India Legal 15 November 2015

Liberated sex workers turn into paralegal volunteers
RAMESH MENON
42
NDIA
EGAL
I L
www.indialegalonline.com
`100
November 15, 2015
STORIES THAT COUNT
NJAC
Your Lordships,
We beg to differ
Exclusive details and analysis of
Indias hottest judicial controversy 12
Justice
Jagdish S Khehar
Justice
Kurian Joseph
Special column
IURP-XVWLFH
NARENDRA
CHAPALGAONKER
20
Justice
Adarsh K Goel
Justice
J Chelameswar
VIPIN
PUBBY:
6WDWHVRIIHU
largesse to
ODZRIFHUV
30
Justice
Madan B Lokur
SHOBHA
JOHN:
New
guidelines
to make
\LQJVDIHU
58
KALYANI
SHANKAR:
Santharareligion
YHUVXVODZRI
the land 48
PAPIA
SAMAJDAR:
8QVDIH
GLVSRVDORI
bio-medical
waste 70
MEENA
MENON:
Will
Maharashtra
continue
with dance
bar ban? 38
NOVEMBER 15, 2015
VOLUME. IX
ISSUE. 05
Editor
Inderjit Badhwar
Managing Editor
Ramesh Menon
Deputy Managing Editor
Shobha John
Executive Editor
Ajith Pillai
Associate Editor
Meha Mathur
Deputy Editor
Prabir Biswas
Art Director
Anthony Lawrence
Deputy Art Editor
Amitava Sen
Graphic Designer
Lalit Khitoliya
Photographer
Anil Shakya
News Coordinator/Photo Researcher
Kh Manglembi Devi
Production
Pawan Kumar
LEAD
The
collegium
conundrum
CFO
Anand Raj Singh
VP (HR & General Administration)
Lokesh C Sharma
08
While the Supreme

Court struck down
the NJAC Act, key
questions regarding
the inefficacy of the
collegium system
remain. INDERJIT
BADHWAR in his
editorial, and
RAMESH MENON in
the lead story,
analyze the judgment
threadbare. Plus, an
opinion piece by
retired JUSTICE
NARENDRA
CHAPALGAONKER
Circulation Manager
RS Tiwari
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November 15, 2015
SOCIETY
Parents of a lesser God?

In rejecting government guidelines granting adoption rights to single
parents, the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, have
forgotten that society has changed, writes SUJIT BHAR
LEGAL EYE
Money
down the
drain
30
Punjab and Haryana

High Courts have on
their payrolls a large
battery of law officers,
often recruited on
questionable
grounds. VIPIN
PUBBY reports
CONTROVERSY
Not in
step with
the times
Despite court rulings,
Maharashtra is
adamant on
continuing with its ban
on dance bars.
MEENA MENON and
AJITH PILLAI
question its stand
26
34
SPECIAL REPORT
Silver lining at last
42
Sex workers in parts of Karnataka and Telangana feel

empowered, thanks to their new role as paralegal workers.
RAMESH MENON reports from Anantapur and Bengaluru
RELIGION
Faith matters
48
The Jain custom of Santharavoluntary end to ones life

through fastingbrings up the issue of whether religion is more
important than the law of the land. KALYANI SHANKAR reports
Successful take-off?
SHOBHA JOHN details the governments move to develop
100 airports in small cities and the skepticism regarding this
ambitious plan
ECONOMY
62
66
Tall claims?
RAJENDRA BAJPAI questions a London-based consultancy firm report

that India received more FDI than China in the first half of 2015
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
Medically unfit
All is not well
52
An extract from TN NINANS book The Turn of the Tortoise,

which discusses Indias strides forward and how we have
regressed in certain areas
AVIATION
Making flying safer
58
Following the Germanwings plane crash, a new set of

guidelines have been evolved for pilots and aero-medical
examiners. SHOBHA JOHN reports
Medical set-ups recklessly dump waste, including syringes, body parts

and fluids, which percolate into the soil and enter the food chain. Its a
medical time bomb ready to explode, writes PAPIA SAMAJDAR
REGULARS
BOOKS
70
Ringside......................................................................6
Quote-Unquote...........................................................7
Edit................................................................................8
Supreme Court............................................................22
Courts......................................................................... 24
National Briefs.............................................................33
International Briefs.......................................................41
Campus Update..........................................................78
Figure It Out................................................................80
Wordly Wise.................................................................81
People......................................................................... 82
Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCE
Cover Photos: JS STUDIO
INDIA LEGAL November 15, 2015
VERDICT
Justice and judgment lie often a world apart.
Emmeline Pankhurst
November 15, 2015
QUOTE-UNQUOTE
I find it hard to apologise for removing

Saddam. I think, even from today in
2015, it is better that hes not there than
that he is there. Of course, you cant say
that those of us who removed Saddam
in 2003 bear no responsibility for the
situation in 2015.
Former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, to CNN
The shirtless protest staged by

Youth Congress activists is an
imitable one. Earlier, many
Congress women who staged
similar protest behind doors
were given tickets to contest
polls.
They hate Romila Thapar,

Amartya Sen, Shelden
Pollock. Fine, but come to
the table with as much
reading as them.... If theyre
to be denounced now, they
deserve the courtesy of
being denounced by their
equals, not by some
plagiarist garden gnome
Aatish Taseer, on right-wing
attacks on intellectuals, in
The Times of India
Former Congress leader

Cherian Philips, on Facebook
Everyone with an opinion

faces attack! Youre safe only
if you have no opinion. Its
crucial that people have
opinions and express
these....
Author Anuja Chauhan, in
The Times of India
Knowledge is contained in books,

not in coding. There is a great
cultural deficiency in this
city which is filled up by
book stores. Reading a
book on Kindle is like an
insult to the book.
Historian Ramachandra
Guha, at the inauguration of
Bangalore Book Festival
Smita and I could never be

friends. I have said it before
and I do so today, that I have
been guilty about making
uncharitable remarks about
her. I regret it.
Shabana Azmi, at
the book launch event of Maithili
Raos book Smita Patil: A Brief
Incandescence in Mumbai
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
INDERJIT BADHWAR
YOUR LORDSHIPS,
WE BEG TO DIFFER
HE long-awaited tantalizing Supreme Court

judgment in the NJAC case was out in the
public domain on October 16about four
months after the conclusion of hearings.
The court essentially struck down as unconstitutional the amendment that validated the National
Judicial Appointments Act passed by parliament and
thus paved the way for the continuance of the collegium system for the appointment of judges to the
higher judiciary. Union Law Minister Sadananda
Gowda reacted by saying the judgment was surprising.
Arun Jaitley called it the tyranny of the unelected. As
usual, the declared and undeclared spokesmen for the
Congress party and other opposition parties attacked
Jaitley and hailed the judgment. They were obviously
guided by political interests, forgetting that all the parties had unanimously passed the legislation in parliament. Justice RM Lodha, the former CJI, advised a no
confrontation course, but counseled improvement in
the collegium system.
To put things in perspective, one must examine the
background and contours of the appointments issue.
The First Judges Case in 1981, presided by a sevenmember bench, interpreted the words shall in consultation with CJI in Article 217 to mean effective and
meaningful consultation without giving primacy to the
views of the CJI. The Second Judges Case in 1993,
presided by 11 judges, interpreted the words consultation in Article 124 to mean concurrence and that the
views of the CJI along with two seniormost judges
would be binding on the president.
November 15, 2015
This is how the collegium system was evolved. The

interpretation was essentially a judge-made law not
found in the text of Article 124. The interpretation of
the word consultation was in the light of the constitutional debates, in which Dr BR Ambedkar rejected
giving primacy to the views of the CJI and chose a
mid-path of effective consultation with the CJI.
In the Third Judges Case in 1998, presided by an
11-judge bench, the Attorney-General (A-G) at the
outset submitted that the government does not want
to seek review or reconsideration of the rationale laid
down in the Second Judges Case. The arguments were
addressed only on the question of reference made by
the president.
The Third Judges Case expanded the numerical
strength of the collegium to the CJI plus four seniormost judges for elevation to the Supreme Court and
transfer of the judges of the High Court. The CJI, plus
two seniormost judges, were to be the collegium for
appointment of judges and chief justices of High
Courts. It was further laid down that the views of the
concerned seniormost state judge in the Supreme
Court should be taken.
Since there were large numbers of vacancies in
high courts that remained unfilled, the judgment
in the Second Judges Case directed filling up the
vacancies immediately. It prescribed the time-frame of
the procedure. It was also stated that the Supreme
Court collegium is an expert and the best judge to
appoint suitable persons. Thus, it held that executive
interference in the appointments is obviated, which
Anil Shakya
ensures the independence of the judiciary. The purpose for which the collegium system was evolved utterly failed. Neither were the vacancies filled up in time
nor were efficient and suitable judges appointed to
high courts to dispose civil, criminal and tax matters
expeditiously. Cases of this nature are still pending for
over 10 to 15 years.
Also, a strong sense got ingrained in the high court
collegium that it must remain obeisant to the Supreme
Court collegium and to the state judge in the Supreme
Court. All recommendations made by the high court
collegium had to be in accordance with the wishes of
the apex court collegium and state judge or there was
the imminent risk of these being rejected. The reasons
for rejection are not even made known to the high
court collegium. For this reason, the vacancies in the
high courts could not be filled up, and at times, unsuitable persons got elevated.
he lack of transparency and objectivity in the

functioning of the collegium created lot of discontent among jurists and civil society. The
Second Judges and Third Judges cases permitted recommendations with dissent but the collegium intelligently avoided recommending any case with dissent to
prevent indulgence of the executive.
The recommendations for appointment, nonappointment, transfer and complaints against the judges are not subjected to RTI and judicial review under
the pretext that the litigative debate would result in
erosion of credibility of the decisions.
The lack of transparency and objectivity

in the functioning of the collegium
created lot of discontent among jurists
and civil society.
In the case of a junior judge to be elevated overlooking his senior, it was said that the outstanding
merit of the person recommended need not be compared with that of the senior judge bypassed. Only the
outstanding merit of the person recommended be stated. The judgment of outstanding merit is also a subjective one. The collegium system has been criticized
by Justice Punchi as judicial oligarchy.
There were abortive attempts to establish a Judicial
Commission in 1990 and 2003. The UPA government
too was strongly in favor of creating a Judicial
Commission. Both the houses of the present parliament unanimously passed the constitutional amendment to incorporate Article 124A and enacted the
NJAC Act. The object of NJAC was to bring in transparency and objectivity in the matter of appointments
to the higher judiciary which was being rampantly
breached in the collegium system.
The basic challenge against the NJAC before the
Court was that it impinges the independence of the
judiciary which is one of the postulates of the basic
structure of the constitution. The constitution bench,
presided by Justice JS Khehar, by 4:1 struck down
JUDICIAL
CHURNING
(Above) The
landmark
judgment on
NJAC Act by
the apex
court raises a
number of
questions on
the future of
Indian
judiciary
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
MINCING NO
WORDS
(L-R) Finance
Minister Arun
Jaitley and
Law Minister
Sadananda
Gowda
expressed
surprise at
the Supreme
Court
judgment
Photos: UNI
Integrity and probity is not the sole

monopoly of judges. The object of
participation of eminent persons is to
only ensure transparency....
the NJAC and the constitutional amendment as ultravires as it scuttles the judiciarys independence. The
wisdom of the judgment has to be judged by the reasons upon which the conclusions of the judgments are
based.
he following are the broad reasons given by the

judges in their separate judgments: (1) The
A-G at the outset submitted in the Third
Judges Case that the government does not wish to seek
review or reconsider the decision in the Second Judges
Case; (2) The memorandum of procedure evolved by
the executive gives it adequate and fair participation in
the process of appointments; (3) The controversial
recommendations made by the collegium have been
accepted by the executive without any demur. Thus,
there was a failure on the part of executive in not performing of constitutional duty. For that, the collegium
system cannot be condemned; (4) The presence of the
law minister in NJAC tantamounts to executive interference; (5) The veto power given to eminent persons
is vulnerable to misuse and they can veto any and
every recommendation made by the CJI and two
10
November 15, 2015
seniormost judges in the NJAC; and (6) The judges

elevated by a political lobby would be loyal to the political bosses and a sense of reciprocity will prevail in
them. Thus, the judgments rendered in crucial matters
may not be free and fair.
There is a counter to the judgment. The first reason
was that in the Third Judges Case, the Union government did not seek review or reconsideration of judgment in the Second Judges Case. But this cannot stop
the parliament from enacting a law. (2) The fact that
the government did not oppose the controversial
appointments is also not a factor to prevent parliament from making a law. In fact, when there have been
inappropriate compromises between collegium and
the executive, the parliament has every right to enact a
law which is more transparent and objective. (3) Its
again a myth that the memorandum of procedure
gives fair and adequate participation for the executive.
The recommendations from the high court collegium
are always influenced by the collegium judges and the
state judge in the Supreme Court. What transpires
behind closed-door meetings of the collegium is not
known to anybody. The Supreme Court collegium, to
suit its convenience, always makes unanimous recommendations cryptically, without any reasons, lacking
objectivity. (4) The view that the presence of the law
minister in the NJAC amounts to executive interference and the tendency to condemn all politicians, parliamentarians and ministers as non-trustworthy to
uphold the constitution lacks requisite judicial respect
for other constitutional

institutions and functionaries. In the memorandum of
procedure, the participation
of the law minister is accepted for giving inputs. But, his
presence in the discussions
among the judges of the
Supreme Court is one that
becomes uncomfortable to
the collegiums since such
presence does not give scope
for the arbitrary decisions of
the collegium. (5) That eminent members will misuse
veto powers arbitrarily and
opp-ose the names proposed
by the judges of the
Supreme Court is an untenable view. The eminent persons are appointed by the
committee consisting of
Prime Minister, CJI and the leader of the opposition.
Therefore, the inference and the view that eminent
persons would always be partisan and to suspect their
intellectual integrity is an untenable view and it is an
affront to civil society. Integrity and probity is not the
sole monopoly of judges and the legal community. The
object of participation of eminent persons is to only
ensure transparency, objectivity and credibility of the
discussions and decision taken by the NJAC.
One of the judges made a reference to LK Advanis
statement that an Emergency-like situation can still
occur. A reference was also made to the removal of
governors by the NDA government and attributing
political motives in the Teesta Setalvad casethese are
out of the purview of the legal parameters and not
appropriate to be made as reasons for striking down
the NJAC. One of the judges noting that LGBT candidates will have no scope for elevation in the NJAC system is an amusing view.
he National Commission to Review the

Working of the Constitution (NCRWC), headed
by Justice MN Venkatachalaiah, along with the
team of former judges of the Supreme Court and eminent personalities, did suggest a National Judicial
Commission consisting of the CJI, chairman, two
seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, Union minister for law and justice, and one eminent person nominated by the President to replace the collegium system. In fact, the majority judgments do not make any
reference to this aspect. It cannot be said that the

chairman and members of NCRWC had glossed over
the concerns of independence of the judiciary while
making the suggestion.
Majority of the judges held that the collegium system which evolved in the Second and Third Judges
Case does not require any reference to a larger bench
and the law laid down is correct. If it is so, where is the
need for the bench to hear the issue of making
improvements in the collegium system? Will this
bench of five judges be competent to add suggestions
to the guidelines laid down by the 11 judges bench to
improve the collegium system? It is implicit that the
collegium system suffers from many legal infirmities.
If at all the exercise is needed to improve the collegium
system, it should be by a larger bench of 13 judges.
The judges could have read the provisions of the
NJAC Act, guidelines could have been laid down prescribing the parameters for those who could be considered to be appointed as an eminent person and made
the provisions of NJAC Act in accordance with the
constitutional spirit instead of improving the failed
collegium system.
One gets the feeling that the judges are not prepared to give up their arbitrary power of making/
influencing recommendations for elevation to the
higher judiciary. Absolute power corrupts absolutely;
judges are no exception to this adage.
JUDGES
CLUB
(L-R) Justice
JS Khehar
presided over
the SC Bench
on NJAC Act;
Former CJI
RM Lodha
advised
against any
confrontation
11
LEAD/ Supreme Court / NJAC Verdict
Photos: JS Studio
Supreme
The apex court verdict

favoring the collegium
system over the National
Judicial Appointments
Commission has pitted the
judiciary against the
executive. Can the crisis
be used to usher in
judicial reforms?
By Ramesh Menon
Justice JS Khehar
Justice MB Lokur
He said the center never doubted

the collegiums integrity.
He did not want the

law minister in the NJAC.
12
November 15, 2015
Voices
HEN the apex court

rejected the 99th
Constitutional Amendment that created
the National Judicial
Appointments Commission (NJAC), it
was seen as one of the most controversial
judgments since Independence. The NJAC
was to appoint judges to the Supreme Court
and high courts.
The judgment came as a shock to the government that had spared no effort in pushing
it through parliament. The center had taken
the stance that the earlier collegium system
that appointed judges was faulty and wanted
to bring in a system where the executive

would have a greater say in who should be
appointed to the higher judiciary.
Justice Jagdish S Khehar, who headed the
five-member bench that gave this verdict,
said there had been no case in the past where
the central government had said that the
judge being appointed had no integrity.
Justice Madan B Lokur pointed out that the
presence of the law minister in the NJAC
casted a doubt on the principle of cabinet
responsibility. Justice Kurian Joseph said
that further hearing was required on the
matter as the collegium system needed to be
improved. Justice Adarsh K Goel said that
the constitution signified the will of the
Sources close to
the government
said it would at a
proper time try to
again introduce
another bill. Arun
Jaitley has
publicly said that
primacy of
parliament is part
of the basic
structure of the
constitution and
that the
appointment of
judges was a
non-transparent
process.
Justice K Joseph
Justice AK Goel
Justice J Chelameswar
He wanted hearings on
revamping the collegium.
He felt parliaments will

was time-bound.
He wanted the centers

involvement.
13
Promod Pushkarna
After this judgment, the judiciary must

prove that the collegium is a good system
so that no questions are asked....
Ram Bhawan Misra, former chief justice of HP High Court
NO ROOM FOR
REVISION
The Supreme Court
through the NJAC
verdict has sent a
clear message to the
executive that it will
brook no
interference
14
November 15, 2015
people, while the parliament only represented the peoples will at a given point of time.
Justice J Chelameswar, the sole dissenting
judge in the bench, argued that to entirely
eliminate the government from the selection
process was against the countrys democratic
principles.
Some of the reasons he gave for his dissenting opinion were:
Transparency is a vital factor in constitutional governance and judicial appointments
but proceedings of the collegium were absolutely opaque and inaccessible.
The assumption that primacy of the judiciary in the appointment of judges is a basic
feature of the constitution is empirically

