus curiae Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium in the BMW case, the three-judge bench of Justices B N Aggrawal, G S Singhvi and Aftab Alam observed, “Even counsels with 30 to 40 years’ experience make open remarks on the credibility of X, Y or Z on television. It is shocking. Have we gone so low? (It is) shameful for all of us. They must desist from the suppression of legal principles,” the Bench remarked.Subramaniam, during his submission, also slammed the media for doing “incalculable” damage to the reputation of individuals, including judges, by reporting and telecasting slanderous news without cross-checking facts.Link: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lawyers-also-guilty-for-trial-by-media-sc/427652/.

Trial By Media: A Legal Dilemma Resolved With Reference To Jessica Lal

Media is regarded as one of the pillars of democracy. Media has wide ranging roles in the society. Media plays a vital role in moulding the opinion of the society and it is capable of changing the whole viewpoint through which people perceive various events. The media can be commended for starting a trend where the media plays an active role in bringing the accused to hook.

Freedom of media is the freedom of people as they should be informed of public matters.[1] It is thus needless to emphasis that a free and a healthy press is indispensable to the functioning of democracy. In a democratic set up there has to be active participation of people in all affairs of their community and the state. It is their right to be kept informed about the current political social , economic and cultural life as well as the burning topics and important issues of the day in order to enable them to consider to form broad opinion in which they are being managed, tackled and administered by the government and their functionaries. To achieve this objective people need a clear and truthful account of events, so that they may form their own opinion and offer their own comments and viewpoints on such matters and issues and select their future course of action. The right to freedom of speech and expression in contained in article 19 of the constitution. However the freedom is not absolute as it is bound by the sub clause (2) of the same article. However the right it freedom and speech and expression does not embrace the freedom to commit contempt of court. [2]

The media has again come in focus in its role in the trial of Jessica lal murder case. The concept of media trial is not a new concept. The role of media was debated in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case and likewise many other high profile cases. There have been numerous instances in which media has been accused of conducting the trial of the accused and passing the ‘verdict’ even before the court passes its judgment. Trial is essentially a process to be carried out by the courts. The trial by media is definitely an undue interference in the process of justice delivery. Before delving into the issue of justifiability of media trial it would be pertinent to first try to define what actually the ‘trial by media’ means. Trial is a word which is associated with the process of justice. It is the essential component on any judicial system that the accused should receive a fair trial. Link:http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l237-Trial-By-Media.html.

India Vision 2020: Best-case Scenario for India 2020

A look into the future of India!

Bhopal in 2020

Calcutta in 2020

Cochin in 2020

Delhi (Metro Rail)

Goa in 2020

Hebbal Flyover, Bangalore

Mumbai in 2020

Mysore in 2020

New Indian City

New Indian City

link: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/276/31/

Identifying potentials and anticipating the challenges to our future progress in different sectors of the national economy does not constitute a vision of the country’s future. These disparate threads need to be woven together to reflect the integrated nature of our national life. Then, there still remains the question of whether to be preoccupied by the negative possibilities or to throw our full weight behind efforts to fully realise the positive potentials revealed by this analysis. That will determine whether we regard the following statement as a promising glimpse of what India can become in 2020, or as mere fantasy and wishful thinking.

India 2020 will be bustling with energy, entrepreneurship and innovation. The country’s 1.35 billion people will be better fed, dressed and housed, taller and healthier, more educated and longer living than any generation in the country’s long history. Illiteracy and all major contagious diseases will have disappeared. School enrolment from age 6 to 14 will near 100 per cent and drop out rates will fall to less than one in twenty.

A second productivity revolution in Indian agriculture, coupled with diversification to commercial crops, agri-business, processing industries, agro-exports and massive efforts towards afforestation and wasteland development will generate abundant farm and non-farm employment opportunities for the rural workforce. These in turn will stimulate demand for consumer goods and services, giving a fillip to the urban economy and the informal sector as well as rapid expansion of the services sector.

India’s claim to the title Silicon Valley of Asia will be followed by the diversification from IT to biotechnology, medical sciences and other emerging fields of technology, widening the field of India’s international competitiveness and generating a large number of employment opportunities for the educated youth. These developments, driven by the firm commitment of the government and a quantum expansion of vocational training programmes, will ensure jobs for all by 2020.

Inequalities between different age groups, the sexes, income groups, communities and regions will come down dramatically. The old disparities between the very rich and the poor will not have disappeared, but the nature of poverty in 2020 will not be nearly as harsh and oppressive as it was at the turn of the millennium. Regional disparities will remain visible, though all regions will have advanced significantly in two decades. India’s achievements have been fuelled by the realisation that the progress of the whole ultimately depends on the progress of its weakest links; India 2020 must be one in which all levels and sections of the population and all parts of the country march forward together towards a more secure and prosperous future.

The increasingly congested urban traffic will be motorised as never before. Two wheelers will be ubiquitous and cars will be considered essential for most middle class families. City roads and rural highways will improve substantially in number, capacity and quality, but a four-fold multiplication in the number of vehicles will tax the urban infrastructure to the limit. Urban congestion will accelerate the movement of business, middle class families and even government offices into new self-contained suburban centres. Cell phones, computers and the Internet will permeate every aspect of life and every corner of the country.

Computerisation of education will dramatically improve the quality of instruction and the pace of learning, so that many students will complete the first twelve years of school curriculum in as little as eight. Computerised distance education will catch on in a big way and enable tens of thousands more students to opt for affordable higher education. Computerisation in government will streamline procedures and response times to a degree unimaginable now. Perceptive observers will find that India is leapfrogging directly into a predominantly service economy.

Environmental issues will remain a serious concern. Urban air pollution will come under control by strict enforcement of motor vehicle emission standards and widespread use of ethanolblended motor fuels, but water shortages in major metropolitan areas will continue despite a national programme to popularise water harvesting techniques in both urban and rural areas. A massive afforestation programme will reverse the depletion of forest areas, raise the nation’s Green cover to 33 per cent of area, generate millions of rural employment opportunities, and provide abundant renewable energy from biomass power production.

India will be much more integrated with the global economy and will be a major player in terms of trade, technology and investment.

Rising levels of education, employment and income will help stabilise India’s internal security and social environment. A united and prosperous India will be far less vulnerable to external security threats.

A more prosperous India in 2020 will be characterised by a better-educated electorate and more transparent, accountable, efficient and decentralised government.

Some may regard this vision as an anxious attempt to imitate and catch up with the West. But there is an important distinction to be made between blind imitation and intelligent emulation that draws upon the discoveries and experiences of others to address universal needs common to all human beings and all societies. India, with its rich cultural heritage and thousands of years of history of civilisation, need not aspire to become like country A or B. For India, realising the vision for 2020 is not an end in itself, but rather an essential condition for allowing the spirit of this country to emerge and flourish.

Decision Points

There is a natural temptation to attempt to reduce two decades of future progress to a concise formula and prepare a manifesto of policies or strategies that will enable the country to realise its full potential during that period. But a list of such policies or strategies will always remain unsatisfactory unless it is made comprehensive, and a comprehensive list needs to include hundreds of necessary and desirable initiatives.

However, in addition to these policy and strategy prescriptions, or rather underlying and supporting them, there are some nodal points of action which, when touched, can release the enormous pent-up energy of the society and throw it into constructive action. It is well that we conclude our summary by identifying those nodal points which will be most powerful for propelling forward the development of Indian society over the next two decades.

These nine nodes are not independent powers. Each draws upon and contributes to the power of the other seven. They are mutually supportive and reinforcing. They are not a hierarchy of powers that can be developed sequentially, but rather eight essential forces that need to be developed simultaneously. As peace and education are essential for growth of employment and living standards, so are food security and employment opportunities essential for peace and social stability, and so forth.

But beyond these physical, social and mental powers, this country possesses something even more powerful and essential to its existence. India is a nation with a soul and a great spiritual tradition founded upon faith in the power of the spirit to create and manifest in the world. It is our spiritual values, our psychic essence, which is the core strength of Indian civilisation that has sustained it for millenniums and will elevate the quality of our national life in future. These values possess the ultimate power both for national prosperity and to propel India to be a proud member of the world community. True spirituality will not make us less tolerant. Though our spiritual tradition takes on an infinite variety of forms, they all share a common faith in our capacity as human beings to realise whatever we aspire for.

Our future depends not on what will happen to us, but on what we decide to become, and on the will to create it.

NODAL POINTS OF INDIAN PROSPERITY

1. PEACE, SECURITY & NATIONAL UNITY – Physical security both from external and internal threats—strong national defence, domestic law enforcement and social harmony.
2. FOOD & NUTRITIONAL SECURITY – A vibrant, highly productive commercial farm sector that can ensure food & nutritional security, generate employment opportunities, stimulate industrialisation, and produce renewable energy from biomass and fuel crops.
3. JOBS FOR ALL – A constitutional commitment to ensure the right of all citizens to a sustainable livelihood that will provide them with the purchasing power needed to freely cast their economic votes in the market place.
   