flawed.
There were cases where the apex court collegium retraced its steps after rejecting recommendations of a particular name suggested by the high court collegium, giving scope
for a great deal of speculation. The records
were absolutely beyond the reach of any person, including judges other than the Chief
Justice of India (CJI) and so did not enhance
the credibility of the judiciary.
Attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi was right
in his submission that exclusion of the executive branch was destructive to the basic feature of checks and balancesa fundamental
principle in constitutional theory.
NO INTERFERENCE
The judgment sent a clear message to the
executive that it would brook no interference
in its function and that its independence was
supreme. It restored the collegium system
CENTERS
ENVOY
(Left) A-G
Mukul
Rohatgi had
pleaded that
inclusion of
the executive
was a must
for checks
and balances
in the
selection
process
that was in vogue for more than four decades,

where the CJI and a group of judges had the
final say.
The NJAC, on the other hand, comprised
three Supreme Court judges, the law minister and two eminent persons. It would, therefore, have only 50 percent of say in the
appointments of judges. And the general
apprehension was that the government
would hold its sway in the appointments.
Numerous BJP leaders like Kalraj Mishra
who is the Union minister for micro, small
and medium enterprises, said that striking
down the unanimously passed NJAC Act was
an effort to weaken parliaments sovereignty.
In a public debate on the judgment, RM
Lodha, former CJI, said that while the legislature has all the powers to make laws, it was
for the judiciary to determine whether the
law had destroyed basic features of the constitution and if it did, it was its duty to strike
it down.
The governments view was that the constitution never envisaged primacy of the CJI
in appointing judges and the Supreme Court
had wrongly assumed it.
Soon after the judgment, the government
reacted strongly, which was hardly surprising
as it was clear that it wanted control over the
appointment of judges. There have been
numerous instances in the past when the law
UNI
minister has called the shots for appointments. Law Minister Sadananda Gowda said
that he was surprised. Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley criticized it in a Facebook post saying:
Indian democracy cannot be a tyranny of the
unelected. Union minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad who was earlier a law minister, said
that the judgment was against the will of the
people as the NJAC bill was unanimously
passed in parliament by those who had been
elected on a popular vote.
Sources close to the government said
SCATHING
CRITICISM
Union Minister Kalraj
Mishra said the verdict
wanted to weaken
parliaments
sovereignty
15
whether we
have the
Collegium
system or
#NJAC, I believe
that the Indian
judiciary is
beyond
redemption.
What kind of a
judiciary is it
which often takes
20-30 years to
finally decide
a case.
Markandey Katju
(below), former
Supreme Court judge
Photos: UNI
16
November 15, 2015
that it would at an appropriate time later try

to again introduce another bill. Jaitley has
publicly said that primacy of parliament is
part of the basic structure of the constitution
and the appointment of judges was a nontransparent process.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
However, it may not be so easy to push
through this legislation again. The Congress,
which had earlier supported the creation of
the NJAC, backtracked saying that it would
not support the government if it tried to go
against the Supreme Court verdict.
Nick Robinson, a research fellow at the
Centre for Legal Profession at Harvard Law
School, pointed out that the Congress and
many others in civil society saw merit in the
apex court judgment as they were worried
about the BJP-led government trying to politicize independent institutions and intimidate dissenters.
The five-member bench which heard the
NJAC case will now hear suggestions from all
parties on November 3 on how the collegium
system can be improved. Legal experts say
that the case should have been heard by a

larger bench as the original judgment that
brought in the collegium system was heard
by nine judges.
This judgment took a long time coming.
When the NJAC matter was heard on July 15,
the court reserved its judgment. Later,
Justice Khehar who headed the bench, circulated his judgment to the other judges calling
the NJAC unconstitutional.
It is well-known how the then prime minister Indira Gandhi took it upon herself to
decide out-of-turn appointments to the judiciary despite Article 50 of the constitution
being clear that the executive could not interfere in the appointment of judges and only
had an advisory role. During the Emergency,
favored judges were promoted and others
who were seen as committed were transferred. Later, the judiciary cut the role of the
executive in appointments by instituting the
collegium system.
The appointment of judges was always
seen as a vexed issue. In 2002, the Constitution Review Commission headed by Justice Venkata-
IN FAVOR
RM Lodha, former
CJI, supported the
verdict
chaliah, had recommended the constitution

of a commission to appoint judges. This
came about as there was apprehension that
the collegium system was not transparent.
The question of judicial accountability
catapulted into debates raising questions
about why a flawed system was being allowed
to continue.
MIDDLE PATH
In the present verdict, Justice Khehar had
suggested that one or more eminent persons
could be given an advisory or consultative
role and allowed to express their opinion on
the nominees to be considered. The collegium would not be required to follow the
suggestions but be obliged to keep the opinion tendered, he said. If this is done, there
could be room for a government representative to give a view and it would be helpful to
also get some non-lawyer to be on the panel
to provide a different perspective.
But there is no fail-safe method. In a way,
both the collegium and NJAC are good ideas
and can both work. But that needs transparency and honesty which is sadly miss-
ing in public life. If decisions regarding

appointments are done purely on merit, both
systems are perfect.
Former Chief Justice of Himachal
Pradesh High Court Ram Bhawan Misra told
India Legal: After this judgment, the judiciary must prove that the collegium is a good
system so that no questions are asked about
its credibility. The idea of the NJAC came
about because there were question marks on
the appointments done by the collegium system. They definitely have a responsibility to
ensure that there is transparency, honesty,
sincerity and devotion to work while
appointing judges. Every move of the judiciary will now be seen through a microscope.
Clearly, the debate on whether the NJAC
or the collegium system is better is
not over. We are going to hear a
lot on this issue in the coming
months, though as of now, the
government is abiding by the
apex courts verdict. Jaitley, a former law minister, has in fact said
that a debate for a better system
will continue as mere
STRONG
REACTIONS
(Below) FM Arun
Jaitley criticized the
verdict in a Facebook
post, while Law
Minister Sadananda
Gowda was surprised
by the judgment
17
is justice denied. Many litigants,

in fact, die much before their
cases are heard.
WRONG
PRECEDENT
(Above) As PM, Indira
Gandhi flouted rules
to make appointments
to the judiciary
(Below) Days after the
verdict, CJI HL Dattu
moved fast to restore
the collegium system
18
November 15, 2015
independence of the judiciary would not

make it credible and that would come only if
there was accountability. Checks and balances would be required, he said.
TOUGH CALL
But how these judicial reforms are ushered in
is the sticky question. In the months ahead,
political observers feel that much dirty linen
will be washed in public to expose the misdoings of the judiciary and the judges who head
it. This will be done just to prove and corroborate that the NJAC had a point in ensuring
judicial accountability and bringing in others too to decide on who would be
appointed as judges.
The current imbroglio over the NJAC
has affected the disposal of cases
as many appointments in courts
are hanging fire. There are a staggering 3.15 crore cases pending
across India. Estimates say that it
would easily take at least 60 years for
these cases to be heard and disposed
of. Not to mention new cases which
crop up. India has about 16,000 judges
who are presently dealing with over
66,000 cases in the Supreme Court, 45
lakh cases in high courts and 2.7 crore cases
across district and subordinate courts. It is
anybodys guess how long it will take for
justice to be delivered. Justice delayed
JUDGES LAMENT
Former Supreme Court judge
Markandey Katju came out with
a quick-fire blog reacting to the
judgment. Called Indian Judiciary is beyond redemption, the
blog said: So far as my own
opinion is concerned, it matters
tweedledum or tweedledee
whether we have the Collegium
system or #NJAC, as I believe
that the Indian judiciary is
beyond redemption. What kind
of a judiciary is it which often
takes 20-30 years to finally
decide a case (including appeal,
revision, writ petition etc.)? There are over
32 million cases pending in the Courts of
India and it is estimated that even if no new
case is filed it will take 360 years to clear
the backlog.
Days after the judgment, CJI HL Dattu
moved fast to restore the collegium system.
He cleared the names of 24 additional judges
in six high courts to be appointed as permanent judges. This should come as a relief to
lakhs of litigants whose cases are pending.
The additional judges made permanent were
in the high courts of Gauhati, Bombay,
Andhra Pradesh, Calcutta and Jharkhand.
On the issue of 21 additional judges in
high courts, Justice Dattu said that the collegium had extended their tenure by three
months. Soon after the judgment, the law
ministry wrote to the CJI that Rohatgi had
given an opinion that the collegiums recommendations made before the judgment
would need fresh clearance.
And significantly, there would be around
100 such cases that will have to be considered
now that relate to the transfer, appointment
and confirmation of judges.
Can the constitutional crisis triggered off
by the NJAC judgment become an opportunity to usher in the much-needed reforms?
One can only hope that it does despite the
political anachronisms that continue to paralyze India. IL
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LEAD/ Supreme Court / NJAC Verdict /Opinion
Justice Narendra Chapalgaonker
Honesty
Is the
Best
Policy
Anthony Lawrence
The SC verdict restoring the collegium

system has jolted the government. But a
former judge of Bombay High Court says
that if those involved are honest to their
constitutional duty, any system will work
ORMALLY, a judgment of
the Supreme Court adjudicating a dispute puts an end
to it. But in the case of the
National Judicial Appointments Commission, it may not be so. By its
verdict, the Supreme Court has held that primacy of opinion of the chief justice of India
(CJI) is a part of the independence of the
judiciary and as such, a basic structure of the
constitution. Even dissent recorded by Justice Chelameshwar concurs with the proposition that existence of an independent judiciary is an essential requisite of a democratic
republic and independence of the judiciary is
one of the basic features of the constitution.
Majority opinion also held that equating the
20
November 15, 2015
opinion of the chief justice of India with that

of the law minister in the matter of selection
of judges violates the principle of primacy.
The court struck down the 99th Amendment to the constitution and declared the
National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, unconstitutional and void. It
restored the collegium system for appointment of high court and Supreme Court
judges. It, however, expressed its willingness
to consider appropriate suggestions for
improving the collegium system.
The reaction of the government indicates
that it is not prepared to forget its abortive
effort to scrap the collegium system and work
with it. They have expressed surprise at the
judgment and some of them used harsh
expressions like tyranny of the unelected
for the consequences of restored system.
What options would be open for the government? History has taught us some lessons
about constitutional amendments going
against basic constitutional values. The
Congress (which had earlier joined hands
with the ruling BJP in passing the NJAC Act)
has now warned against any constitutional
adventurism.
The judgment in the NJAC case is founded basically on two constitutional propositions. First is basic structure theory. No part
of the constitution, which, according to the
interpretation of the courts, is part of the
basic structure, can be amended so as to
destroy or undermine it. This is a restriction
on the amending power. Independence of
the judiciary is one of the basic structures of
the constitution and hence, cannot be compromised. Another proposition on which the
judgment is founded is that the opinion of
the chief justice of India (including that of
his colleagues in the collegium) shall have
primacy (between the opinion of the government and the CJI) in the appointment of
Supreme Court and high court judges.
A noble legal concept in the form of basic
structure doctrine was created by the
Supreme Court to protect essential constitutional values cherished by framers of our
constitution. This doctrine is consistently
approved and relied on by various judicial
pronouncements. Though secularism, freedom, federal character of the state, separation of powers between legislature, judiciary
and executive, independence of judiciary,
etc., have been recognized as basic structures,
the list is not restrictive. This doctrine of
basic structure and primacy granted to the
opinion of the judiciary by Supreme Court
judgments is the main obstacle in the way of
the government.
Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record
Association vs Union of India (1994) and
Special Reference No.1 of 1998, both decided
by nine judges, endorsed the proposition that
the opinion of the CJI shall have primacy in
the matter of appointment of judges to the
Supreme Court and high courts. Therefore,
the governments part in the appointment of
these judges remained a minor one. A prayer
for review of this view by a bench larger than
those of nine judges was rejected in the
NJAC case.
he first option before the government

is to move the CJI in an appropriate
case and persuade the Court to form a
larger bench. Such an attempt proved to be
abortive in 1975. The attorney-general had
moved the CJI for formation of a larger
bench to review the basic structure doctrine.

A bench was formed but after hearing the
preliminary objections and after some discussion between the judges on the bench and
the advocates who appeared, Chief Justice
Ray was pleased to dissolve the bench.
Therefore, taking out the independence of
the judiciary from the basic structure list
would be a near impossibility. Assailing the
theory of basic structure would be opening
the door for many dangerous possibilities for
annulment of the essential principles of our
constitution. Anybody who cares for constitutional democracy would not like that possibility. It may destabilize the foundations of
our state. Any fresh attempt for such a
review, therefore, would be difficult and
undesirable.
The collegium system has worked for the
last few years and some of its flaws have been
brought to the fore. It will have to be made
more transparent and opinions expressed by
the parties to the consultation process must
be in writing and duly communicated to
other parties. Certain other measures may
also be necessary. The Supreme Court is
seized of the matter and would consider suggestions for reforms in this system. What Dr
Rajendra Prasad, president of the Constituent Assembly, said about the constitution is
also true about the system for appointment
of judges. If persons involved in the process
are honest to their constitutional duty, any
system will work. Fault does not always lie in
utensils, at times, it may be with the cook. IL
IN PUBLIC INTEREST
(L-R) Chief Justice HL Dattu
and Law Minister DV
Sadananda Gowda will have
to arrive at a common ground
to resolve the ExecutiveJudiciary dispute over NJAC
Independence of
the judiciary is
one of the basic
structures of the
constitution and
hence, cannot be
compromised.
Also, the opinion
of the chief
justice of India
shall have
primacy in the
appointment of
Supreme Court
and high court
judges.
21
SUPREME COURT
Center nudged on
uniform civil code
A
sking the central government to

take a quick decision on a uniform civil code and end the confusion
over personal laws, the Supreme
Court directed Solicitor General Ranjit
Kumar to seek the governments
view. It also posted the matter for further hearing after three weeks.
If you want to have a uniform
civil code have it, you want to follow
the uniform civil code, follow it. But
you must take a decision soon, the
apex court told Kumar. The court was

hearing a public interest litigation
seeking waiver of the two-year
mandatory separation period for a
Christian couple before it could move
court for divorce by mutual consent.
The separation period is one year for
other religions.
The petitioner had argued that the
two-year mandatory period of separation was biased against the Christian
community and was discriminatory.
Concerned over delays

T
he Supreme Court, while taking

note of long delays in hearing of
appeals by various high courts, asked
both the center and state governments
as to what they proposed to
do to check such delays and why
some appeals dragged on for over
a decade.
The court made the observation
while hearing the bail plea of Tejpal
Singh, a murder accused, who was
behind bars since 2003. His plea

was still pending in the Allahabad High
Court.
The court expressed shock upon
learning that the accused had been
in jail for 13 years and a decision on
appeal was nowhere in sight. It
decided to bring in the attorney
general of India to find out why
appeals were pending across high
courts for so long.
Aadhaar gets leeway

R
elaxing its earlier order, the

Supreme Court allowed the use
of Aadhaar card on voluntary basis
for social welfare schemes like the
rural job guarantee sche-me, oldage pensions, provident fund and
prime ministers Jan Dhan Yojana.
A five-judge bench modified the
August 11 interim order of a threejudge bench that had restricted the
voluntary use of the Aadhaar card
for LPG subsidy and getting ration
22
November 15, 2015
under PDS. It also asked the government to follow all court orders
from September 23, 2013, onwards.
The petitioners counsel agreed
to the voluntary use of Aadhaar for
the four schemes. They had pleaded
that biometric data stored in the
Aadhaar card was a gross violations
of privacy. They had also argued
that there was no statutory mandate behind the collection of biometric data for Aadhaar cards.
Explain tweets to
Maha assembly
T
he Supreme Court asked writer

Shobhaa De to respond to a
breach of privilege motion notice as
well as explain that her tweets on
showing Marathi films during prime
time in multiplexes in Mumbai was
not a comment on the conduct of
the Maharashtra assembly.
The state government had, in
April this year, decided to make it
mandatory for multiplexes in
Maharashtra to screen Marathi
movies during prime time.
Criticizing the move, De had
tweeted: Devendra Diktatwala

Fadnavis is at it again!!! From beef
to movies. This is not the
Maharashtra we all love! Nako!
Nako! Yeh sab roko!
A Bench told the columnist to
file her reply and posted the matter
for hearing on November 18. The
court had earlier stayed the breach
of privilege notice issued by the
Maharashtra assembly speaker
against De for her tweets. The
author had moved the apex court
against the notice.
Window time for

bursting crackers
H
earing a petition filed by three

kids demanding a blanket ban
on crackers, the Supreme Court
said that it would consider a fivehour window time from 5 pm to
10 pm for bursting of crackers
during Diwali.
The court directed Solicitor
General Ranjit Kumar and Additional
Solicitor General Maninder Singh to
consult the departments concerned
Ban commercial surrogacy

R
aising the issue of commercial surrogacy and its

affects, the Supreme Court suggested a possible ban
on commercial surrogacy as India is increasingly
becoming a popular destination for surrogacy tourism.
The apex court said that various issues related to surrogacy were not covered by any law and the government
must bring in a legislation.
in the government and come out

with their response within a week to
six suggestions given by the petitioners counsel, AM Singhvi.
Among all suggestions, one had
asked for limiting the time from
7 pm to 9 pm but the apex court
thought it would be insufficient and
suggested 5pm to 10 pm.
The court posted the matter for
October 27.
The court also asked the government to re-examine

the policies that allow the import of human embryo in
India. Commercial surrogacy should not be allowed but
it is going on in the country. You are allowing trading of
human embryo. It is becoming a business. It has evolved
into surrogacy tourism, the bench said.
Appearing for the government Solicitor General Ranjit
Kumar said consultation process is on and the surrogacy
bill may be introduced in parliament in a few months.
Compiled by Vijay Patil
Illustrations: UdayShankar
23
COURTS
Jaitley slapped with sedition

sedition charge was slapped
recently on Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley by a local Uttar
Pradesh court for criticizing the
Supreme Courts decision striking
down National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC).
According to media reports, the
civil judge of Mahoba in Jhansi district, Ankit Goel, took suo motu cognizance of Jaitleys criticism of the
verdict. The judge said the BJP
leaders blog on his Facebook
pageIndian democracy cannot be
a tyranny of the unelectedprima

facie amounted to sedition under
Section 124A of the Indian
Penal Code (IPC).
The judge further added that the
blog also caused public mischief
under Section 505 of the IPC. He
ruled that under Section 190 of the
Criminal Procedure Code, the court
was entitled to take cognizance of
Jaitleys statements.
The judge has asked the finance
minister to be present before him on
November 19.
Dress code for court staff

he Madhya Pradesh High Court issued
an order for officers and staff to dress
according to the courts dignity. As per its
directive, the employees were prohibited
from wearing jeans, T-shirts and colorful
outfits during working hours.
The order was issued by the High
Courts registrar-general, Ved Prakash
Sharma, on October 16. It has been
observed that certain employees report to
work while putting on attire of different
colors and designs which does not seem
befitting the dignity of the court, said

the circular. The order asked the entire
court staff, including personal secretary,
personal assistant, shorthand writers
and readers to report to work in formals
like black pants, white shirt, black coat
and a tie.
The registrar-general also warned of
severe disciplinary action if the orders
were violated. The directive, however, did
not make any distinction between male
and female staff.
AAP legislator
fined `50,000
he Delhi High Court fined AAP legislator Surender Singh `50,000 for
delay in filing a response to an election petition from BJP leader Karan
Singh Tanwar. The petition had alleged
that Singh had furnished false information about his educational qualifications in a poll affidavit.
The court imposed the fine as it
found no official record that Singh had
replied to the petition.
Singh, however, denied the allega-
24
November 15, 2015
tions and told the court that the petition was frivolous, vague, misconceived and politically motivated.
Tanwar in his petition said that
Singh had claimed to be a 2012
graduate from Sikkim University when
he wasnt and that was a corrupt
practice according to the
Representation of the People Act
1951. He had based his allegation on
an RTI reply from the university.
The reply said that it did not have
any record of a student by that name
in its BA program. Tanwar thus wanted Singhs election be declared void
on that ground.
Dandiya not integral

part of Hindu practice
ombay High Court ruled that
dandiya is not an integral part of
Hindu religious practice and rejected a
petition filed by residents of Cassi
Mitha building in Mumbai. The building
is located next to the Rocky Hill
Complex in Malabar Hill where judges
and senior government officials stay.
The residents like government officers of revenue, custom and Income
Tax department of Cassi Mitha quarters

wanted to have a dandiya night function
at their premises. They had approached
the Malabar Hill police for permission to
use loud speakers and play dandiya but
were refused. The police also did not
cite any reason.
The residents later approached the
High Court, which, while rejecting the
petition, said nobody can demand
What is a madarsa?
he Kerala High Court held that
a madarsa is not a place of
worship and so it could be used
as a polling booth. The High Court
issued the order while dismissing
a petition filed by BA Kasim from
Kasargod, who had sought shifting
or relocation of polling booths
located in madarsas in Chengala
Grama Panchayat, Kasargod, for
the local body elections scheduled
next month.
The Court said the handbook
issued by the State Election
Commission for the conduct of
elections stated that no police station or place of religious worship

shall function as a polling station.
It said that a madarsa is neither a
place of religious worship nor
does it have religious significance.
Madarsa only means a building
which houses a school, it clarified.
The court also added that it did
not think any of the instructions
issued by the State Election
Commission had been flouted in
the case. It observed that it was
too late in the day to shift or relocate the polling booths.
Condom not medicine

pholding the Delhi High Court order
of July 2015, the Madras High Court
ruled that a condom is not a medicine,
hence it cannot have a fixed price under
the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO).
The court was hearing the petition filed
by TTK Protective Devices Ltd. The petition cited the ruling of the Delhi High
Court quashing the orders of National
Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority
(NPPA) in July 2015.
The Delhi High Court had said that
NPPA exceeded the powers conferred by
DPCO while fixing the ceiling price for
condoms. It ruled that the ceiling
price can be fixed only for scheduled
formulations of specified strengths and
dosages and condoms do not fall under
this category as the dosages and
strength are not specified. Thus, it is not
permissible to fix price for condoms.
Two pharma companies, Reckitt
Benckiser and JK Ansell Ltd, had
challenged the NPPA orders in Delhi
High Court, while TTK Protective
Devices challenged them in the
Madras High Court.

Illustrations: UdayShankar
25
SOCIETY/ Adoption/ Missionaries of Charity
No Childs
Play
Even as the government wants to increase adoptions in India and has

laid out new guidelines, the Missionaries of Charity
has pulled out of this sector, citing differences
By Sujit Bhar in Kolkata
IN SERVICE TO
MANKIND
Mother Teresas
Missionaries of
Charity has
done yeoman
service in the
field of adoption
26
November 15, 2015
We think sometimes that poverty

is only being hungry, naked and
homeless. The poverty of being
unwanted, unloved and uncared
for is the greatest poverty. We
must start in our own homes to
remedy this kind of poverty.
Mother Teresa
OLKATAS Missionaries of
Charity (MoC), founded by
Mother Teresa and one of the
most respected NGOs in the
country, has come in for some
friction with the law of the land
that now allows single parents
to adopt children.
The law has wide ramifications within the
current Indian scenario, being singularly and
uniformly secular against the backdrop of a
country where majority religious sentiments
are polarizing at an alarming rate.
Maneka Gandhi, the Women and Child
Development minister, is known to be passionate about the issue of adoption, and
hence did not wait for parliament to pass the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Bill, 2014, and notified the rules
under the existing Act instead.
In a country where the collective situation
of children, especially orphans, is abysmal,
even the adoption rate is low despite a large
number of people wanting to adopt. This is
because of the legal system and its bottlenecks. Despite some 9,000 parents willing to
adopt, only 800 children are free for adoption. However, this year, some 1,200 were
adopted. The minister said that her target for
adoption for next year was 50,000. She said
many NRIs were eager to adopt children
from their country of origin, but, finding the
Indian legal system too hard to crack, have
started moving to China for babies. Maneka
Gandhi wants to speed up the process and
new guidelines have made it easy for single
people to adopt.
However, MoC found these guidelines
unacceptable and wrote to the Central

Adoption Resource Authority seeking derecognition of the registered (for adoption)
orphanages. A call by India Legal to MoC
elicited no comments. The MoC runs 16
orphanages across the country, of which 13
are authorized to give children for adoption.
The revised guidelines on adoption came
into effect in July, and by August, MoC
homes had stopped facilitating the adoption
process. They shifted out the remaining children to other registered homes. In this
imbroglio, its the children who are suffering.
DIFFERENT STANDARDS
If the MoC wants each
child to have a life of
dignity, why does it shun
single parents and LGBTs
and deny them the right to
parenthood?
SISTERS OBJECTIONS
MoC has set three preconditions. First, it
would be giving children out to married couples only. Secondly, none of them can be a
divorcee. Third, parents have to accept the
child the organization offers and will not be
able to choose from six children, as the ministry guidelines lay out. This leaves out single
parents. Already, one applicant from Assam
and another from Bihar were reportedly
rejected by MoC.
MoCs stand has been backed by the
Vatican, the Catholic Bishops Conference of
India (CBCI) and even by West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee. Her statement
on this issue was: We fully support
Missionaries of Charity and Sister Prema
27
SOCIETY/ Adoption/ Missionaries of Charity
Children are not

objects; each of
them is a
precious gift
from God. The
Missionaries of
Charity are at
the service of
the most vulnerable and those
abandoned
children cannot
be given to any
parent.
Cardinal Telesphore
Toppo, Archbishop of
Ranchi
in their decision to opt out of the adoption
program. They have a right to do so.
Vatican Radio, while not directly commenting on the issue, quoted Cardinal
Telesphore Toppo, the Archbishop of
Ranchi, on the issue. He reportedly
said: I support the sister missionaries. Children are not objects; each of
them is a precious gift from God.
The Missionaries of Charity are at
the service of the most vulnerable
and those abandoned children cannot be given to any parent. The
CBCI, too, echoed these sentiments.
CHANGED WORLD
Sandhi Mukherjee, a retired
bureaucrat who is involved
with many social organizations, says: One,

perhaps, can appeal to their (MoC) hearts
that they come back to the dialogue table.
This is an organization that is reputed for its
fairness in the treatment of children, and
prospective parents are positively predisposed when they apply to MoC. While it is
true that the reputation of MoC has been
built over decades of hard work and dedication, one has to remember that the world
outside has changed, and divorces are as
commonplace as live-in relationships.
He further adds that it is important to
keep in mind that marriages do not always
work, and divorce is a fair and respectable
way out of this. This does not tarnish a mans
or a womans character. What happens to a
woman who has been brutalized and divorce
We fully support Missionaries of Charity in

their decision to opt out of the adoption
program. They have a right to do so.
Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister
28
November 15, 2015
is the only way out? Does she forego the right

to have a child?
Secondly, if you look at women such as
Sushmita Sen (former Miss Universe) or
Neena Gupta (actor), both of whom are single mothers, you see their children growing
up with a lot of care.
Third, MoC must remember that they
were not forced to start and run orphanages
in India. Having done so, they have implicitly
agreed to adhere to the law of the land. So
many children have benefitted from the
excellent care that MoC provides. Now,
should they be shoved into organizations that
have neither the ability nor the willingness to
provide such care?
TIME TO MOVE ON
Another issue is homophobia. Even as
debates continuously take place over the
LGBT issue, the MoC asks a startling question: What if the parents (single) turn out to
be lesbians or gays? This shows how far
behind it is with the times.
According to social worker Soma, there
lies a middle path. This is an issue that can-
The MoC has to be in step with times and

realize that live-in-relationships and
divorces are common and that the law of
the land also recognizes single parents.
not be solved through legislations. One has to
keep in mind MoCs reputation while dealing
with the issue. Even Pope Francis today is
showing leniency towards issues of the modern world.
Another point of contention with the
MoC is prospective parents being given a
choice of six children to choose from. Sister
Amala of MoC has said: Mothers idea was
adoption to counter abortion. When a
woman gives birth to a baby, is she allowed a
choice? She gets what God gifts her. Here too
we allow only one chance, we match the baby
as per the parents background, skin color,
etc., but parents are not allowed a choice,
even if the child has a deformity.
One hopes the clash between law and religion does not result in orphans suffering and
falling into wrong hands. IL
CHANGING REALITIES
(Above, L-R) Actors Neena
Gupta and Sushmita Sen
are successful single
parents
29
LEGAL EYE/ State Law Officers
Money down
the Drain
In a startling revelation, the Supreme Court
has found that states are spending huge
amounts on law officers without proper
systems being put in place. Loyalty, more
than merit, is amply rewarded
By Vipin Pubby in Chandigarh
HE largesse doled out by state

governments has come under
scrutiny. This generosity by way
of arbitrary appointments of law
officers to deal with cases relating
to states in high courts has
caught the attention of the
Supreme Court.
While hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the appointments, the Court, which
has now reserved its ruling, has come across
startling facts. Not only are there no set rules
for the appointment of additional advocategenerals (A-Gs), senior deputy A-Gs and
deputy A-Gs, state governments had been
spending huge amounts on a large number of
advocates appointed to these positions.
HUGE TEAMS
Haryana, for instance, has 183 law officers,
which includes 58 additional A-Gs, one senior deputy A-G, 62 deputy A-Gs and an equal
number of assistant A-Gs, as per an affidavit
given by the state to the apex court last
month. Punjab is not far behind, with as
30
November 15, 2015
many as 174 law officers who were also

appointed without any norms in place. It has
a team of 74 additional A-Gs, five senior
deputy A-Gs, 40 deputy A-Gs and 55 assistant A-Gs. In contrast, the center has a team
of less than a dozen law officers in the
Supreme Court led by Attorney-General of
India Mukul Rohatgi.
A majority of these state lawyers have not
been appointed on merit or experience. In
fact, most are related to politicians, senior
officers, judges, senior advocates and other
influential people. One of those appointed in
Haryana is a relative of the chief minister
and did not even fulfil the norms to practice
in the High Court. The Bar Council of India
has fixed a minimum experience of two years
in a sessions or district court for being eligible to appear in high courts.
The Haryana government affidavit also
details the emoluments given to these officers. Additional A-Gs are paid a monthly
remuneration of `1.40 lakh and entitled to
leave as admissible to Class I officers, except
earned leave. They are on contract for one
Not only are

there no set
rules for the
appointment
of additional
advocategenerals, senior
deputy A-Gs
and deputy
A-Gs, state
governments
spend huge
amounts on a
large number
of advocates.
Anthony Lawrence
year, which is renewable every year. They are

entitled to do private practice but are barred
from appearing against the state.
Deputy A-Gs are put on regular pay
scales, with entry-level salaries being a minimum of `43,390, plus the usual allowances,
including house rent allowance and TA/DA,
as admissible to state government employees. Assistant A-Gs have an entry-level minimum pay starting at `28,000, plus the usual
allowances.
MONEY SQUANDERED?
Details of the official expenditure calculated
by the Haryanas A-G office show that the
state incurs a monthly expenditure of around
`70,235 on an assistant A-G, `85,000 on an
additional A-G, `90,000 on a senior additional A-G, `1,00,575 on a deputy A-G, and
`1,00,675 on a senior deputy A-G. It also
spent `18.71 crore on the state A-Gs office
between April 1, 2012, and January 31, 2013,
as per official figures of a CAG report in 2014.
The report also said that about 80 percent
of the law officers dont have adequate work
most of the time. It questioned the faulty

selection of law officers resulting in idle payment of salary.
In its reply to CAGs objections, Haryana
had justified the appointments, citing several
court judgments, including some from the
Supreme Court. It is the choice, prerogative
and discretion of the government to engage
such law officers to defend and plead their
cases through whom it has faith, confidence
and trust, which may be based on word of
mouth and performance, it said.
In its latest affidavit submitted to the
Supreme Court, the state informed that the
A-G is the only validated post of law officer
and the engagement of law officers are not
governed by any rules and regulations. It
added that their engagement is primarily on
the basis of recommendations made by the
A-G. The affidavit admitted that no search or
selection committee had ever been constituted to invite applications and scrutinize the
names and that it was left to the discretion
of the A-G to select his team of officers.
The affidavit was submitted days after
31
LEGAL EYE/ State Law Officers
CRUX OF THE MATTER

(L-R) Solicitor General Ranjit
Kumar will probe if states
have laid down procedures for
selection of law officers
SC Bench led by TS Thakur
said appointments of law
officers must be transparent
It is the choice,
prerogative and
discretion of the
government to
engage such law
officers to defend
and plead their
cases through
whom it has faith,
confidence and
trust, which may
be based on
word of mouth
and
performance.
Haryanas affidavit to
the Supreme Court
32
November 15, 2015
the court slammed the Punjab government

over appointment of law officers. A bench led
by Justice TS Thakur had said such appointments cannot be an act of political appeasement and must be transparent. The court
had questioned the process for such appointments in states as it appeared that political
connections outweighed merit. It asked
Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar, who was
assisting the court as amicus curiae, to find
out whether any state had laid down procedures for selection of law officers.
Punjab government, in its affidavit, had
said that conventionally, law officers are
engaged on contractual basis after being recommended by the advocate general or in
consultation with him. The advocate general
recommends to the state government those
lawyers who are competent and best suited to
carry out the onerous and multi-faceted tasks
of law officers.
LOYALTY PAYS
The issue came up before the apex court following a petition filed by advocate Pradeep
Rapria, who had challenged the appointment
of law officers in the A-G office, Haryana.
This was done after the Punjab and Haryana
High Court, which had heard his plea,
adjourned the case sine-die. In his petition
before the Supreme Court, Rapria argued
that loyalty to the ruling party, and not legal
acumen, had become the deciding factor in
the appointment of government advocates.
Integrity, capabilities, honesty

and efficiency of lawyers were
secondary to loyalty to the party
in power.
In his affidavit, he said that
he had filed the petition
against the arbitrary and illegal engagement of Advocates in
the AG office, Haryana, on pick
and chose basis, without any
supporting legislation or Rule,
Notification, guideline, norms,
which is clearly in violation of
Article 14 of the Constitution of
India. In response to the RTI
query, the State Govt. has
informed the Petitioner that
there is no specified qualification or rule dealing with the engagement of
Advocates in the AG Office and even no
application was ever received from the
engaged Advocates. Therefore, there was no
occasion for the State Govt. to apply mind on
the merits of the Advocates engaged in the
AG Office, who deal with the Fundamental
Rights and other vital rights of the citizens in
the High Court.
The petitioner submitted that the state
exchequer is held by the state as a trustee of
the citizens. Remuneration to such state
counsels from the state exchequer amounts
to state largesse, which cannot be given to
any person according to the sweet will and
whims of political entities. He pointed out
that no applications were sought and there
was no specified qualification or rule dealing
with the engagement of advocates in the A-G
office. Rapria further said in his petition: In
the democracy, the government cannot
behave like a King, who can give benefit to
any person as per his whims and fancies.
Senior advocates in the Punjab and
Haryana High Court pointed out that though
the appointments of some law officers are
justified, the numbers appointed by both
states is far higher than required. They also
stressed that an improvement in the quality
of lawyers appointed for such posts could cut
down on the need for so many appointees.
It is hoped that the Supreme Court will
issue guidelines to bring some order in these
appointments. IL
NATIONAL BRIEFS
Constables to
become IOs
he Delhi Police got the nod

from Lieutenant Governor
Najeeb Jung to induct senior constables as investigating officers
(IO) for probing non-heinous
crimes in the capital. Incidentally,
of the total number of cases that
the Delhi Police has, non-heinous
crimes top the list.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the
demand was made by the Delhi
Police. Constables will now join
the ranks of inspector, sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector and
head constables to function as
IOs. According to the report, the

new IOs will probe cases that
entail a maximum punishment of
seven years. However, they need
to be graduates with a minimum
of 10 years experience to become
eligible for IOs.
The report further states that
more than 3,000 constables will
be up for the post and are likely to
take a screening test, followed by
a training for those selected.
The move should address the
long list of cases piling up with
the Delhi Police and help speed
up the process of investigation.
Chhota Rajan is scared
Make merit the sole criterion
hhota Rajan (Rajendra Nikalje)

who was arrested in Bali told
reporters that he was not afraid of anyone. Indias most wanted gangster, who
is sought in more than two dozen murder cases, was arrested after a twodecade hunt.
However, Police Commissioner
Reinhard Nainggolan told NDTV that
Rajan wanted to go to Zimbabwe and
that he has been nervous since his
arrest. Reports have suggested that
Rajan, who has been hunted by the
police in many countries, was scared to
return to India because of threats from
Dawood, his former mentor-turned-bitter rival. CBI officers will reach Bali
soon to begin the process of bringing
him back to India.
Fun time
Goa seems to be the place to relax if the
number of VIPs who are holidaying there
is any indication. Among them was Chief
Justice HL Dattu with his family, which
included his wife, son, daughter-in-law
and grandson. HRD Minister Smriti Irani
too set off on a holiday to Goa.
Scheduled to campaign for the BJP in
the Bihar assembly elections, Irani was
probably inspired after Arun Jaitley said
that the election results wont be seen as
a mandate on the centers performance.
he Supreme Court urged the center to

take steps objectively in order to do
away with all forms of reservations in
institutions of higher education. The
court observed that in spite of several
reminders to central and state governments, reservation continues to hold

sway over merit. It made a strong case
for making merit the primary criteria for
admission to super-specialty courses.
The apex court noted that there
should really be no reservation since
it is in the general interest of the country
to improve the standard of higher education. The courts observation came in
while it was delivering judgment on a
batch of petitions challenging the
eligibility criteria for admissions into
certain super-specialty medical courses
in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and
Tamil Nadu.
Gujarat opposes compensation plea
he Gujarat government opposed a

plea to grant compensation to six
men who were convicted for the 2002
Akshardham terror attack but acquitted
by the Supreme Court last year. Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta,
representing the state, told the apex
court that the plea by the acquitted was
not maintainable.
Whatever they may want now, it has
to be in the same criminal appeal that is
now disposed of by this court. There
are provisions in the CrPC to seek compensation and also for demanding
inquiry against police officers, Mehta
told the court.