4. KNOWLEDGE – 100 per cent literacy & school education, and vocational training for all new entrants to the workforce, to equip youth with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive world: adult education programmes to compensate working age school drop-outs for the lack of education, and continued investment in science and technology to improve productivity, quality of life and the environment.
   
5. HEALTH – Expansion of the infrastructure for public health and medical care to ensure health for all.
   
6. TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE – Continuous expansion of the physical infrastructure for rapid low-cost transportation and communication that is required for rapid economic growth and international competitiveness. Application of computers to improve access to knowledge and information, and increase in the speed, efficiency and convenience of activities in all fields of life.
   
7. GLOBALISATION – Successful integration of India with world economy.
   
8. GOOD GOVERNANCE – Farsighted and dynamic leadership to maximise national prosperity, individual freedom and social equity through responsive, transparent and accountable administration that removes all the bottlenecks to economic development.
9. WORK VALUES - Activation of all these nodal points requires firm and determined adherence to high values, including prompt decision-making, disciplined execution, systematic implementation, finely tuned co-ordination, unceasing effort and endurance.
   

link:http://www.akhilesh.in/life/india/vision2020.php.

Different Crimes in India and Kerala.

ILLEGAL WIDLIFE TRAFFICKING IN NEPAL.


More than 250 experts, scientists and government delegates from Tiger range States and elsewhere have called for immediate action to save wild Tigers, citing the urgent need for increased protection against Tiger poaching and trafficking in Tiger parts.There are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild, and Tiger populations are declining in the face of massive poaching for illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and conflict with people.The recommendationsfor implementing a resolution relating to Tigers in the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), and to avoid financing development projects that adversely affect critical Tiger habitats.
Two Tibetans and one Nepali have been convicted in a case involving a landmark seizure of a huge number of leopard and otter skins in Delhi. The trio were arrested in April 2005 with 45 leopard and 15 otter skins. They are the first Tibetans in Exile to be convicted of a wildlife crime in India.

The Delhi police, working on information provided by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), started watching the Tibetan Camp at Majnu Ka Tilla in old Delhi and were able to apprehend the trio red-handed.

Coincidentally, this happened on the very day His Holiness the Dalai Lama launched the anti-wildlife trade campaign of the Care for the Wild International and WTI with the statement that 'the law of the land has to prevail'.

During the investigation the accused had disclosed that they were working for a person called Tchhwang Tashi Tsering, a notorious wildlife trader from Nepal. He paid them 1,000 Rps. each to store the skins and transport them to Nepal. This seizure is one of the largest in recent past hopefully will go a long way in dissuading trafficking in illegal wildlife articles. The link to this site is http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/india-crime971.html.

VIOLENT CRIME IN AGRA.
People set a truck on fire during a protest in the northern Indian city of Agra in this August 29, 2007 file photo. A spate of riots involving arson, beatings and even the Taj Mahal's brief closure has led to worries a globalising India is struggling to cope with its underbelly of police graft, economic disparity and caste tension. Even for a nation hardened to a daily media diet of graphic crimes and scandals, India has been awash in the last month with reports of mob violence that has spawned headlines, editorials and warnings from police, politicians and sociologists. Link to this site is http://www.daylife.com/photo.com

‘Save Darfur’ campaign GENOCIDAL CRIME.


the International Criminal Court (ICC), issued an arrest warrant for current President of Sudan, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. Al-Bashir has been charged with five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. He also faces two counts of war crimes. The ICC may be growing its first tooth.

Behind the warrant were the many groups that have tirelessly worked to bring global attention to the matter. The ‘Save Darfur’ campaign has been extremely successful example in rallying public support, beginning in churches and university campuses, to influence the public dialogue and bring pressure upon public officials. Through organizing local events, but aiming to influence public opinion on a global level, the campaign is a model in their use of new media, internet, and public rallies and theatre to bring attention to the genocide and plight of a people. While I am in admiration of the campaigns strategies and efforts, it is still worthwhile to ponder on global culpability in allowing such genocides to continue to occur. India has long supported its economic interests despite worldwide attention about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. India’s oil flagship ONGC Videsh Limited is operation a producing oil field in Southern Sudan and is seeking to expand its efforts. It is these oil fields that are part of the reasoning that fuels the ethnic cleansing of Darfur and it is largely oil revenues that are used to purchase the weapons used for the extermination.Just as the ‘Save Darfur’ campaign has a special section calling for an end to China’s support, we should press them for something similar on India. Ending and bringing accountability of India’s support to the Darfur genocide could be an umbrella bringing various South Asian human rights activists in greater contact with one anotehr and with other global human rights movements. Link to see more http://thelangarhall.com/india/indias-role-in-darfur-not-just-china-and-al-bashir-in-sudan/.

EVE TEASING - A BANE FOR WOMEN, A CRIME AGANIST WOMEN.

Increasing number of eve teasing in urban places in India compelled the local authorities to take a serious look into the problem. The growing instances of the murders, of women for rejecting the love of the man had rocked the nation and now the serious thought is given on the reasons for these crimes.

The expression “eve teasing” is Indian origin, the word is not found in the dictionaries.

As per the popular idea the expression eve teasing is a euphemistic in post-colonial India and refers largely to sexual harassment of women in public places, where a women is an “eve “ temptress who provoke men into states of sexual titillation. This popular perception of sexual harassment posits the phenomena as a joke where women are both a tease and deserve to be teased.

Growing incidents like a bike pulling up at college bus stop and the man on the bike shouting lewdly at a college girl, come with me –Rs 300 for night; a car loaded with men pulls out of a driveway of a market shouts at a woman- do you need a ride-we will take you where ever you want and pay for it; the woman gets humiliated and outraged. The laughing and passing lewd remarks of an eve teaser can leave a permanent psychological mark on a woman.

Studies show that 32 percent of the eve teasers are students, 35 percent are anti-socials while the 33 percent are middle-aged men.

An increasingly large number of college going girls and other women taking public transportation in all metropolitan cities in India have resorted to carrying pins, pen-knives and even daggers as a deterrent. Others have taken self-defense classes and don’t hesitate to hit.

In India, every 51minutes a woman is sexually harassed; every 21 minutes one woman is molested. Eve teasing is something that a woman has to contend with everyday. So what is it with Indian men and eve teasing? Is it the frustration of sex or just another mode of fun?. It’s a real shame that in spite of the amount of development happening all around the world, the so called “civilized world” behaves in an “uncivilized manner” with the fairer sex. Cannot the Government or the law makers take real stringent steps against these crimes? Just penning down rules will not help. What is required is real action.Link to this site http://somshuvra.instablogs.com/entry/eve-teasing-a-bane-for-women-a-crime-against-women.

SOCIAL CRIMES/ EVILS PRELEVENT IN INDIA.

The top list are as follows:

1.Dowry
2. Poverty
3. Gender Inequality
4. Drugs
5. Human Inequality
6. Child Labour
7. Prostitution

CHILD LABOUR


Child labour, or child labor, is the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many countries and international organizations. Child labour was utilized to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the beginning of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during industrialization, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights. Child labour is still common in some places where the school leaving age is lower.

Child labour is common in some parts of the world, and can be factory work, mining, prostitution, quarrying, agriculture, helping in the parents' business, having one's own small business (for example selling food), or doing odd jobs. Some children work as guides for tourists, sometimes combined with bringing in business for shops and restaurants (where they may also work as waiters). Other children are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs such as: assembling boxes, polishing shoes, stocking a store's products, or cleaning. However, rather than in factories and sweatshops, most child labour occurs in the informal sector, "selling many things on the streets, at work in agriculture or hidden away in houses—far from the reach of official labour inspectors and from media scrutiny." And all the work that they did was done in all types of weather; and was also done for minimal pay.
According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 158 million children aged 5 to 14 in child labour worldwide, excluding child domestic labour.

POVERTY.
The World Bank further estimates that a third of the global poor now reside in India.Income inequality in India is increasing. On the other hand, the Planning Commission of India uses its own criteria and has estimated that 27.5% of the population was living below the poverty line in 2004–2005, down from 51.3% in 1977–1978, and 36% in 1993-1994. The source for this was the 61st round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) and the criterion used was monthly per capita consumption expenditure below Rs. 356.35 for rural areas and Rs. 538.60 for urban areas. 75% of the poor are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, self-employed householders and landless laborers.

Although Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas. Between 1999 and 2008, the annualized growth rates for Gujarat (8.8%), Haryana (8.7%), or Delhi (7.4%) were much higher than for Bihar (5.1%), Uttar Pradesh (4.4%), or Madhya Pradesh (3.5%). Poverty rates in rural Orissa (43%) and rural Bihar (41%) are among the world's most extreme.