The bench, agreeing with Mehta,
asked the petitioners advocate, KTS
Tulsi, to corroborate the provisions under
which the plea was maintainable.

33
CONTROVERSY/ Dance Bars
JUST ANOTHER ROUND

Women performing at a
dance bar
Much Nautch about Nothing

Are Mumbais dance bars dens of vice as made out by the moral brigade
and the political establishment? With the ban on them stayed again, its
time to improve the working conditions of women there
By Ajith Pillai
F you are part of the moral brigade, it

is easy to run down Mumbais dance
bars. There is this readymade line of
argument: these establishments are
sex shops or pick-up joints masquerading as places of clean fun and
entertainment. Hence, these dens of
vice deserve to be closed down. There are a
few case studies done to prove that middlemen lure women from villages across India to
the big, bad city and they end up in the dance
34
November 15, 2015
bars which mushroomed in Mumbai in the

90s and the 2000s. When the Maharashtra
assembly unanimously passed a bill banning
dance bars in July 2005, there were 1,300 of
them. And to think that in 1985 there were
only 24 of them.
This shows how dance bars grew in popularity. But what about all the sleaze associated with such establishments? It would be a
misrepresentation of facts to say that they are
squeaky clean and above board. However, it
would be safe to say these bars are not brothels. Their managements do not sell sex,
although a dancer on her own free will may
indulge in such a transaction.
MUMBAIS UNDERBELLY
I have surveyed dance bars in my capacity as
a low life correspondent for a few publications in Mumbai. Covering crime, drug
addiction and the citys underbelly was one of
the beats assigned to me. Since bars with
dancing girls attracted much media attention
in the late 80s and 90s, I was asked to take a
look at them. I found that women who enacted scenes from raunchy Bollywood songs
were neither readily available as was made
out by the moral police, nor were the managements persuading their clientele to take
one of the women home. On the contrary, the
bars had bouncers who said their brief was to
ensure that customers dont ched chaad
(harass) the women.
The typical client who frequents such bars
comes to relive the Bollywood dream. It is
keeping him in mind that the bars are
designed to resemble a film set readied for an
item songreplete with all its garish lighting
and glitter. The dancersa dozen of them
perform on an elevated circular stage with
strobe lights flashing and the latest filmy
number blasting through the sound system.
As one song fades into another, some of them
rush to the green room to return wearing
clothes to match the mood of the next track
on the playing list.
The profile of those who patronise dance
bars is a curious mix of office-goers, thirdrung members of the underworld, traders
and professionals. They are young or at best
middle-aged. Many are married. To a man,
they will reveal that they have come here to
forget the cares of the world and to relax and
enjoy themselves. They also tell you they are
not here for sex. If that was what they wanted, they would have gone to Kamatipura, the
red light district, they say.
To unwind with the noisy music and to
imagine yourself falling in love with one of
the nubile girls doing her set, you have to be
essentially a film-crazed person; someone
who remembers the lyrics to the song being
danced to and the vibes with it. Unless you
are such a person, you probably will not pay

through your nose for your drink to watch an
item number enacted.
While they dance, the girls are not
allowed to speak to customers but they do
notice those who tip them heavily. Sonia
Falerios book, Beautiful Thing, an inside
account of Mumbais dance bars, describes a
typical scene involving dance girl Leela:
...she only noticed those who threw money
on her, as was the custom, or asked the steward standing by for this purpose to place a
garland of hundred or five hundred rupee
notes around her neck. If she was feeling
wicked she would accept the money and staring deep into the customers eyes silently
mouth: Is this all you think Im worth?...If
the customer was familiar with Leelas ways,
which, truth be told, were the ways of all
experienced bar dancers, hed swat her away
with a good-natured laugh.
MAJORITY IS MARRIED
But what about the women dancers themselves? According to a sample study in 2005
by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, 68 percent of women in dance bars
were married. This went against the notion
that the girls were mostly minors lured into
the racket by traffickers. A majority of those
married (71 percent) had children back home
in the villages and small towns they hailed
from. Many had come to Mumbai to seek
jobs and had found dancing at bars a better
option than being attached to a brothel in
According to a
2005 study by
Tata Institute of
Social Sciences,
68 percent of
women in
dance bars
were married.
A majority of
those married
had children in
villages and
small towns.
SMILES OF
VICTORY
Dance bar girls
celebrating after
court ruling
against the ban
35
CONTROVERSY/ Dance Bars
THE REAL PICTURE

(Above) Sonia Falerios book
Beautiful Thing is an inside
account of Mumbais dance
bars
(Far right) Shagufta Rafique,
former dance bar girl-turnedscriptwriter
36
November 15, 2015
the unofficially demarcated red light areas.

Shagufta Rafique, a former dance bar girl
turned scriptwriter says she was forced into
prostitution at the age of 17 because of poverty. For the next 10 years, she supported her
family through her sex work till some wellwishers asked her to try her hand at dancing
at bars. She did this and she says the move
liberated her from the demeaning work she
was doing earlier. Shagufta has written the
scripts for films like Aashiqui 2, Raaz 3,
Murder 2, Jannat 2 and Woh Lamhe. When
the ban was first invoked against the dance
bars, she had this to say: I know how difficult life became for thousands of women who
were their familys sole breadwinners. They
were forced to do things they would not have
done if the bars were allowed (to carry on
their business). The state government will be
responsible for them getting into prostitution
or ending their lives.
There are many myths perpetuated about
dance bars and the women working there. At
the time the ban was imposed, one official
position was that 75 percent of the women
were illegal migrants from Bangladesh. This
premise was proven false by a study conducted by SNDT University, Mumbai, which
revealed that about 50 percent of the women
were from marginalized communities in
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan. Around 20 percent were from
Mumbai or interior Maharashtra and the rest
were from across the country. Only a few
were from Nepal and none from Bangladesh.
Neither did the dancers earn in lakhs as was

alleged. Their monthly income was in the
region of `30,000.
ABUSED BY POLICE
More crucially, the report revealed that the
women were not forced into sex work. Also,
very few spoke of harassment. They, however,
said they were troubled by the police who
raided bars and verbally abused them. In
media interviews after the ban, bar owners
spoke of how they were forced to pay hafta
(protection money) to the police to continue
their business.
Despite several court rulings against the
ban, it is unlikely that it will be lifted. No
political party wishes to take on the moral
brigade. Comments made in the state assembly in 2005 during the discussion that preceded the passing of the bill banning dance
bars, were telling. Sample this: These
women who dance naked (nanga nach), they
don't deserve any sympathy. We are not
Taliban, but somewhere we have to put a
stop. The moral policing we do, it is a good
thing, but it is not enough ... we need to do
even more of this moral policing. But this
one took the cake: Hotels with three stars,
five stars, disco dancing, belly dancing, all
that is vulgar ... everything should be banned,
except Bharatnatyam and Kathak.
To ban is not the answer. To regulate and
improve the working conditions of women
who dance the evening shift is certainly a
more positive option. IL
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30
CONTROVERSY/ Dance Bars/Legal Angle
Dancing in the Dark

Though the Supreme
Court stayed the ban on
dance bars, it is a moot
question whether the
Maharashtra government
will accept the verdict. It
hasnt budged in the past
By Meena Menon
FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS

(Above and below) People protesting against the dance bar ban
38
November 15, 2015
T is not for the first time that the

courts have come to the rescue of bar
dancers. But the Supreme Court
order on October 15 to stay a provision in the Maharashtra Police Act
prohibiting the functioning of dance
bars may be too little, too late.
Remember, in 2013 too, the Maharashtra
government didnt budge an inch after an
apex court order lifted the ban on dance bars.
In 2014, it defiantly amended the Bombay
Police Act to ban dancing again, including in
high-end hotels and private clubs where it
was exempted earlier.
The Indian Hotel and Restaurant
Association and others approached the
Supreme Court to stay this change in Section
33A of the Bombay Police act by way of an
amendment by the Maharashtra Police
(Second Amendment) Act, 2014, and declare
it unconstitutional. While bar owners may
rejoice at the latest order, they will once
again be subject to a strict licensing system.
There are other issues too and as lawyer and
activist Flavia Agnes said, the obscenity rider
in the order will become a weapon in the
hands of the police to harass the girls.
MISPLACED MORALISM
The man who introduced the ban
on dance bars in 2005, former
Maharashtra home minister RR
Patil of the Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP), passed away due to
cancer in February. He took the
high moral ground while closing
them down and faced much criticism for not lifting a finger to do
anything about the thriving prostitution and trafficking racket in
Mumbai. Bar dancers, then,
became a soft target for Patils misplaced moralism which received
unanimous approval across political parties.
In 2006, it was first the
Bombay High Court which came to
the rescue of the bar dancers and
later, in 2013, the Supreme Court.
There was much lamentation that
banning dance bars was a blot on Mumbais
famed nightlife, though they were many who
supported it. The women, meanwhile, were
suddenly left with little options other than a
life of drudgery or prostitution.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra
Fadnavis has said he will appeal against the
order and make a proper representation in
the Supreme Court before the final hearing
on November 5. Political parties, specially
the NCP which propelled the ban, feel that
the state did not make a good case in the
Supreme Court. Nawab Malik, NCP
spokesperson says: The state government
seems to have struck a deal with the bar owners and this will become clear if the final
order goes against the government. We will
wait to see what the order is and then decide.
Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra
assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil from the
Congress said in a statement that the government should bring an ordinance and ban
dance bars. For once, the Congress seems to
back the NCP. When Patil had banned dance
bars in 2005, Vikhe-Patil had said it was a
step in the right direction. He had said that it
was not a question of depriving women of
their livelihood alone but it had a negative
impact on society. The state must take steps
ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE FENCE

(L-R) Leader of opposition in Maharashtra
assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil supports the
ban; ex-Maharashtra home minister RR Patil
who introduced the ban in 2005
to ensure the ban stays in effect, he added.

When it banned dancing in eating houses,
permit rooms and beer bars in 2005, the
Maharashtra government took the excuse
that it had received complaints about these
performances. The amendment to the
Bombay Police Act 1951 said the government
considers that such performance of dances in
eating houses, permit rooms or beer bars are
derogatory to the dignity of women and are
likely to deprave, corrupt or injure public
morality or morals. It exempted theatres and
auditoriums/sports clubs/ gymkhanas,
where entry is restricted to its members only,
three-starred and above hotels and cultural
and tourism activities.
BAN CHALLENGED
The ban was challenged by bar owners and
dancers, among others, and the Bombay
High Court in its order of April 2006,
declared the provisions of Sections 33A and
33B of the Bombay Police Act as unconstitutional being ultra vires the Articles 14 and
19(1)(g) of the constitution. The state government appealed against this but the apex
court upheld the ban in 2013. Not to be
cowed down, the Maharashtra govern-
In 2013 too, the

Maharashtra
government
didnt budge an
inch after an
apex court
order lifted the
ban on dance
bars. In 2014, it
defiantly
amended the
Bombay Police
Act to ban
dancing again.
39
CONTROVERSY/ Dance Bars/Legal Angle
DIGGING IN HIS HEELS

(Right) Maharashtra chief
minister Devendra
Fadnavis has said he will
appeal against the order
What about the

dancers? Who
will protect them
and make sure
they get
their rights as
workers?
Flavia Agnes, lawyer
and activist
ment amended the Bombay Police Act quickly once again in 2014, banning dance bars in
all other places also, leaving the women high
and dry.
While staying the ban, the latest Supreme
Court order says: we add a rider that no
performance of dance shall remotely be
expressive of any kind of obscenity in any
manner. We may hasten to clarify that in the
earlier judgment, it has been clearly stated
that sufficient power is vested with the
Licensing Authority to safeguard any violation of the dignity of women through obscene
dances. Regard being had to the same, the
Licensing Authority can take steps so that
40
November 15, 2015
the individual dignity of a woman is not

affected and there remains no room for any
kind of obscenity.
Flavia Agnes, who has represented the bar
dancers in the Bombay High Court, said that
the court has raised the issue of obscenity but
no one is talking of the girls and their rights.
What about the dancers? Who will protect
them and make sure they get their rights as
workers? she asks. She is among those who
have constantly raised the issue of the livelihood of women over the morality question.
The 2013 Supreme Court order upheld
the High Court stay on the basis that dancing
was a fundamental right. The current order
upheld and quoted what the Bombay High
Court said: The state has failed to establish
that the restriction is reasonable or that it is
in the interest of general public. The High
Court rightly scrutinized the impugned legislation in the light of observations of this
Court... wherein it was held that greater the
restriction, the more the need for scrutiny.
The High Court noticed that in the guise of
regulation, the legislation has imposed a total
ban on dancing in the establishments covered under Section 33A.
The High Court in its order staying the
ban had said: In our opinion, it would be
more appropriate to bring about measures
which should ensure the safety and improve
the working conditions of the persons working as bar girls. It said that the restrictions
in the nature of prohibition cannot be said to
be reasonable, inasmuch as there could be
several lesser alternatives available which
would have been adequate to ensure safety of
women than to completely prohibit dance. In
fact, a large number of imaginative alternative steps could be taken instead of completely prohibiting dancing, if the real concern of
the State is the safety of women.
About 75,000 bar girls were rendered jobless on August 15, 2005. The plight of the
women seems to hardly affect the state government. On three occasions, the courts have
come to the aid of the bar dancers but it
remains to be seen how the order will be
implemented and whether questions of fundamental rights and livelihood prevail over
moral outrage and dubious notions
of obscenity. IL
INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS
Yoga guru loses copyright battle

A
California appeals court
ruled against the multi-millionaire yogi and founder of 'hot'
yoga, Bikram Choudhury,
ending his decade-long legal
battle to copyright his sequence
of yoga poses in a heated
room, reports aljazeera.com.
Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw
described Bikrams sequence of
26 poses and two breathing
Singapore church
leaders guilty of fraud
ix leaders of a huge
Singaporean church have been
convicted of fraud in a case worth
S$50 million, reports ABC News.
The judge ruled that City Harvest
Churchs pastor, Kong Hee and others, used church finances to fund
the music career of his wife, Sun
Ho. The defendants argued that
Hos pop music career was a way
of reaching out to non-Christians.
They have been granted bail until
sentencing, but could face a jail
term. Sun Ho herself is not accused
of wrongdoing. City Harvestconsidered a megachurchis one of
Singapores wealthiest evangelical
churches, with an estimated 30,000
members in Singapore and 15
services every weekend. It claims to
have 48 affiliates in countries
including Malaysia, Indonesia, India,
Taiwan, Brunei and Australia.
exercises as an idea, process or

system designed to improve
health and to yield
physical benefits and a
sense of wellbeing.
Copyright protects only the
expression of this ideathe
words and pictures used to
describe the sequenceand
not the idea of the sequence
itself, the court averred.
No need to cover head, face

akistans Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)
has ruled that covering the face, the
hands up to the wrists and feet is not mandatory for Muslim women, reports Daily
Pakistan. It becomes Wajib (compulsory)
for a woman to cover her face, hands and
feet if there is a danger of spreading
disorder, otherwise covering of face, hands
and feet for woman is Mustahab (better),
CII chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan
Sherani said at CIIs 200th meeting.
Incidentally, some of the more liberal members of the CII, including Maulana Tahir
Amazon sues fake reviewers
Ashrafi and Allama Amin Shaheedi, did

not attend the first sitting of the two-day
meeting. The session was attended,
among others, by Dr Samia Raheel Qazi
of Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistani Islamist
political party.
War allegations credible

government-appointed Sri Lankan
judge has said that the allegations
that the army committed war crimes
during the long conflict with Tamil
Tiger rebels are credible. He
was leading the first government inquiry
into the atrocities, one month after the
UN released its own findings, reports
NDTV.com. President Maithripala Sirisena
has pledged a truth and reconciliation
commission to investigate further
but has resisted calls for
a foreign inquiry.
nline retail giant Amazon has filed a suit

against over 1,000 people in the United
States who allegedly posted false, misleading and inauthentic online reviews of its
products, reports Scottish Legal News. The
action is intended to target those people who
used online labor marketplace Fiverr.com to
write fake reviews in exchange for payment.
Individuals were allegedly paid to post positive reviews of products to boost their popularity, or to post negative reviews on competing products.
41
SPECIAL REPORT/ Sex Workers/ Legal Services
The New
Legal
Eagles
A project in AP and Karnataka
has empowered sex workers by
making them paralegal
volunteers. As they are made
aware of their rights, a confident
community is fighting exploitation
and domestic violence
By Ramesh Menon
in Bengaluru and Anantapur
42
November 15, 2015
EX workers in poverty-stricken Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, like

anywhere else in India, have often battled discrimination, exploitation and
domestic violence. They have faced
frequent harassment by the police and
many say they were forced to offer sex
to them for free. But now, a growing number of
empowered sex workers here are using legal services
to protect themselves and secure their rights and see
light at the end of a dark tunnel.
Many of them have become paralegal volunteers
and are going from door-to-door sensitizing sex workers about their rights and even helping them file cases.
This is a part of many other projects run by

Delhi-based Centre for Advocacy and
Research (CFAR) to facilitate social inclusion
of sex workers across programmes and
schemes.
Renuka Pattar, working with Shakthi
AIDS Tadegattuva Mahila Sangh, a community-based organization in Karnataka, says
that women constantly needed help from the
police and the legal community to fight
incessant violence at work.
Mangladevi, a paralegal volunteer, says:
When we went to train the police force in
sensitization towards sex workers, we found
that they all blamed us as they felt that we
had got into the profession to make easy
money. I told them that I too was from a good
family like them, but as I was deserted by my
violent husband and had two children to support, I was forced into sex work. I saw how
their attitude changed. Some had tears in
their eyes. The police is also human.
Adds Radha, another paralegal volunteer:
The police attitude changed only after a lot
of advocacy. Once they see our paralegal volunteer identity card, they listen to us. We
have got new respect. We are no more crossquestioned.
One of the places where trafficking is
rampant is Kadiri as it borders the poverty-
stricken districts of Kadappa, Chittoor and