India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three (46% in year 2007) than any other country in the world.


Despite significant economic progress, 1/4 of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified poverty threshold of $0.40/day. Official figures estimate that 27.5% of Indians lived below the national poverty line in 2004-2005. A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 25% of Indians, or 236 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day with most working in "informal labour sector with no job or social security, living in abject poverty.


DOWRY.
A dowry (also known as trousseau or torture) is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her new husband. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry and bride price. The dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it.

It is described in the oldest records, such as the Code of Hammurabi as a pre-existing custom, prescribing only regulations for how it was to be handled and also included regulations for a bride price. If a woman died without sons, her husband had to refund the dowry but could deduct the value of the bride price; the dowry would normally have been the larger of the sums. It marks the first record of long-lasting customs, such as the wife being entitled to her dowry at her husband's death as part of her dower, her dowry being inheritable only by her own children, not by her husband's children by other women, and a woman not being entitled to a (subsequent) inheritance if her father had provided her dowry in marriage.


One of the basic functions of a dowry has been to serve as a form of protection for the wife against the very real possibility of ill treatment by her husband and his family.[citation needed] In other words, the dowry provides an incentive to the husband not to harm the wife.

It is one of the major Social Crime prevalent in India. Sometimes due to lack of dowry the woman becomes a victim of dire consequence. Different cases related to dowry comes up every day in the news and papers. We must all strive to put an end to these evils. These acts always comes in between social progress and development. Though dowry is prevalent in other countries too, the influence is very little compared to India.

Link to this site is:http://socialcrimeinindia.blogspot.com.


India's crimes of 1984 began with its assault on, and the massacres at, the Golden Temple and dozens of other gurdwaras across India in the first week of June 1984, and continued with the nationwide government-sponsored pogroms of November 1984. In many ways, the crimes still continue, not just in the cover-up and the sheltering of the criminals, but in actual outrages by the government and its minions to date.

CYBER LAW AND CYBER CRIMES IN INDIA.


CYBER LAW is seen as an essential component of criminal justice system all over the world. The same applies to cyber law of India as well. In the Indian context, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000) is the cyber law of India. It is the exclusive law in this regard and is under the process of amendments.

India has done a good job by enacting a cyber law. It is the 12th country of the world having a cyber law. It covers areas like e-governance, e-commerce, cyber contraventions and cyber offences. However, some critics and cyber law experts have questioned the strength of IT Act, 2000. It would be prudent to analyse the exact position that applies to the Indian cyber law.A crucial truth that India failed to appreciate is that e-governance in India is useless till we are capable of securing it as well. Without the crucial capabilities in the fields of cyber security and cyber forensics, India is heading towards a big trouble. Even the basic ’e-mail tracking’ procedures sometimes pose as a big challenge before the law enforcement agencies in India. Interestingly, some of the legal experts have shown their support for prosecuting owners of e-mail addresses and Internet Protocol addresses relying upon ’common law principles’ not knowing exactly the nature of the Internet. Link :http://www.merinews.com/article/cyber-law-and-cyber-crimes-in-india/139448.shtml.



The number of crimes committed against children is on the increase in Kerala, a trend which Social Welfare Department (SWD) officials now consider as "alarming."

The department is trying to combat the trend by putting in place a system for giving adequate care and protection to children who find themselves in crime-related distress. According to Police Department figures, as many as 361 children became victims of crime in the State last year. Of this 102 children were murdered, 159 raped and 74 reported kidnapped or abducted. There were 20 cases of procurement of minor girls, two cases of infanticide and one case registered under the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

In 2002, 240 cases of crime against children were reported. Between 2002 and 2004 there has been a nearly 50 per cent increase in crimes committed against children in the State. The highest increase was seen in rape cases. There were 64 rape cases in 2001, 148 in 2003 and 159 in 2004. The number of cases registered on the charge of procuring minor girls increased from four in 2001 to 20 in 2004. Link : www.hindu.com.

Take a look at the photo of the street fight between BJP and Marxist party in Trivandrum yesterday. This goonda (from the marxist side obviously) is openly challenging law and order and see what our policemen are doing! They are helping him to throw stones at the BJP guys on the other side.

The primary job of police is to ensure law and order. If anyone violates law, police is supposed to take action. Hell, even when police have the suspicion of violation of law, they are supposed to take action. But when police become so openly biased, everyone looses trust and it is the straight route to hell.

Courageous and independent police officers are becoming extinct in Kerala. Now if someone tries to be a good police officer, we have the human rights commission to harass them.

Kerala to ban mobile phones in schools.
Cyber crimes using mobile phones are on a rise in the state. Most of the cases pertained to threatening women, sending obscene messages and MMS, and clicking photographs of women without their permission.A FEW days back, the Kerala government had said that it would ban the use of the mobile phones in all schools throughout the state. The government gave this statement as a result of increasing instances of misuse of mobile phones in classrooms.

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, state Home minister, told the assembly that what they had till date was just a government order, which said that mobile phones can’t be used in schools. But now they will introduce new laws to this effect, which would ban the use of mobile phones in all schools across the state. He further added that the decision of banning the mobile phones was taken keeping in mind the rise in complaints of misuse of mobile phones by children. He also said that cyber crimes using mobile phones were also on a rise in the state. Most of the cases pertained to threatening women, sending obscene messages and MMS, and clicking photographs of women without their permission. The ban would not be limited but would be extended to higher secondary schools as well.Earlier, a girl student studying in plus two had tried to commit suicide after she was allegedly stripped and searched by a woman teacher to recover a mobile phone. However, the school authorities denied the allegations. The search was carried out after a junior student complained to the headmistress that the girl was seen talking on the mobile phone in the school. Link :

http://www.merinews.com/article/kerala-to-ban-mobile-phones-in-schools/137371.shtml.

need for metro railway in Cochin and Low floor Buses there.

It is a well known fact that some of the politicians and old minded people of India in past restricted the advent of computers to India. We also know the result and merits of computers today.The advent of metro rail in Cochin, Kerala, India repeats the history. Though there were many obstacles the Metro Kochi rail had to face it is now going to be the main attraction of Cochin. The Metro rail will make the city of Cochin faster and sophisticated.The advent of Metro rail in Cochin will make the Cochin business faster. And the faster business will bring us more profit faster. The over populated city people of Cochin can move faster from place to place to reach their work station and home. It will attract morebusiness openings to Cochin.

The Kochi Metro is a mass transit system for the South Indian city of Cochin to be launched very soon. By soon I mean 2011. It happens due to the poor politics and governance of the state Kerala. The metro rail will be operated by Kochi Metro Rail Corporation and there is a proposal to extend the metro rail Cochin to the international airport of Cochin, Nedumbassery. The Rs 3,048-crore Kochi Metro rail project will be change the face of the city of Cochin. But it is a sad thing that the Dubai metro rail which started much later than the Kochi metro rail launches in a very short duration before the project metro Cochin rail. The economic significance of Kochi has a lot to do with the advent of Metro rail Cochin. The backwater tourism and the traditional tourist spots will have a better time with the Metro rail. Metro in Cochin will touch all the major parts of the city of Cochin. Thus it will be helpful for all kinds of business and tourism. It will also be helpful to the daily passengers of Cochin. This project will help the commercial Cochin, industrial Cochin, economic Cochin, tourism Cochin, sports Cochin, entertainment Cochin, educational Cochin and business Cochin. Cochin thus joins the group of metro rail cities. It will thus reduce the road traffic jam in Cochin. With the launch of-the metro train in Cochin, the road traffic will be faster. The traffic jams will be removed in no time. Obviously the problem of long traffic jams will be out of question. It make the workers/students start late from home and reach in time to the work stations. The link to this article is http://yeskerala.com/index.php/2009/10/22/metro-rail-cochin.If metro railway is coming in Cochin then what is the need of Low-floor buses there.

A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs. In the modern context, "low floor bus" refers to a bus that is accessible from a certain minimum height of step from ground level, to distinguish it from some historical bus designs that did feature a level interior floor throughout but with a relatively high floor height. A disadvantage of the low floor is accommodating the bus's own wheels. With the low floor, the wheels protrude into the passenger cabin, and need to be contained in wheel pockets of waist height, and this occupies space which would otherwise be used for seating. Seating layout for a low-floor bus therefore requires careful design. The use of Metro railway is to reduce traffic jams and make the journey of public very easy but when this Low floor buses are also scheduled there, then that will also bring another traffic jam which the people will find it difficult and both the metro and low floor buses will be running out of cost and lack of service. Both this metro and low floor bus are focusing on employers from IT Sector and from Porsche families and the rate charged in these are very high which cannot be charged from other people.
So my recommendation is that there should be metro railway in Cochin and more Low floor bus in Trivandrum.

whether collegium needed or not for appointment of judges?