Anantapur, where women are trafficked to
Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. Ramadevi,
a community coordinator, says: Many of the
women are single and helpless. We have
to sensitize the local population into seeing
them as humans who are victims of circumstances so that they do not morally abhor
them.
nantapur is one of the four districts in

the Rayalaseema region which have
seen frequent famines and is so one of
the most economically vulnerable areas. This
makes it a fertile ground for trafficking of
women. Human development and poverty
indices put Anantapur as one of the worst in
Andhra Pradesh.
Akhila Sivadas, executive director, CFAR,
says: Most of the sex workers have a history
of violence, be it at the hands of the police,
clients or husbands. But with legal knowledge at their command now, they are able to
challenge it. We are getting communitybased organizations to spearhead the process
of getting them pensions and other government facilities so that their quality of life
improves. The challenge is to enable the
community of sex workers to get mainstreamed and reduce both risk and vul-
HEALING TOUCH
An activist talks about
the benefits that can be
accessed by people living
with HIV/AIDS, at an
informal meeting in
Bengaluru
nerability to HIV/AIDS.
For example, Mangladevi
feels empowered enough to
file a case against her husband
who got married to another
woman without taking a
divorce from her. She has filed
for maintenance under the
Domestic Violence Act. This is
something she would never
have had the confidence to do
a few years back.
Most sex
workers are
victims of
violence. But
with legal
knowledge, they
can now
challenge it. We
are helping
them get
pensions and
other
government
facilities to
improve the
quality of life.
Akhila Sivadas,
executive director,
CFAR
44
November 15, 2015
any like her have

got trained by the
Karnataka State
Legal Services Authority.
They proudly carry identity
cards proclaiming them as
paralegal volunteers. They
mediate in cases of domestic
violence or any other matter and try to
resolve it as a legal right and entitlement
amicably. The men are informed about
different laws under which they can be
booked. If this does not work, it escalates into
a court case.
The District Legal Services Authority
then nominates a lawyer who will fight for
the victim for free. These measures have
decreased violence against the women and
other exploitative methods. Says Sivadas:
Unless a measure of social inclusion comes
in, nothing can be done for these communities. So, it is important not to criminalize
them and get them into the legal process.
Adds Satish Agnihotri, a former bureaucrat:
Without legal literacy, mobilizations remain
incomplete. As stakes increase, both need to
be raised a step further. It is imperative to
have paralegal training.
Meena from Bengaluru, an outreach
worker working with a NGO, was saddled
with four children to look after when her
husband died of a HIV/AIDS. She tearfully
remembers how her daughter was constantly
humiliated in school by teachers who kept
telling her that her mother was HIV-positive.
Ultimately, she had to be pulled out of school.
There are enough laws now, but the main
issue is to check whether it works. Women,
especially sex workers, need sensitized
lawyers as most do not understand HIV/

AIDS issues and are not interested in doing
legal aid work for us as the payment is meagre, she says.
Activist lawyer Vrinda Grover says that
there is no monitoring of legal aid services
for sex workers. It should be done to ensure
that it works the way it was designed. How
many lawyers come well-prepared to defend
sex workers in court? she asks.
Narsamma from Anantapur was a victim
of domestic violence. Her first husband
deserted her, leaving her with two children.
Then, a client of hers professed his love and
took her to Bangalore. She had a son with
him. After the child was born, he started
demanding money from her to fund his
drinking habit. Fed up, she returned to
Anantapur. It was not easy looking after
three children, but counseling from the protection officer in the Women and Child
Development Department stopped her from
committing suicide. She has now realized the
need to be legally literate and is grateful for
the help she got from the community.
A para legal volunteer talks of how one
sex worker who was a mother of three was
forced to live with a powerful toughie. He
however did not contribute to running the
family. One day, she was forced to get a client
home. When he came to know of this, he
severely beat her up and inserted a sharp
piece of wood into her private parts and also
inflicted a head injury. As she was part of a
self help group, they rushed her to the
Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru but she could
not be saved. The women filed a police complaint, got him arrested and followed up with
the legal process till he was convicted with a
life term for murder.
he Community-based Organizations
(CBO) representing sex workers, supported by civil society organizations
such as CFAR, have for many years been
mobilizing sex workers in Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and elsewhere. They also ensure
that children of sex workers do not get pulled
into the profession.
Sharda (name changed), the daughter of a
sex worker, shyly sits in her school principals
room. She softly speaks of how her mother
Ramesh Menon
was rescued by the Delhi police from a brothel and sent back to Gandlapenta in Andhra
Pradesh. The young girl is happy being in
school as it has triggered new dreams. I
want to become a teacher one day as I can
change the lives of so many, she says.
NEW MEANING TO LIFE

(Above) Playtime at a school in Anantapur
(Below) A beneficiary getting her documents verified at a pension adalat
ex workers were long denied government benefits under various schemes.

To prevent this, the then Anantapur
district collector, Lokesh Kumar, decided to
set up, what he called, single window in
2014 that would ensure that sex workers and
transgenders get all their paperwork done to
avail of government schemes.
Earlier, they would run from pillar-topost for aid and often failed to get them even
after paying touts. The single window also
helped them get voter identity, Aadhar and
ration cards, birth certificates and property
documents.
It was the Single Window run jointly by
CBOs and CFAR which got Sharda into
school and secured a pension for both her
45
We do not
have to knock
on govt doors
anymore as it
now comes to
us. The district
legal services
authority
deputed lawyers
to help us
procure
certificates when
our husbands
deserted us
or died.
Geetha, an activist in
Bengaluru
46
November 15, 2015
mother and grandmother. The principal has

kept her family background a secret so that
she isnt discriminated against. She is not the
only one. Many children of sex workers are
now living in residential schools in Andhra
Pradesh due to the efforts of social workers.
Sunita Kumari, principal of KGB
Vidyalaya, Gandlapenta, where over 200
girls from disadvantaged backgrounds are
given free education, says: Normally parents
insist on their daughters marrying before
they turn 18. But we do not have a single
instance of any of our girls being forced to do
so. This is because we counsel the parents
regularly on the advantages of education and
the career opportunities it opens for their
children.
Poor performers in school are singled out
for special attention of the teachers. In the
last two years, all students appearing for the
board exam have passed. Community workers constantly look for students who could be
potential dropouts or get into crime.
Take the case of Ishwaraiyya from
Anantapur, whose mother, a sex worker, was
murdered by his father, who then fled. The
Single Window team ensured that he got
admission in a free government school with

a hostel. He says he has put the past behind
him and wants to make his grandmother
proud.
Sreenivaslu, assistant project manager of
the District Rural Development Agency at
Anantapur, told India Legal that the administration had identified 10 areas in the district that were poor and, therefore, prone to
trafficking. It had identified as many as
6,000 women who would be attached to selfhelp groups that would ensure that they get
benefits of various government schemes and
are not coerced or sexually exploited. The
administration would get funds out of the
National Livelihood Mission which had earmarked a budget of `11.28 crore, he said.
Government officials were, for the first
time, more than ready to help these sex
workers. This happened because the district
collector had told officials that sex workers
must be given priority. They were told that
under the Right to Education Act, it was
their legal right to get access to education.
Sujata, who is being treated for HIV/AIDS,
says she got 21 children of sex workers admitted to school as she knows the rights they
have to education. I understand the importance of education as I am illiterate, she says.
For the first time, sex workers also realized that they were eligible for pensions.
While district officials specified what documents were needed, community coordinators
helped them garner the necessary documents
and filled in the application forms. Anantapur has six community-based organizations
and over 9,000 sex workers under their
umbrella. To ensure that sex workers get
immediate attention of government officials
when they apply, they are given them a distinctive blue file. Usually, action is taken
within two weeks.
arlier, social workers in Anantapur

district found it difficult to get their
children admitted into hostels run by
the Social Welfare Department or even to get
scholarships. But with the blossoming of this
new attitude, sex workers and transgenders
were told that they could take advantage of
eight different schemes. Social workers in the
community based organization helped sex
workers get income and caste certificates and

other documents.
This has brought about a sea change.
Ratnamma from Chapiri village in Anantapur says that her nine-year-old daughter
secured admission in Vth standard. She will
study till the XIIth without a problem, she
says with a smile. Sujata (name changed)
whose mother is a devadasi, was under family pressure to get married. She refused to do
so after social workers persuaded her to continue studying. She is now in the XIIth standard. The single window process helped her
mother get her a scholarship of `2,500 a year
and get hostel accommodation to continue
studying. I am grateful that I now have a
future, she says. Many of us take our lives for
granted. She does not.
he new confidence in the community

shows. Khaja Bee from Dharmavaram
says that when the Aadhar centre was
set up, she did not go there, fearing stigma.
But, when social workers set it up to give out
these cards, she confidently approached
them and even got a card for her mentally
challenged daughter.
Also, under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme, the district also increased
financial allocation to ensure that children of
sex workers benefited and some were also
rehabilitated in government-run homes. As
many as 600 children who needed foster care
were identified.
The single window culture also got government officials to reach out to sex workers
in places convenient for them. In a rectangular room in Ramnagar, where the sun filters
in through large windows, a group of brightly
dressed women with orange and white flowers in their hair, patiently listens to a group of
officers explaining what schemes they were
entitled to. And, their legal rights.
Periodically, the officers come there to
listen to their grievances and work out solutions on the spot. It is an excellent example
of local governance at its best. Here,
Venkatarathnam, the district program manager for HIV/AIDS tells a group how he is
working on a proposal to secure loans for
them under the scheduled tribe category,
where they would only have to repay 10 per-
Ramesh Menon
cent of it if they fall into the category of people with HIV/AIDS.

Other officers take notes and promise
immediate action.
Geetha, who works as an activist in
Bengaluru with the Vijaya Mahila Sangha,
says: We learnt how to access social development schemes and HIV prevention methods
and realized that even marginalized women
have rights. This has happened as sensitive
government officials encouraged us with the
single window system, listened to our grievances and ensured we got various benefits.
We do not have to knock on government
doors anymore as they come to us. The district legal services authority deputed lawyers
to help us procure certificates when our husbands deserted us or died. Asha Ramesh, a
gender activist in Bengaluru, says the single
window and legal training has amplified the
voices of sex workers on issues and given
them access to government benefits they
never knew about.
But then, it took the effort of many to see
this empowerment. All eyes are on Anantapur as it is a model that can easily be replicated all over the country. IL
ITS ALL ABOUT

INCLUSIVITY
Government officials brief
sex workers on some of
the programs aimed at
the target group in
Anantapur
47
RELIGION/ Santhara
UNI
A Matter of Faith
Even as the Supreme Court stays the Rajasthan High Court verdict
making Santhara illegal, all eyes are on what the final verdict will be. Is
ones religion more important than the law of the land?
By Kalyani Shankar
LAST MOMENTS
(Above) A Jain
practising
Santhara or
fast-unto-death
48
November 15, 2015
N multi-cultural and multi-religious societies, occasional clashes

occur on sensitive religious and
social issues. The question is how
does a state that allows religious
freedom deal with religious practices that contravene the laws of
the land? Since religion predates the legal
framework, a conflict arises when things are
seen through the prism of current laws. One
such practice is that of Santhara, practiced by

the Jains, where the person willfully
embraces death. However, this is at variance
with the legal framework, which tends to see
this as suicide.
In other countries too, religious practices
have clashed with the law of the land. France
was the first European country to ban the
wearing of the full veil. Belgium adopted a
similar ban in 2011. In Spain, the city of
Barcelona and some other towns brought in

similar bans, as have towns in Italy. In 2014,
the European Court of Human Rights upheld
the French law. On the other hand, Sikhs
won a case in the UK this month, to wear turbans in workplaces.
In India, concerns over social justice have
forced courts to create a division between
religious and secular practices and between
essential and non-essential practices of a religion. In the fifties, the apex court upheld the
entry of Dalits in temples on the basis of
social justice. But of late, with rising awareness of rights, ease of litigation through PILs
and proactive NGOs and the media, religious
practices that are considered inimical are
being challenged in court.
COURT INTERVENTION
It is not surprising that certain religious
practices are no longer considered sacrosanct
in India. The courts had dealt with several
issues like the entry to Sabarimala as
demanded by women, PILs filed against
child diksha (the practice of choosing a child
as a successor to the head of a mutt), participation of children in Muharram rituals and
the right to excommunicate of the Bohras.
The practice of Santhara is also now being
challenged. Devout Jains believe that Lord
Mahavira allowed Santhara or Sallekhana.
Here, the ultimate goal is purifying the body
and mind by embracing death voluntarily
through denying oneself food and water.
While some of those who choose Santhara
are Jain monks, a majority are lay people, of
whom 60 percent are women.
However, questions are being raised
about who will decide the right to die and
what about the right to privacy and personal
liberty of the person undergoing Santhara.
There is also the question of minority rights
as Jains were declared a minority last year.
While this community is invoking religion
for practicing Santhara, the court is questioning it.
It also matters that the four millionstrong Jain community is wealthy.
The Santhara issue came into the limelight after Nikhil Soni, a lawyer and human
rights activist from Jaipur, approached the
Rajasthan High Court and cited public inter-
est to outlaw Santhara in 2006. He equated it

with Sati.
ILLEGAL PRACTICE
On August 10, 2015, the Rajasthan High
Court declared Santhara illegal and held that
its practice would be punishable under
Section 309 of the IPC as an attempt to commit suicide. The guarantee of a right to life
does not include within its ambit a right to
die, and so it is not protected by Article 21,
the Court held. It added: We do not find that
in any of the scriptures, preachings, articles
or the practices followed by the Jain ascetics,
the Santhara or Sallekhana has been treated
as an essential religious practice, nor is necessarily required for the pursuit of immortality or moksha. The premise is that Santhara
is not an essential part of Jainism and therefore not protected by Article 25.
In the seventies, Ananda Margis in
Calcutta wanted to march on the streets with
swords and sticks and do the tandava dance
claiming it was an essential practice of their
religion. The police commissioner would not
allow it, stating that it would contravene
public order. The court went into the
antecedents of the issue and said that since it
was a relatively new practice in their religion,
it would not count as an essential practice.
When the Jains appealed, the apex court
stayed the High Court verdict on August
Questions are
being raised
about who will
decide the right
to die and what
about the right
to privacy and
personal liberty
of the person
undergoing
Santhara.
Courts are also
looking into the
constitutional
rights of the
citizen.
FIGHT FOR LIBERTY
(Below) A woman
wearing the hijab in
France, the first
country in Europe to
ban the wearing of
the full veil
49
RELIGION/ Santhara
RITES OF
PASSAGE
(Right) A child
getting a
ceremonial
tonsure at
Muharram
UNI
It is one thing
for the state to
protect life and
promote justice.
It is another for
it to colonize the
various ways in
which death
can be
interpreted,
and life be
given meaning.
Unfortunately,
the Rajasthan
HC judgment
does just that.
Bhanu Pratap
Mehta, social scientist
50
November 15, 2015
31, 2015. The community is now getting

ready to prove that suicide and Santhara are
two different things and it is an essential
practice. It has also assumed a political flavor
with rallies and processions being taken out
and Jains seeking the support of organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apart
from knocking at the doors of governors of
various states.
RIGHT TO LIFE
While Sonis petition invokes Right to Life
under Article 21 of the constitution, Santhara
advocates quote the same article to argue
that Right to Life is meaningless without the
corresponding right to die with dignity. They
claim that while people commit suicide due
to depression, anger or loneliness, Santhara
is observed amid festivity. In India, euthanasia is banned and suicide is considered
a crime. If Santhara is banned, so should the
samadhi undertaken by Vaishnavites
(Devotees of Lord Vishnu) or the fast-untodeath. They also dismiss comparisons with
the hunger strikes by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle or Vinobha Bhave
giving up food and water.
Quoting historical evidence, the supporters point out that Chandragupta Maurya
renounced his throne under the influence of
the great Jain ascetic, Bhadrabahu, and
ended his life observing Santhara (298 BC).

Incidentally, in December 2014, Minister
of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai
Chaudhary said in parliament that the government has decided to decriminalize the
attempt to suicide by deleting Section 309 of
the IPC, which said that a suicide bid is punishable with imprisonment up to a year or
with a fine or both. This was based on a Law
Commission report in 2008 which noted that
an attempt at suicide may be regarded more
as manifestation of a diseased mind, deserving treatment and care rather than punishment. It recommended to the government to
initiate the process to delete the section.
Incidentally, five statesBihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Sikkim expressed reservations against such a move. On
February 24, 2015, Chaudhary said the proposal had been sent to the law ministry
After the Rajasthan verdict, the Jains
have got support from such legal luminaries
as retired High Court judge Pana Chand
Jain. In a documentary on Santhara produced by law professor Shekhar Hathangadi,
he points out that Articles 25 and 26 of the
constitution allow followers of all faiths to
freely profess, practice and propagate their
religious faith and the freedom to manage
their religious affairs. He says: Mindful of
the countrys ethnic and cultural diversity,
Article 29 guarantees citizens with a distinct

culture, the right to conserve the same. He
further says: Article 18 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights says that
everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; (and the right) to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance.
Congress spokesman and eminent lawyer
Abhishek Manu Singhvi claims that the
Supreme Court for the first time will decide
the constitutional validity of Santhara.
It will go into fundamental questions of life
and death and into the religious belief
of Jains, whether Santhara interferes with
human rights or whether it should be
allowed to continue. It will be a momentous
issue.
Singhvi is the lead counsel for the
Jain groups.
Shekhar Hathangadi, an award-winning
documentary filmmaker on Santhara, observes that Indian laws ignore some of the
beliefs of Indian religions since it is based on
the Westminster model of colonial rulers.
Describing the Rajasthan court verdict as
historic as no other court has criminalized a
centuries-old ritual with a rejection of
its theological rationale, he reportedly
said that no other world religion takes
its fasts to this fanatical point.
VALID QUESTIONS
Shurith Parthasarathy, a Madras High Court
advocate, has also been quoted in the media
as hoping that the apex court would ask the
right questions of whether any social
inequities arise out of the practice, of
whether any other right of its practitioners
are violated through Santhara, of whether
the rights of any other person are infracted
when a person goes on fast.
While only a fraction of the Jain community practices Santhara, it has widespread
support among them. The apex court verdict
will be watched as it also has legal ramifications for other religious practices. The Indian
state, in responding to the verdict, has to
decide whether it should intervene at all in
such a practice.
As social scientist Bhanu Pratap Mehta
argues: The community, for its part, will
need a conversation on the conditions under
which Santhara should be permitted. It is
one thing for the state to protect life and promote justice. It is another for it to colonize
the various ways in which death can be interpreted, and life be given meaning.
Unfortunately, the judgment does just that.
Any reform must come from within
the community itself. But change is often
resisted. Religious beliefs are age-old and
faith often too strong to be broken. IL
RITUAL AND
TRADITION
(Above) Children
performing the
tandava, an
essential practice
of the Ananda
Margis
51
BOOKS/ The Turn of The Tortoise
India,Forward
and Backward
Business journalist TN Ninan, in his work
The Turn of the Tortoise: The Challenge
and Promise of Indias Future, discerns
many positive and a few retrograde
trends emerging in India. Extracts:
OOKING to the future,

one can profitably emulate John Naisbitt and
identify key mega trends
for the coming decade.
The first and most obvious is that markets will
change in scalesomething that has already
happened in sectors like telecom, where
India has more than 900 million connections, but will happen much more across the
board. India has so far been a 25-30 per cent
economy: roughly 25-30 per cent of households belong to the middle class, and about
that number own a private vehicle and have
active bank accounts. Also, just under 30 per
cent of the relevant age cohort acquires secondary education certification (class ten)
every year. The big change coming over the
next decade is that the 30 per cent figure
IN FIFTH GEAR
The phenomenal
growth of the middle
class has led to a
boom in the car market
Rajeev Tyagi
52
November 15, 2015
Anil Shakya
could nearly double. That is seismic change

for society and the economy, compressed into
a short decade; bear in mind that the number
of college-going students has already multiplied from 8 million to 20 million in less than
a decade.
If the economy grows at an annual average of 7 per cent over the next decade, the
median family income for what will be a 1.4
billion-strong population will have grown
from `22,500 in 2015 to about `40,000 in
constant rupeescomfortably above $10
PPP benchmark for qualifying to become
part of a global middle class. The numerical
growth of this classfrom 340 million in
2015 to perhaps 800 million in 2025combined with greater purchasing power for
each one of those 800 million, and buttressed from below by a strong neo-middle
class cohort, means that the markets for all
manner of goods and services will explode.
The car market, for instance, could
become the worlds third largestahead of
Japan, todays number three, with twice
Indias current annual sales of 2.6 million.
Housing construction, retailing, financial
servicesthese foundational sectors of any
modern economy will all witness dramatic
growth. Many markets will grow at sustained
rates of 10-12 per cent, trebling in size over a
decadeas indeed has happened in the past
in, say, the sale of trucks. Outbound tourist
traffic in 2013 was 16.6 million, three times
what it was a decade earlier. It is easy to

imagine what will happen to the aviation
business if the number trebles again in the
next decade, to 50 million. This is not fanciful; Chinese outbound traffic is already more
than 90 million. There is a reason why Indias
aviation market too is forecast to become the
worlds third largest. The important point is
that, if the economy does well, these will not
be exceptional stories.
SKY-ROCKETING
GROWTH
The countrys
demographic growth
is positive news for
real estate
THE RETREAT OF THE STATE