A Collegium Means "An executive council or committee of equally empowered members, especially one supervising an industry, commissariat, or other organization.The Supreme Court of India today is regarded as one of the most powerful courts in the world. This because of its ability to make and enact law, declare it unconstitutional and lastly to create procedures for its own administration in a manner that may not have mention in the Constitution.The Supreme Court in 1993 held that under the Constitution of India, no appointment of any judge can be made unless it is in conformity with the opinion of the Chief Justice of India.{One must understand that the whole idea of a collegium and the Supreme Court regulating its own appointments emanates from the phrase ‘independence of the judiciary’. In a host of cases, this principle has been held to be a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and in what seems to be quite ridiculous, the Court apparently feels that its independence would be taken away if the executive and legislature have a say in appointments, even though the Constitution may require so}. Under the garb of this independence, the collegium has been created and justified thus demonstrating its power and showing the President as a mere puppet who is obliged to go by the Chief Justice’s recommendation.On Sunday, Oct 25, 2009, the Hindu newspaper had an article that “Government must have say in judges appointment”The statement calls for changes in the collegium procedure of appointment of judges. “The government and the collegium should work hand in hand while appointing judges, so that the difference between the two does not lead to delay in appointment. The government should also be given the power to suggest outstanding lawyers and jurists as judges.It said the increased strength of collegiums “has made the consultation process cumbersome and hence there is a delay in the selection and elevation of judges. There are no guidelines dealing with situations of a deadlock or lack of consensus among the members of the collegium, or dealing with situations where the majority of members disagree with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).” Therefore, the statement suggested comprehensive guidelines which the collegium should follow. “The executive and the legislature must take the initiative in recommending the best possible talent for selection to the judiciary. The collegium should be given a timeline to clear the backlog in vacancies.”CJI K.G. Balakrishnan,said: “As far as appointments to the Supreme Court are concerned, we are bound by the procedure in accordance with the Constitution Bench decisions given by our predecessors in 1993 and 1998. The proper forum for suggesting changes to the appointment process is Parliament. It would, of course, not be proper for me to enter the debate at this stage.”link http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/25/stories/2009102560850900.htm. Senior Advocate Dr. Shyamlha Pappu raises some vital questions: should we restore the 1982 judgment, which was the starting point of the collegium or do we accept the primacy of the Chief Justice and the power of the executive for the appointment of judges. The beginning and end of judicial reform is the appointment of the right kind of judges, be it in the Supreme Court, the High Court or the subordinate judiciary. The appointment of judges is the prime and foremost link in the chain of judicial reform. As Justice Bhagwati would say, a right appointment “would go a long way towards securing the right kind of judges who would invest the judicial process with significance and meaning, for the deprived and exploited sections of humanity.”

Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution are relevant for the issue under consideration. Article 124 (2) provides for the appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court by the President, after consultation with the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in the states, as the President may deem fit, who shall hold office till attainment of the age of sixty five years, provided that in the case of the appointment of a judge, other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India is mandatorily consulted.Article 217 of the Constitution, likewise provides for the appointment and conditions of service of a High Court judge, who is appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the state and in the case of appointment of a judge other than the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Chief Justice of the High Court, and shall hold office till he attains the age of sixty two years. Subordinate courts fall within the control of the High Court of the state under the Act 235 of the Constitution, and the appointment of judges to these courts is made by the Governor of the state in consultation with the High Court, exercising jurisdiction in relation to the state, under Acticle 233 of the Constitution. This is the procedure as per the constitutional text. This procedure, however, underwent a change after the three pronouncements of the Supreme Court, which need to be considered for a fuller and more incisive understanding of the present scenario and its effect on the selection and appointment of judges.

In SP Gupta’s case, which we will call the 1st judges case, for facility of reference, the Supreme Court considered the question of transfer of a judge from one High Court to another court, without ascertaining his consent and the non-confirmation of an ad-hoc judge, the issues being crucial for the cardinal principle of ‘Independence of Judiciary’. The decision of the majority of the seven judges, affirmed the power of the executive to decide these issues and dismissed the petitions. The question of initial appointment of judges was nowhere in issue, but the majority judgment, holding that the expression ‘consultation’ used in Art 124 (2) and 217 of the Constitution did not mean ‘concurrence’, declared that the Executive could appoint a judge, even if the Chief Justice had different views in the matter. Justice Bhagwati, delivering the majority judgment, also held that ‘consultation’ with the Chief Justice would mean that there should be a ‘collegium’to advise the Chief Justice. It was, however, not spelt out as to what should be the composition of the collegium, at this stage. It was also held that the solitary view of the Chief Justice would not constitute ‘consultation’ within the meaning of Articles 217 and 224 (2).