The second mega trend will be the unwilling
retreat of the state. Already, 43 per cent of
schoolchildren go to private schools. That
number is growing by 1.5 percentage points
annually; by 2025, therefore, 60 per cent of
school-age children could be going to private
schools. Beyond class eight, the majority of
students are already in private schools. This
is unprecedented: no country has seen public
education reduced to a smaller component
than private education. That it has happened
in India serves as a measure of the failure of
the countrys public programmes. Such a
switchover has already happened in medical
care, with 60 per cent of hospital beds now
privately owned. In education, the factor
driving the change has been perceived differences in the quality of education provided. In
medical share, the issue is a plain shortage of
public hospitals, so patients often dont have
a choice when they need hospitalization.
53
THUMBS UP
Private schools offer
the best possible
infrastructure to hone
students faculties
These switchovers are mirrored in other

service sectors like telecom and aviation,
where now private providers have displaced
erstwhile state-owned monopolies. The next
important sector for such a consumer flip to
the private sector could be banking. It is likely that private banks will grow faster than
government-owned banks, which account for
70 per cent of banking activity but are constrained by stressed balance sheets (the government has pumped in `58,600 crore as
additional capital in 2011-14, and intends to
pump in further `70,000 crore over 201519). Yet, as more private bank licences get
issued and new kinds (such as payment
banks) are born, it is plausible that, in a
decade's time, the 70:30 public-private ratio
might swing closer to 60:40, or, in an
extreme scenario, to 50:50.
In India, by 2025, 60 per cent of children

will go to private schools. No country has
seen public education reduced to a smaller
component than private education.
54
November 15, 2015
What remains as areas of public sector

dominance are mining, energy production
and defence. In the last of these, the private
sector is about to make its first serious forays.
As for mining, Rio Tinto, allowed to do diamond prospecting, is confident that it will
produce multiples of the 84,000 carats of
diamonds that the government-owned
National Mineral Development Corporation
(NMDC) extracts from the countrys only
operating diamond mine. The Bunder mine
in Madhya Pradesh, which Rio Tinto hopes
to develop, has just one of seven rock pipes in
the area, with a reported promise of 27.4 million carats of diamonds. In comparison,
NMDCs entire cumulative output so far has
been a million carats. Gold mining, closed as
being unviable for many years, could see
revival in the private sector....
In macroeconomic terms, the public sector accounts for a fifth of GDP, half of that
being from the government and the rest
state-owned enterprises. Over the years, the
broad trend would continue to be that stateowned enterprises shrink in relative size to
private sector providers. Think Air India,
which has lost `36,000 crore in seven years

up to 2013-14. Or Doordarshan, the state
funded television broadcaster which has lost
out to private cable and satellite broadcasters
despite having a monopoly in terrestrial
broadcasting. It has seen its channel feature
in the bottom quartile of channelswhether
news, entertainment or educationalwhen
ranked on viewership. The organization has
more than 30,000 employees and an annual
revenue of about `1000 crore, leaving additional costs of `1850 crore to be picked up by
the taxpayermost of it going towards
employee cost.
But while public sector enterprises may
shrink or lose market share, economies on
the growth turnpike usually see an increase
in the tax-GDP ratio; that means government budgets will grow in size relative to the
economy. This should mean expansion of
government and public or constitutional
institutions, because there is a clear need for
more policemen, judges and the like. Cash
payouts (direct benefit transfers) could conceivably account for an increasing chunk of
government expenditure. If a broad policy
switch takes place, from make' to buy (that
is, governments no longer provide services
like education and water supply but pay for
such services from private providers), the
growing private sector dominance of economic activity will continue....
SHIFTING CENTRES OF GRAVITY
The third mega trend is the shift of the centre
of gravity from New Delhi to state capitals....
This manifests itself in many ways, starting
with the end to one-party dominance in
Parliament (no party has had complete control of both houses of Parliament since 1989)
and the rise of strong state-level leaders in
national parties (Modi was one, the late Y.S.
Rajasekhara Reddy another) or as leaders of
their own parties.
Then there is financial power. State governments used to be debt-laden... and therefore unable to spend much programme
money till the restructuring of state finances
in 2003, and the much greater share of tax
funds that now goes to the states. Most states
are now fiscally comfortable, and have
greater freedom to spend money as they wish
STAID APPROACH
Doordarshan has lost
out to private channels
in the last two decades
The states retreat from education, health

and other key areas of human
development serves as a measure of the
failure of the countrys public programmes.
because of the reduced role for discretionary
transfers from the Centrea change facilitated by Modis decision to abolish the Planning
Commission, which used to prescribe policies for states to adopt....
The combination of constitutional federalism, greater financial autonomy and centrifugal political trends means that state economic growth rates and human development
indicators, not to mention industrial investment, can vary depending on the quality of
governance at state level. Chief ministers
seen to be delivering get re-elected often, in
some cases repeatedlywhich becomes an
incentive to continue in the same vein. It
is not for nothing that at least two BJP chief
ministers declined invitations from
Narendra Modi to join his cabinet in New
Delhi, preferring to stay where they were as
state bosses. One, from the tiny state of Goa,
was later persuaded to take charge as the
nations defence minister....
A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
Finally, there is the question of whether the
countrys constitutional liberalism will
55
DANGEROUS OMENS
The Ghar Wapasi drive
threatened social
harmony
THE TURN OF THE TORTOISE:

THE CHALLENGE AND PROMISE
OF INDIAS FUTURE
By TN Ninan
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Price: `699; Pages: 354
56
November 15, 2015
gradually give way to a less-than-liberal

democracy. The country has a long tradition
of being trigger-happy when it comes to banning uncomfortable books and films, and
more recently websites. Free expression, it
has been generally accepted, should not
cause religious offence (the reason for banning Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses).
But, as Rushdie has argued, this can be the
start of a slippery slope. There is the case,
therefore, of a book on Shivaji being banned
because a vigilante group protested and
attacked a library in Pune. Publishers refrain
from publishing specific books or sometimes
even withdraw them from the market in
response to protests. The painter M.F.
Husain could not exhibit in India towards
the end of his life, leaving the country to live
and eventually die in Dubai....
Some of the points of conflict are the
result of social churn that is linked to modernization. Traditional hierarchies, boundaries and authority get challenged in a more
freewheeling world where more women go to
work, where youngsters mingle without concern for caste or community, where old identities get fused into new ones that might
seem deracinated. Counter-trends do exist,
such as an increase in overt religiosity and

the disappearance of women behind the veil
in parts of the country where this was not the
practice earlier. The backlash is often led by
subalterns who have not been swept up by
the new processes, and takes the form of
physical attacks on individuals (women in
pubs or couples celebrating Valentines Day)
as well as moves to reassert old patriarchies
(by khap panchayats and through the Ghar
Wapasi drive)....
These different trends are manifestations
of a society, polity and economy caught in a
process of evolution, with change at multiple
speeds. When there are many forces driving
change on a grand canvas, tensions and conflict are inevitable by-products. The reassuring facts in a broadly hopeful scenario
are that the directions of change are overwhelmingly positive, and that the system as a
whole has a bedrock of stability that is not
affected by the surface churn. That is why
each generation of Indians has been able to
say with confidence that the life of the next
generation will get better for larger numbers
not at optimum but at what appears to be
acceptable speed, and not wholly but very
substantially. IL
AVIATION/ EASA Guidelines
Making Air Travel Safer

After the Germanwings
crash, the European Aviation
Safety Agency laid down
guidelines not just for pilots
but also for aero-medical
examiners. This could be a
benchmark to make the
skies safer in India too
By Shobha John
HE tragic crash of the A-320

Germanwings plane in the French
Alps in March 2015, which killed 150
people, made the aviation industry
and regulators wake up to the dangers of pilots flying under psychological strain. There were numerous
calls for psychometric/psychological tests for pilots after
the flights co-pilot, who was said to be suffering from
depression, crashed the plane into a mountain.
A few months after the crash, the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) came out with a far-reaching
Action plan for the implementation of the
Germanwings Task Force recommendations. These
UNI
58
November 15, 2015
CONTROL CENTER
(Left) Pilots
psychological welfare
is of importance now
(Facing page) A French
rescue helicopter flies
over the debris of the
A 320 plane near
Seyne-les-Alpes
guidelines could be used as a reference in

India too by the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation to lay down new rules and regulations. It lays special emphasis on aero-medical examiners, which in the case of India, is
done by Indian Air Force (IAF) doctors.
EASAs taskforce included representatives
from Air France; DGAC France; European
Commission; UK CAA; Finnish Transport
Safety Agency; Lufthansa; European Cockpit
Association; Easyjet; British Airways; BEA
France and FAA.
GOOD ASSESSMENT
According to Capt Shakti Lumba, a veteran
pilot who was head of flight operations at
IndiGo and Alliance Air, EASA arrived at
these guidelines after a committee took a
holistic view of the problem. These guidelines are new as they provide achievable compliance. They correctly identified that the
problem is not only with the pilot but with
the current system of aero-medical pilot
assessment, he said.
EASA said in its report: The crash
demonstrates that the safety of passengers
can never be taken for granted and that the
regulators have the duty to quickly adapt to a
variety of challenges in a constantly changing
environment. These recommendations are

meant to prevent such a disaster from happening again. Concrete action has been laid
down in the areas of air operations, aircrew,
information technology and personal data so
that air travel becomes safe.
In an attempt to see that these guidelines
are disseminated worldwide, EASA will, by
the end of this year, have a global aircrew
medical fitness workshop before a large audience of European and worldwide stakeholders to see how these recommendations can be
implemented. Following this, concept papers
about the actions proposed will be drafted.
And in 2016, operational directives in the
area of air operations and aircrew will be sent
out by EASA to operators and national aviation authorities. This is the first time something like this is being done.
EASA GUIDELINES
These are the six recommendations of the
EASA Germanwings Task Force:
There should be two persons in the cockpit.
All airline pilots should undergo psychological evaluation as part of the training or
before entering service. The airline shall verify that a satisfactory evaluation has been
carried out. The psychological part of the
EASA
recommends a
robust
oversight
program over
the performance
of aero-medical
examiners,
including the
practical
application of
their knowledge.
Networks of
aero-medical
examiners
should be
created to
foster peer
support.
59
AVIATION/ EASA Guidelines
While IAF
doctors do the
medical tests of
pilots every six
months, peer
support examiners
dont get an
opportunity to help
their colleagues. It
would be a good
idea for airlines to
support peer
groups
comprising their
own company
doctors and
senior pilots.
Day-to-day
behavior of pilots
can only be
assessed by
colleagues flying
with them.
Kanu Gohain, former
DGCA
60
November 15, 2015
different organization sizes and maturity levels, and provide provisions that take into
account the range of work arrangements.
Photo Division
initial and recurrent aero-medical assessment and the related training for aero-medical examiners should be strengthened.
EASA will provide guidance material for this
purpose.
There should be mandatory drugs and
alcohol testing as part of a random program
of testing by the operator and at least in the
following cases: Initial Class 1 medical
assessment or when employed by an airline,
post-incident/accident, with due cause, and
as part of follow-up after a positive result.
Establish a robust oversight program over
the performance of aero-medical examiners,
including the practical application of their
knowledge. National authorities should
strengthen the psychological and communication aspects of aero-medical examiners
training and practice.
National regulations should ensure that an
appropriate balance is found between patient
confidentiality and the protection of public
safety. Create an aero-medical data repository as a first step to facilitate the sharing of
aero-medical information and tackle the
issue of pilot non-declaration.
Implement pilot support and reporting
systems. These are linked to the employers
Safety Management System within the
framework of a non-punitive work environment. Requirements should be adapted to
GLOBAL WORKSHOP
Coming to air operations, EASA recommends that all airline pilots should undergo
psychological evaluation. It says that a global
workshop should be held with representatives from at least the following organizations: IATA (International Air Transport
Association), IFALPA (International Federation of Airline Pilots Association), ECA
(European Cockpit Association), EFT (European Transport Workers Federation), IACA
(International Air Carriers Association),
ELFAA (European Low Fares Airline
Association), NAAs (National Aviation
Authorities), ECAST (European Commercial
Aviation Safety Team), aero-medical examiners, medical experts providing training and
aero-medical assessors, ESAM (European
Society of Aerospace Medicine), Pompidou
Group from the Council of Europe (Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking in Drugs), European
Workplace Drug Testing Society, FAA
(Federal Aviation Administration) and CAA
Australia.
For aircrew, EASAs recommendation is:
The psychological part of the initial and
recurrent aero-medical assessment and the
related training for aero-medical examiners
should be strengthened. According to Capt
Lumba, this is a forward-looking move.
Psychological testing is an expertise not all
aviation medical specialists possess. Till now,
pilot medical requirements only required
psychological evaluation if the pilot admitted
a case of depression, etc. Now it will become
part of the system, for which the committee
will put in place evaluation standards and
required training of the doctors.
Checking the performance of aero-medical examiners is another new guideline.
However, in India, the DGCA has outsourced
medical assessment of civilian pilots to IAF
doctors, who are already under tremendous
pressure. With the growth in aviation, Capt
Lumba says, civilian aviation medical experts
are desperately needed. The IAF will not be
able to cope with the number of pilots com-
ing into the system. To ease matters, the

DGCA would need to work and apply its
mind. It can do neither in its present avatar.
Its time some medical colleges started providing diplomas in aviation medicine post
MBBS as a speciality.
But an aviation medicine expert said on
condition of anonymity that testing the
knowledge of aero-medical examiners is
already being done as all of them need to be
specially qualified and experienced. Also, the
facility where the medicals are conducted are
inspected to ensure adequacy. All aero-medical examiners are required to remain updated by attending DGCA-arranged Continued
Medical Education programs once in two
years, he says.
PEER GROUP
There is another group which can help pilots
in distress. Kanu Gohain, former DGCA,
says: While IAF doctors do the medical tests
of pilots every six months, peer support
examiners dont get an opportunity to help
their colleagues. It would be a good idea for
airlines to support peer groups comprising
their own company doctors and senior pilots.
Day-to-day behavior of pilots can only be
assessed by colleagues flying with them.
With regard to information technology,
EASA recommends the creation of an aeromedical data repository as a first step to facilitate the sharing of aero-medical information
and to tackle the issue of pilot non-declaration (of psychological problems). This, says
Capt Lumba, makes immense sense. In the
European Union, pilot licensing of each
member country is harmonized under a single EU license which is issued by individual
member states but acceptable in all EU countries. This allows a pilot to move around
switching jobs. Having an aero-medical data
repository, therefore, is a far-reaching move.
This pan-European medical certification
also gives pilots the freedom to apply to an
aero-medical examiner certified by any
EASA state. A system to share aero-medical
information in an efficient manner while
protecting the data is important to minimize
the risk of non-declaration. To implement
this recommendation, EASA will draft the
technical specifications for the development
UNI
of the data repository by the end of 2015. The

main hurdle will be the different approaches
to personal data protection among member
states of EASA. The target is to have the system in place by December 2016, including
the production of a user guide.
However, in the case of India, says
Gohain, the DGCA should mandate the IAF
and private hospitals which check Class I
medicals (pilot recruitment medicals), to
maintain health records, especially psychological ones, so that this database can be
assessed when needed.
With regard to data protection, EASA
says there should be national regulations to
ensure that an appropriate balance is found
between patient confidentiality and the protection of public safety. To support this,
EASA proposes to discuss the processing of
personal (health) data during the envisaged
global workshop, involving all relevant stakeholders, including representatives of national
medical associations. In particular, the obligations of various actors should be
addressed: operators, medical doctors,
authorities and pilots. After the insight
gained about minimum personal data, the
various actors need to exercise their safety
responsibilities.
These regulatory actions, guidance material and database will, in future, go a long
way in making the skies safer. IL
TRAGIC LOSS
(Above) Family
members of
passengers killed in
the Germanwings
crash at Barcelona
airport
61
AVIATION/ Regional Connectivity
Rajeev Tyagi
A Flight
of Fancy?
There was skepticism over the govts
move to develop 100 airports in
small cities. But if a new
hub-and-spoke concept takes off, it
could give a fillip to the economy
and Modis Make in India dreams
By Shobha John
62
November 15, 2015
HE next phase of aviation

growth, it was said, would be in
Tier-II and Tier-III cities. In
fact, remote connectivity was
one of the aims of the Modi government when it swept to power in 2014.
With this in mind, it wanted to develop 100
airports in small cities within the next 20
years. And in what is a move to further this
dream, the Business Aircraft Operators
Association (BAOA) has submitted a list of
Make in India Dream

Business Aircraft Operators Association has submitted a list of 10
airport clusters for remote connectivity to Airports Authority of India
(AAI). Three-five hubs are identified in each cluster
CLUSTER
TIMELY ACTION
NEEDED
Metro airports such as
Delhi will soon face
pressure as passenger
footfalls increase
10 airport clusters for remote connectivity air

services to the Airports Authority of India
(AAI) through the civil aviation ministry.
If this plan fructifies, it will reduce the
pressure on metro airports as airlines expand
their fleet and passenger footfalls go up.
It will also give a fillip to the economy
of smaller cities and towns, leading to
greater buoyancy. During the 12th Plan
(ending March 31, 2017), about `1,500
crore has been earmarked to develop
non-metro airports.
AIR SERVICE CLUSTERS
These 10 clusters are spread out across various regions in India and include
Maharashtra; Gujarat; Rajasthan; the
North-East; UP and MP; Tamil Nadu and
Kerala. In each cluster, BAOA has identified
various airports and hubs, making them a
total of 126 airports and 38 hubs. Some of the
airports which have been identified are in
rather remote areas such as Yavatmal,
Keshod, Naliya, Jhunjhunu, Zero, Khowai,
Panna, Behala and Donakonda (see table).
Jayanth Nadkarni, president of BAOA,
AIRPORTS FOR REMOTE ROUTES (There may

be other uncontrolled airports)
Maharashtra Region
(14 Airports, 4 hubs)
Mumbai (hub), Nasik, Pune (hub), Aurangabad,

Nanded, Shirdi, Baramati, Akola, Nagpur (hub),
Amravati, Yavatmal, Gondia (hub), Ratnagiri, Kolhapur
Gujarat
(11 airports, 3 hubs)
Ahmedabad (hub), Baroda (hub), Rajkot (hub),

Jamnagar, Keshod, Porbandar, Dwarka, Bhavnagar,
Daman, Diu, Surat (hub), Kandla, Bhuj, Naliya
Rajasthan
Jaipur (hub), Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner,

Jhunjhunu, Barmer, Udaipur (hub), Kota
(hub), Sawai Madhopur
North East
Tezpur, Guwahati (hub), Rupsi, Shella, Zero, Daporijo,

Along, Tezu, Pasighat, Dibrugarh, Bagdogra, Dimapur,
Shillong, Jorhat (hub), Kamalpur, Khowai, Agartala
hub), Silchar, Imphal, Kailashahar, Lilabari
Punjab, HP, Haryana,

J&K & Uttarakhand
Amritsar (hub), Ludhiana, Pathankot, Chandigarh

(hub), Kullu, Shimla, Gaggal, Jammu, Srinagar,
Leh, Dehradun (hub), Pantnagar, Delhi (hub)
UP & MP
Kanpur, (hub) Lucknow (hub), Allahabad,

Varanasi (hub), Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Gwalior,
Lalitpur, Bhopal (hub), Indore, Jabalpur (hub),
Panna, Satna, Khajuraho
Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal, Orissa
Raxaul, Jogbani, Muzzafarpur, Patna (hub), Jogbani,

Gaya, Ranchi, Bilaspur, Raipur (hub), Chakulia,
Kolkata (hub), Asansol, Cooch Bihar (hub), Malda,
Behala, Balurghat, Jharsuguda, Bhubaneswar (hub)
AP, Telangana
Vishakhapatnam (hub), Rajahmundry, Vijaywada

(hub), Donakonda, Tirupati (hub), HyderabadBegumpet (hub), Warangal, Cuddapah
TN & Kerala
Calicut, Kochi (hub), Trivandrum, Coimbatore

(hub), Tuticorin, Madurai (hub), Tiruchirapalli,
Pondicherry, Vellore, Chennai (hub), Salem
Karnataka & Goa

Goa, Hubli, Hassan, Mangalore (hub), Mysore,

Belgaum (hub), Bengaluru-HAL (hub),
63
AVIATION/ Regional Connectivity
If smaller
airports are
going to be
vehicles for
remote
connectivity,
they will need
hangars and
24x7 watch
(remain open). It
is only then that
ancillary
services such as
MROs and
manufacturing
can come in
and jobs be
created.
Jayanth Nadkarni,
president, Business
Aircraft Operators
Association
64
November 15, 2015
panies will have to schedule their flights in

conjunction with airline companies, he says.
said: We had been working on this for a long

time. There is a buzz in the government
about increasing remote connectivity. All the
airports mentioned in the BAOA list are running airports and have basic facilities such as
a runway, air traffic control (ATC), security,
fire and ambulance services. But if smaller
airports are going to be vehicles for remote
connectivity, then they will need hangars
where planes can be rectified and 24X7
watch (remain open). Presently, if a plane
breaks down in any small airport, several
man days are lost in trying to get equipment
and technical expertise from metros.
It is only after these essential services
come up that ancillary services such as
MROs (aircraft maintenance, repair and
overhaul) and manufacturing can come in
and jobs be created to serve Prime Minister
Modis Make in India dream, said
Nadkarni.
These airports will work on the hub-andspoke concept. Hubs will be major cities
where commercial airlines with their big jets
fly, while spokes will be smaller towns, where
40-or 30-seater planes of charter or business
companies fly. So, if a businessman wants to
go to Jamnagar, he will take a scheduled airline to one of the hubs in Gujarat, say
Ahmedabad, and from there, take a smaller
plane to Jamnagar.
Of course, this means that charter com-
FAR BEHIND
Though India has a billion-plus people, its
aviation reach is far from satisfactory. Just to
give an idea of how far we are lagging, let us
look at how it compares with other countries.
In India, according to BAOA, there are
around 400 airports. These include large,
small, licensed and uncontrolled ones.
Compare this to over 10,000 airports in the
US and more than 4,000 in Brazil, which is
another BRICS country like India.
Another difference is that while general
aviation (GA) and business aviation (BA)
planes in India are being pushed out of metro
airports due to lack of space, several global
cities have more than three airports serving
them. For example, New York has John F
Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia and Newark,
while London has Heathrow, London City
Airport and London Biggin Hill. In India, no
metro has two airports.
It also has no airports catering to GA/BA
planes. Compare this to Chinas 400 GA
airports. And in future, this is expected to go
up to 1,500.
However, Indias civil aviation ministry is
giving a fillip to regional connectivity as it is
allowing non-scheduled operator permit
(NSOP) holders or what is called charter
operators to fly to non-metros and have
schedules like regular airlines. This is similar
to what is there in many countries. With better route dispersal, smaller cities will be connected. Many of them will be low-cost terminals and have a basic terminal building, low
ticket charges and 1-2 flights a day, starting
with smaller aircraft operations. Only essential facilities for operation will be provided
till the scale of operations is increased to a
commercial model.
India is the ninth largest aviation market
and is expected to reach the third position
soon. With the development of smaller
airports, airlines too will be interested in
flying there. However, many hurdles such as
deficient infrastructure and various taxes are
a spoiler and the sooner the government
tackles this, the better it will be. IL
ECONOMY/ FDI/ India vs China
Did we
Over-take
the Dragon?
Indian newspapers recently quoted a Londonbased consultancy firm to claim that the
country received more foreign investment than
China in the first half of 2015. How realistic
was this impressive claim?
By Rajendra Bajpai
AS India overtaken
China in inward foreign direct investment
(FDI) in the first half
of this year? Indian
newspapers recently
gleefully quoted a data
consultancy owned by the Financial Times of
London that India had left behind China in
the first half of this year by attracting $31 billion against Chinas $28 billion.
By all accounts this claim appears to be far-
66
November 15, 2015
fetched. Reserve Bank of India, it seems,

does not support this. It estimates FDI in
India at $20.6 billion between January and
June this year and if you take into account
outflows in the form of FDI, the net inflow
would be only about $19 billion.
CHINA AHEAD
Chinas estimates are altogether different.
National Statistical Bureau of China has estimated the FDI during the period at $68.4
billion or three times more than Indias. The
UNI
trouble is that data provided by both India

and China is suspect. China includes
investment coming in from its special administrative region, Hong Kong, as FDI. But lots
of wealthy Chinese send funds over to Hong
Kong and bring it back into China to take
advantage of special facilities afforded
to overseas investors. Edward Graham,
Senior Fellow of Institute of International
Economics and Erika Wada, Research
Associate of the same Institute, who
examined FDI in China, said this was
round tripping.
This is a practice common in India too
but automatically gets clubbed under foreign
direct investment. A significant amount of
money coming into India from Mauritius
and Singapore is really Indian money, sent
secretly overseas, returning to the country.
But there are many other indications that
clearly show that India is not poised to beat
China anytime soon in attracting FDI. A
World Bank report which has listed countries
on the basis of ease of doing business has
NEIGHBORHOOD
ALLIANCES
(Above) Chinese Premier
Li Keqiang introducing
Chinese dignitaries to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in Beijing
67
ECONOMY/ FDI/ India vs China
Decision-making is a problem
in India. India
took 27 years to
decide on
building a tunnel at Rohtang
pass. China
built the 1,142km-long railway
line between
Qinghai and
Lhasa in less
than five years.
Somalia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The kind

of poverty we see in India is not visible even
in Yunnan province of China, says Suresh
Sagar, a Delhi businessman, who frequently
visits China.
BOOMING SKYLINE
(Top and above)
Shanghai, Chinas biggest
city, is a global
financial hub
68
November 15, 2015
ranked India at 142nd place in the world

while China is at 90th place. India is ranked
158 in terms of difficulties of starting a business while China is 128. India is 137thmost
difficult place to get electricity while China is
ranked 124. Registering a property is also a
problem and India is ranked 121 while China
is placed at 37th place.
Besides, China has had a 13-year head
start over India in opening up its economy to
the world. China began in 1978 but India
started reluctantly in 1991. By 2010, China
had lifted an estimated 300 people above the
poverty line while India is still compared to
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE
There are significant differences between the
way Chinese work and Indians execute
projects. Decision-making is a problem in
India. And perhaps not so great in China. In
India, it took 27 years to decide on building a
strategic tunnel at Rohtang pass. China built
the 1142 km long railway line between
Qinghai and Lhasa in less than five years.
Most of it is built high on mountains and the
highest tunnel is at 4095 meters.
Chinas progress is an eye-opener. And
it has become a manufacturing hub of
the world.
R Himachalapathy, a Coimbatore-based
research scholar, said: China is a fast industrializing country whereas India seems to be
entering the post-industrial phase without
having industrialized. We need to reverse the
trend by stimulating industrialization, especially since it creates more jobs and has
greater multiplier effects.
Chinas GDP was lower than that of India

in absolute terms in 1978 but caught up with
India in the very next year, he wrote while
comparing the two economies.The size of
Chinese economy (in 1991) was 1.47 times
that of India. In 2008, the size of Chinese
economy (was) 3.58 times that of India.
By almost all accounts, FDI in China has
been one of the major success stories of the
past 10 years, Graham and Wada wrote.
Starting from a base of less than $19 billion
in 1990, the stock of FDI in China rose to
over $300 billion at the end of 1999. Ranked
by the stock of inward FDI, China thus has
become the leader among all developing
nations and second among the APEC nations
(only the United States holds a larger stock of
inward FDI).
Besides, China also attracted foreign
portfolio investment mainly by institutional
investors in the stock market. This was about
$17 billion in the first half of 2015.
However Graham and Wada also point
out that the story of FDI in China is not rosy
all the way and is beset with problems. By all
accounts, the policy environment for foreign
direct investors in China is difficult, and
much anecdotal evidence suggests that some
of these investors are becoming discouraged
by this environment while other potential
investors have been deterred by it. But
despite these negatives China receives a fair
share of foreign investments.
FDI INFLOWS INTO INDIA
As for India, the annual average inward FDI
was $7.46 billion between 1991 and 2008
which was 0.96 percent of the total annual
average inward FDI into world and 15.29
percent of the total annual average inward
FDI into China, Himachalapathy said.
Latest figures show the Chinese economy
grew by 6.9 percent in three months to last
September slightly better than the forecast of
6.8 percent but down from 7 percent in the
previous quarter. Chinese leaders have been
assuring the world that their economy is well
under control and there is no reason to panic.
Underlying conditions are subdued but
stable, said Julian Evans Pritchard, an analyst with Capital Economics of Singapore.
Stronger fiscal spending and more rapid
A World Bank report which has listed

countries on the basis of ease of doing
business has ranked India at 142nd place
in the world while China is at 90th place.
credit growth will limit the downside risks to
growth over the coming quarters.
Chinese innovations are remarkable even
when it comes to minor matters. If you are a
smoker, security men take away your lighters
at Indian airports. You will never see your 10rupee lighter again. In China, they take away
your lighters and put them into baskets at
exit points and you are welcome to take a
lighter from there. Simple rules make things
simple for people.
Kapil Bhatia, Chairman of InterGlobe
Enterprises, should know. His company runs
two BPOs in China and several travel related
businesses in India, including hotels and
low-cost carrier IndiGo. They honour their
commitments but not in India. In China,
they are helpful, not in India where
bureaucracy is a big hurdle, he says adding
that getting a trading license and opening a
bank account is difficult in China. But
the rules are very clear cut. In India they are
very confusing.
It is not for nothing that China is seen as
a dragon and India is not considered in
the same league. Thats why when
China sneezes world economies catch a
cold. When India sneezes, only Indians catch
a cold. IL
STRATEGIC MOVES
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty
calling on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in
New Delhi
69
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT/ Biomedical Waste
Dangerous
Dump
HEALTH
WASTELAND
(Above)
Syringes
callously
discarded by
hospitals are a
big health
hazard
70
Biomedical waste is often

not safely disposed off by
hospitals and institutions
despite there being
Biomedical Waste
(Management and
Handling) Rules
By Papia Samajdar
November 15, 2015
N mid-2013, a journalist friend fell

seriously ill while investigating a
story on biomedical waste (BMW)
and she contracted tuberculosis in
her uterus. As she was working for a
television channel, she was denied
permission to use a facemask, and
she did not realize the grave implications of
searching through the waste dumped outside a
well-known lung facility in Delhi. Both the hospital and authorities passed off this waste as
municipal waste and as she looked for evidence,
her deteriorating health confirmed the story

she was working on.
Not only does biomedical waste find a
convenient way to municipal waste, dumped
right outside healthcare facilities, but used
syringes are collected by rag-pickers, sanitized and ready to be sold again with practised ease. These syringes should ideally be
disposed off in a stipulated manner, but
most clinics and hospitals, including highend ones, dont follow protocols when it
comes to their safe disposal.
Needless to say, the story outside Delhi is
just as grave, if not worse. In January 2013,
women from three neighboring villages in
Sambalpur district of Odisha approached a
local NGO complaining that the municipal
authorities were illegally dumping BMW on
their land. The NGO, which inspected the
site, found a high amount of biomedical
waste there and, shockingly, this was also a
place where children played. As children
started falling sick, the villagers were forced
to leave their land. While the authorities
were requested not to use the land for
dumping and the state pollution control
board was notified of this ill-practise, the
dumping reduced, but there was no action to
clear it.
DEPRESSING SCENARIO
A 2012 report by INCLEN Program Evaluation Network, a Delhi-based international
network of healthcare professionals analyzing the state of BMW disposal across India,
came out with a report which had depressing results. It looked at 25 districts in 20
states to document the practices related to
BMW. The study categorized 82 percent primary, 60 percent secondary and 54 percent
tertiary healthcare centers as red, signifying
poor management and disposal practises. It
called for immediate action and commitment to the policies and regulations laid
down in BioMedical Waste (Management
and Hand-ling) Rules, 1998.
Though the government talks about
Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, it does not
include BMW. While huge money is being
pumped into building toilets, little attention
is being paid to ensure safe and hygienic disposal of this potentially dangerous waste.
Categories of BMC
Safe disposal methods to prevent a medical disaster
Option
Waste
Treatment &
Disposal
Category
No. I
Human anatomical waste (human tissues,

organs, body parts)
incineration,
deep burial*
Category
No. 2
Animal waste (animal tissues, organs, body

parts carcasses, bleeding parts, fluid, blood
and experimental animals
incineration/
deep burial
local autoclaving/
microwaving/
incineration
Category
No 3
Microbiology & biotechnology waste (wastes

from laboratory cultures, stocks or specimens of micro-organisms live or attenuated
vaccines, human and animal cell culture
used in research and infectious agents from
research and industrial laboratories, wastes
from production of biologicals, toxins, dishes
and devices used for transfer of cultures)
Category
No 4
Waste sharps (needles, syringes, scalpels,

blades, glass, etc. that may cause puncture
and cuts. This includes both used and
unused sharps)
disinfection (chemical treatment/ autoclaving/ microwaving

and mutilation/
shredding)
Category
No 5
Discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs

(wastes comprising of outdated, contaminated and discarded medicines)
incineration/
destruction in
secured landfills
Category
No 6
Solid waste (items contaminated with blood,

and body fluids including cotton, dressings,
soiled plaster casts, lines, beddings, etc)
incineration/
autoclaving/
microwaving
Category
No. 7
Solid waste (wastes generated from disposable items such as tubes, catheters,
intravenous sets etc)
Chemical treatment,
autoclaving/
microwaving and
utilation/ shredding
Category
No. 8
Liquid waste (waste generated from laboratory and washing, cleaning, house-keeping
and disinfecting activities)
disinfection by chemical treatment and

discharge into drains.
Category
No. 9
Incineration ash (ash from incineration of

any bio-medical waste)
disposal in municipal landfill
Category
No. 10
Chemical waste (chemicals used in

production of biologicals, disinfection,
insecticides, etc.)
chemical treatment
and discharge into
drains for liquids
and secured land fill
for solids
*Deep burial shall be an option available only in towns with population less than five lakh and in rural areas
71
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT/ Biomedical Waste
GOING BY THE RULE BOOK

(Above and right)) Thatyur
community health center which
has deep burial pit for disposal
of bio-medical waste
Showing the Path
hile the state of affairs seems

dismal in big cities with better
infrastructure and facilities, a small
community health centre (CHC) in
Thatyur village, Tehri Garhwal district,
Uttarakhand, has shown the way forward (see pics above). This government center, run by a private party
known as Rajhbra Medicare, is following the rules of segregation and
safe disposal. It has 10 beds and has
specialists as mandated by the government, namely gynecologists, pediatricians, surgeons, dentists, anesthetists and general physicians.
Situated approximately 80 kms
from Dehradun, the CHC caters to
approximately 60 neighbouring villages. Since Rajbhra took over about
a year back, the number of patients
to the CHC is rising and biomedical

waste is being segregated.
Given the remoteness of the location and the fact that the population
is less than five lakh, they have opted
for the deep burial option for
Category 1 and 2 types of waste.
There is in-house segregation
according to the color coding and
microwave and shredding of waste.
Deep burial is done in a concreted
lining in the ground, and this will be
covered once its full. There is also a
temporary pit for disinfected waste.
The CHC has an authorization
from the Uttarakhand State Pollution
Control Board to manage and dispose the generated BMW on site and
is due to get its certificate after
inspection from the authorities.
Clean India cannot be achieved only by ridding her of open defecation; there are many
more battles to be fought. Safe and proper
disposal of BMW is one such battle but gets
lukewarm response from the government.
When it comes to awareness of health hazards, it is often minimal.
So why is BMW such a huge health
72
November 15 2015
hazard? Biomedical waste is waste generated by healthcare, research facilities and

associated laboratories. It includes both (a)
communal waste such as paper and bottles
that can be dealt with through local solid
waste management system; and (b) potentially dangerous biomedical waste such as
sharps (needles, scalpels, knives, blades,
broken glass) and wastes with infectious,
hazardous, radioactive and genotoxic properties (which damage the genetic information within a cell, causing mutations).
One ton of BMW, which can be as little as
one percent of the total daily municipal solid
waste (MSW) generated in a Tier II city, can
infect the total MSW generated by the city.
The MSW treatment plant converts the polluted waste into compost, which is used in
agriculture, thus entering our food chain.
ENVIRONMENT HAZARD
Without proper management of BMW, environmental pollution would increase, leading
to multiplication of flies, insects, rodents,
worms and dogs. This could further lead to
the transmission of diseases like rabies,
plague, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, AIDS
and other communicable diseases through
infected syringes. Rag-pickers, who usually
sort out the municipal waste, can contract
Villagers in
Sambalpur,
Odisha,
(left) had to
leave their
land as
dumping of
BMW led to
serious
ailments.
HIV, tetanus and TB.