Thus, the expression ‘colleguim’ came to be used for the first time in paragraph 29 of the judgment and it was a virtual insertion into the Constitution. “In matters relating to appointments in the High Courts, the Chief Justice of India is expected to take into account the views of his colleagues in the Supreme Court, which are likely to be conversant with the affairs of the concerned High Court. The Chief Justice may also ascertain one or more senior judges of that High Court, whose opinion according to the Chief Justice of India is likely to be significant in the formation of his opinion…The opinion of the Chief Justice of High Court must be formed after ascertaining the views of at least the two senior most judges of the High Court”. The court also clarified that “the views of the other judges consulted should be in writing and should be conveyed to the Government of India by the Chief Justice of India along with his views... It is also to be argued that the collegium has now to consist of four (instead of two) seniormost judges of the court in the appointment of a High Court judge. The Supreme Court judge, acquainted with the particular High Court is also to be consulted, raising the number to six. The increased number of consultees has made the consultation process cumbersome and delays in filling up vacancies are bound to occur. Every communication has to be in writing and the views of the consultees are to be communicated to the government. According to a ruling by the SC, the government is bound by the recommendation of the SC collegium vis-a-vis the appointment of judges of the SC and high courts and chief justices of high courts. Until 1982 (First Judges Case), Supreme court held that consultation of president does not mean concurrence (meaning, Agreement of results or opinions). But in 1993 (Second Judges case), a nine judge bench of supreme court held that consultation means concurrence. So, if "consultation means concurrence", then, both government and the supreme court must mutually agree in the matter of appointment of judges. Supreme Court opined that, members of the judiciary are well qualified than others to give their opinion in the matter of appointing judges. In that historic judgment, Supreme court had virtually arrested the irregularities in the appointment of judges to supreme court. In fact, the judgment has made appointment of judges more transparent than ever. Supreme Court laid down a clear procedure in appointing judges. Here is a quick look,

1. The collegium comprising of Chief Justice of India and four senior most jusdges of the Supreme court has to be formed to render advice to the president (i.e. to the government).
2. View of the senior most judge (if he is not the part of the collegium) who hail from the High court where the person to be recommended (as judge to supreme court) is functioning as judge, must be obtained in writing.
3. The collegium must consider the following factors in recommending the judges for the appointment
• Merit should be the predominant consideration. On what basis the merit will be judged? Earlier judgments given by the judge, respect he commands in the legal fraternity, his legal qualifications, and any such considerations.
• Not only that, Cogent and good reasons should be recorded for recommending a person of outstanding merit regardless of his seniority.
• "For recommending one of several persons of more or less equal degree of merit, the factor of the High Courts not represented on the Supreme Court, may be considered."
• And any such factors may deem necessary.
  
4. Supreme court then prepares it's recommendations, everything in writing, stating all the factors cogently and with significant reasoning.
   
5. If two or more members of the collegium disagree with the names (to be recommended), then Chief Justice of India should not persist with the recommendation. If the collegium agrees to the names, the recommendation is sent to the executive.
   
6. Constitutionally, Supreme Court's recommendation is not binding on executive, so the executive may refuse to accept the candidates recommended by supreme court for the appointment. But government must provide genuine reason for it's refusal. In case govt accepts Supreme court's recommendations, matter ends there, the judges will be appointed as recommended.
   
7. If the government refuses to appoint the person recommended by supreme court, the materials and information conveyed by govt must be placed before the original collegium or the reconstituted one.
8. If the collegium accepts the opinion of executive, then CJI, in his discretion, informs the person earlier recommended for his non appointment. The names recommended by executive will then be final for appointment.
   
9. In case collegium refuses to reconsider the request (as it happened now) and unanimously reiterate that the appointment of recommended candidates must be made, then, government (President) has no choice but to appoint them.

Thus, the procedure seems to be transparent if one look at it without any bias. If the government think that it is smarter than Supreme Court and if Supreme Court is adamant with it's recommendation, then the conflict arises and harmony is lost between the organs of democracy.