Apart from that, hospital staff and those
handling the waste can contract infections.
Improper disposal of expired drugs can lead
to their being retrieved and sold to unsuspecting people, not to mention air, water
and soil pollution from improper or defective incineration of BMW.
Though there are laws and regulations
for safe disposal of BMW, there is poor
implementation. Achieving the desired
result is nowhere in sight as regulations are
ignored by hospitals, dispensaries and other
medical set-ups and treated with disdain by
regulatory authorities.
What do the regulations say? The
Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, which was amended in
2003, mandates safe and proper disposal of
BMW. Draft of a new rule in 2011 is yet to be
notified by the government.
These rules are meant for any institution
generating BMW. These include hospitals,
nursing homes, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories and blood banks. They have
to take all steps to ensure that such waste is
handled without any adverse effect to
human health and environment.
These rules define the methodology for
Color-coding the waste

Yellow Bags
Infectious waste,
bandages, gauze,
cotton or any other
objects in contact
with body fluids,
human body parts,
placenta etc
Red Bags
Blue Bags Black Carboy
All types of
Plastic
waste such glass bottles
and broken
as
catheters, glass articles,
outdated &
injection
discarded
syringes,
medicines
tubings, IV
bottles
Needles
without
syringes,
blades,
sharps
and all
metal
articles
segregation, packaging, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. Schedule 1 of

the rules defines the categories of biomedical waste, while Schedule 2 lays down the
color coding and type of container for disposal (see box above).
The regulatory authority is the State
Pollution Control Board (SPCB). Every institution generating, collecting, receiving, storing, transporting, treating, disposing and/or
handling BMW, when treating more than
1,000 patients per month, is mandated to
apply for grant of authorization to the SPCB.
Every operator of a BMW facility is also
required to seek authorization from them.
But these rules are of no use till implementation is taken seriously. IL
73
GLOBAL TRENDS/ European Refugees
Traveling in Europes
River of Migrants
A team of journos treks with refugees across the continent to chronicle the
human dimension of the crisis. An excerpt on the travails of Majid family
By Anemona Hartocollis
LIFE ON THE EDGE

Ahmad Majid (center), his
wife, Jamila, and their
family eat a meal at a
makeshift detention
center at a school in
Padborg, Denmark
UNI
Syrian Family Overcomes Hardships of War,

but Finds Path Blocked in Denmark
September 11, 2015
T was the Danes who finally wore the Majid family down.The
family had fled war-torn Syria, taken a boat from Turkey to
Greece, crawled under a barbed wire fence in Hungary, and slept
in fields and on concrete sidewalks. The relatives thought that after so
much hardship the trip through Denmark to Sweden would be easy.
After all, they had no intention of staying in Denmark. Why would
the Danes care if they were just passing through?
They were wrong.
74
November 15, 2015
As the family crossed the Danish border

from Flensburg, Germany, recently, the
police stopped the train and took all the
refugees and migrants off. Ahmad Majid, his
brother Farid, their wives, children and other
relatives traveling with them were taken to a
makeshift detention center at a decommissioned school in Padborg, a truck-stop town
of little cottages near the border.
At the school, the Danes treated them
with an iron fist in a velvet glove. The
migrants were given thin foam mattresses,
blankets, hot food and balls for the children
to play with. But armed police guarded every
door, sending a message that the migrants
were prisoners there, not free to come and go
as in the German shelter where the family
had spent a night.
The police told them they had a choice:
Stay in Denmark and apply for asylum, or
return to Germany. But they would not be
permitted to cross Denmark to go to Sweden.
he Majids were still undecided about

their plans when they got a taste of
Danish justice. They were told that
before they could go anywhere, all the
migrants detained at the former school had
to go to a police station for processing. The
family was divided into two groups, the two
brothers with their wives and children in
one, the three young male relatives traveling
with them in another. It was the first time
they had been divided despite crossing many
borders since their flight from Syria.
The group with the two brothers was
taken by a police van to a station far away,
they said later. Ahmad Majid estimated that
he and his family had traveled more than
200 kilometers, based on the amount of time
they were on the road. They had no idea
where they were. Once at the station, they
were put in separate cells.
When Mr. Majid asked for food for the
children, offering 100 euros to pay for it, a
police officer gave him sugar cubes, he said,
fishing the still-wrapped cubes out of his
jacket pocket.
The three young men were taken to
another police station, also far from the
Padborg school, based on the travel time.
There they were ordered to strip naked and
When Majid asked for food for children, offering

100 euros to pay for it, a police officer gave him
sugar cubes, he said, fishing the still-wrapped
cubes out of his jacket pocket.
twirl around in front of police officers, they
said. Then they were locked up in two cells.
Mr. Majid and his brother were shaking
with anger by the time the police interviewed
them about whether they wanted to seek asylum in Denmark or return to Germany. At
that point, they said, the invitation to seek
asylum in Denmark seemed insincere, like a
bad joke.
Even if Denmark was made of gold, I
would not want to stay here, ever, Farid
Majid said he had told the Danish police.
Ahmad Majid told the police, My son
now knows the meaning of the word prison,
because of you.
The police warned that if the Majids came
back to Denmark, they would be imprisoned.
The young men also rejected the Danish
asylum offer. The police took all of them back
to the German border. From there, they
made their way to the Flensburg train
station.
We caught up with the Majids at the
Flensburg station, as they waited for a train
to Hamburg. They had missed the big events
at the Padborg school. That morning,300
WHERE THERE IS
A WILL
(Above) A group of
migrants, who were
aiming to go to
Sweden but were
being detained by
the police in
Denmark, defiantly
march on
75
GLOBAL TRENDS/ European Refugees
UNI
GONE WITH
THE WIND
The collateral
damage of the
strife in Asia and
Africa is loss of
home and a way
of life for millions
76
November 15, 2015
refugees had stormed out of the school, into

the woods and streets. About half had
disappeared into the countryside, and the
others had found their way to the highway
to Sweden. They blocked traffic as they
walked north.
s the Majids were boarding the train

for Hamburg, the police back in
Denmark were trying to figure out
how to deal with the public relations embarrassment of having migrants block the highway and demand to go to Sweden.
The Majids got to Hamburg just before
midnight and headed for McDonalds, about
the only restaurant open in the train station,
to feed the children.
On the way, Mr. Majid approached two
German police officers and asked where he
could turn himself in to ask for asylum in
Germany. The officers pointed to a police
station 200 meters away.
But before they could turn themselves in,
Philip Holler, a young law student,
approached and asked whether they were
refugees. Yes, they said. He said he could
show them the way to a shelter for the night.
They accepted his offer. Mr. Holler waited
patiently until the children had finished their

chicken nuggets. Then he
led the exhausted group
into the subway and through the darkened Hamburg streets to a hangarlike exposition center that
was being used as a shelter for migrants.
The shelter's beds were
full. The Majids waited
about an hour, while the
guards looked for another
shelter that could take
them. It was cold outside.
The guards distributed
juice, water and blankets,
and the Majid adults
wrapped the blankets around the children like
cocoons and laid them on
the sidewalk to sleep.
Finally, at about 2:30
a.m., the shelter took them in. The gates
closed behind them.
Next morning, the Danish police
announced that they would no longer block
migrants from traveling through Denmark to
Sweden and points beyond. As in Budapest a
week earlier, when Hungary relented and
opened its border to Austria, the migrants
had won, at least for now. The police said
3,200 refugees and migrants had entered
Denmark recently, overwhelming the ability
of the police to deal with them.
The Danish about-face came too late for
the Majids, who were just relieved to put that
country behind them. Yes, their dream had
been to go to Sweden, join relatives, and
maybe open a bakery or a grocery. But now
Germany seemed like the land of opportunity. It had welcomed them and others like
them, and its generosity, they had learned,
was a rare gift. They would stay here, Ahmad
Majid said, and they would thrive.
Their journey did not turn out the way
they had planned. But he believed it had
turned out for the best. He cited the Quran:
Do not hate what befalls you, for it may be
good for you. IL
Courtesy ProPublica
CAMPUS UPDATE
Lecture series by Justice Katju
ustice Markandey Katju will

deliver a series of lectures on
Constitutional Jurisprudence
from October 26 to students of
the School of Law at Galgotias
University in Greater Noida. The
lecture series will be continuing
for a week.
Before being elevated as a
judge to the Supreme Court,
Jindal Law
Schools
conference
indal Global Law School is

conducting a two-day conference on Ethics and
Professional Responsibility in
the Legal Profession on
October 31 and November 1.

Manan Kumar Mishra, chairman, Bar Council of India, will
be the chief guest. Legal luminaries like Indira Jaising,
Justice AP Shah and Justice
AK Patnaik will be also present.
Talks on Lawyer advertising versus improper solicitation, malpractice litigation
and disciplinary action, lateral
movement of
lawyers and
e-data and
the impact of
technology on
client confidentiality will
be presented.
Justice AK
Patnaik will
deliver the
valedictory
address.
Justice Katju served as the chief

justice of the Delhi High Court and
the Madras High Court.
Students will get the opportunity to interact with him and gather knowledge and understanding
of jurisprudence and the constitution, which has undergone significant evolution since its adoption
in 1950.
Workshop on labor laws
workshop will be held by

the Dr Ram Manohar
Lohia National Law University
in collaboration with National
Labor Law Association
(NLLA) on November 23 and
24. It will deal with labor law
reforms. NLLA is a forum for
the free exchange of ideas
that help apply laws in the
right perspective.
The workshop aims to
create an open forum to discuss the industrial relations
code and the wage code prepared by the government of
India. It will also examine the
social, economic and legal
issues pertaining to bills being
prepared by the ministry of
law and their impact on labor
management. Topics like
emerging issues and the

implications of industrial relations, trade unions and various proposed amendments in
existing labor legislations will
also be discussed.
NLU Delhi signs MoU with Deakin
ational Law University, Delhi,

signed an MoU with Deakin
University, Victoria, Australia on
October 19, 2015, for fostering academic and institutional collaboration in
terms of exchange of students and
members of faculty. The MoU was
signed by Professor Mike Ewing, Pro
Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University and

Professor Ranbir Singh, ViceChancellor, NLU Delhi. Dr GS Bajpai,
Registrar and Professor, NLU Delhi,
was also present on the occasion. The
two institutions are to collaborate on
academic events, teaching, training
and research.
78
November 15, 2015
NO I L
OROP
HOLDS
BARRED
DEATH BY HANGING
Is it painful? 38
LIZED BETTING:
INTING: LEGAat hand? 46
Is it
CANVAS FINGERPR
New tracking tool 43
UNTOLD
RAMESH MENON:
How politicia STORY OF THE DENG
CORRUPTION BEHIND THE BARS
36
lonline.com
www.indialega
UE EPIDEMIC 34
Plus: Ajith Pillaisns and hospitals duck lega

l obligations
personal nightmar
e
L NDIA L EGAL
E
INDIAL EGAL
NDIA EGA IN
`100
30, 2015
September
WAR:
lonline.com
`100
STORIES THAT COUNT
MEAT POLITICS
RAISING
THE
STAKES
STORIES
RESERVAT
THAT COU
NT
IONS
FOR A
FOR NOLLNoEr?
INDERJIT BADHWAR,
AJITH PILLAI,
KALYANI SHANKAR,
RAKESH BHATNAGAR:
KKallya
yannii SSh
Shaank
a kaarr on
the quota debnka
te
which has lit ate
all political para fire in
ties
following the Pat
ate
agitation and ell
Bhagwats
pronouncemen
t
28
In-depth analysis of the

legal, political, ethical,
religious dimensions of
beef ban 22
22
RAMESH
MENON:
Do the
r
courts eve
say sorry?
www.indialega
NT
THAT COU
e
Why the vetins cam
marching
ad
The dangers ahe
`100
October 15,
2015
STORIES
A
M VOHRA:
BIKRAM
INDERJIT BADH
October 31, 2015
Hardik Patel
Mohan Bhagwat
AJITH
PILLAI:
Big legal
bang for
Moneylife
DINESH
:
SHARMA S
Make NDP
Act more
effective
54
VIPIN
PUBBY
Defamation
turbulence
42
TAHIR
MAHMOD
Is Muslim
personal law
still valid?
58
MEENA
MENON
Haji Ali
Dispute 50
PLUS:
RAMESH
3-year law degrees?MEN
46 ON:
Unending
Ram Rahim Singh
stalemate
Insan: Religion or politics?over
54 NJA
C
z
12
Italian Marines: Jurisdiction
war 66
z
Scrap
z
Gurmeet
34
SEEMA
SAJEDA
GUHA:
MOMIN:
Nepals
Asserting
constituti
on Desi righ
hits home
ts
in UK
76
68
12
DINESH SHA
Volkswagen RMA: BIKRAM
in the ointm s bug VOHRA:
ent 72
Is this the
way to
treat your
servants?
48
Dont miss a single issue of this independent, scintillating new fortnightly

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CTa\bR^]SXcX^]bP__[h?[TPbT_aêXSTdb#fTTZbc^bcPach^dabdQbRaX_cX^]
FIGURE
IT OUT
India has 3,884 US students.
The US has 1,03,895 Indian students,
the second highest among foreign
students after Chinas 1,57,558.
About 14,000 people have died
in Indian jails in the past 10 years.
There are around 98 crore mobile
phones in the country at present and
30 crore people avail internet facility.
India Post has over 1.5 lakh
branches.
One in every five Indian adults
living in urban cities suffers not only
from hypertension but also diabetes.
Indias innate fascination with
gold continues as Indian households possess 18,000 tonnes of
gold11 per cent of the world
stockworth over $950 billion.
This is also around 50 per cent of
the countrys GDP in dollar terms.
Gold consumption is part of Indias
culture and tradition and the country
is the worlds largest consumer of
gold, followed by China.
At least 8 per cent of Indias
$329 billion in household savings
was held in gold in 2009-10.
Large borrowers, who took loans of
`10 crore or more, have defaulted on
payments to the tune of `47,000
crore, with banks not even pursuing
cases to recover over half the amount.
Data available with the finance
ministry shows that at least 700

defaulters, who had borrowed `10
crore or more from public-sector
banks and cumulatively owe over
`26,000 crore, have gone scot-free
despite not clearing their dues.
Indias annual liver transplant
requirement is 25,000 but only 800
are available.
Out of the 5,362 listed companies that are required to appoint
women directors, only 3,785 firms
had complied with the norm by
July last.
Banks in India total 95,000.
India has 31 lakh NGOs. This
means we have one NGO for 400
people, as against one policeman
for 709 people.
India has 15 lakh schools.
Between April and July this year,
India registered 9,700 cases of
atrocities against women.
During 2012-15, some 2,060 students dropped out of 16 IITs, and
2,352 students left studies mid-way
in NITs.
Last four years witnessed
some 300 railway mishaps, in
which about 370 people were
killed.
There are 6.5 crore diabetics in
India, and, 40,000 legs of diabetics
are amputated every year.
Compiled by Mahesh Trivedi
80
November 15, 2015
1. After death the doctor.

A: To do post-mortem
B: Help comes late
C: To analyze
D: To study the will
2. Temblor.
A: Earthquake
B: Musical instrument
C: Arrow
D. Wanderer
3. Pagets disease.
A: Weak eyes
B: Irregular heartbeats
C: Stomach ailment
D: Bone disorder
4. Understood by all.
A: Eclectic
B: Esoteric
C: Exoteric
D: Ecclesiastic
5. Which is correct?
A: Barefeet exercise
B: Barefoot exercise
C: Barefeeted exercise
D: Barefooted exercise
6. Are we away?
A: How far is it?
B: Shall we go?
C: Are we wrong?
D: Do we have a holiday?
7. Elemental.
A: Basic
B: Strong
C: Artificial
D: Chemical
Have fun with English.

Get the right answers.
Play better scrabble.
By Mahesh Trivedi
8. Gynocracy.
A: Government by fools
B: Government by
women
C: Government by
doctors
D: Government by the
aged
9. Plural of vortex
A: Vortexes
B: Same
C: Vortices
D: Vortexae
10. Zinger.
A: Witty remark
B: Zero
C: Name of a bird
D: Expert
11. Martinet.
A: Small glass
B: Dancer
C: Smallest planet
D: Disciplinarian
12. Snug as a bug in
a rug.
A: Uncomfortable
B: Cozy
C: Sick
D: Selfish
13. Cognoscente.
A: Common man
B: Insult
C: Expert
D: Illiterate
14. Hair-brained.
A: Foolish
B: Intelligent
C: Lazy
D: Orthodox
15. Yob.
A: Elderly person
B: Neighbour
C: Hooligan
D: Slap
16. A cat lover.
A: Cagophilist
B: Cynophilist
C: Ailurophile
D: Kittymane
17. A little pot is soon .
A: broken
B: hot
C: lost
D: forgotten
18. Contemptuous.
A. Contemptible
B. Disrespectful
C. Ill-tempered
D. Illegal
19. Smirk.
A: Affected smile
B: Contemptuous smile
C: Smug smile
D: Fixed grin
20. In your dreams!
A: It will never happen!
B: May your dream come
true!
C: I love you!
D: You are kidding!
ANSWERS
1. Help comes late

2. Earthquake
3. Bone disorder
4. Exoteric
5. Barefoot exercise
6. Shall we go?
7. Basic
8. Government by women
9. Vortices
10. Witty remark
11. Disciplinarian
12. Cozy
13. Expert
14. Foolish
15. Hooligan
16. Ailurophile
17. hot
18. Disrespectful
19. Smug smile
20. It will never happen!
Y
L
D
R
WO ISE
SCORES
0 to 7 correctYou
need to do this more
often.
8 to 12 correctGood,
get the scrabble
board out.
Above 12Bravo!
Keep it up!
textdoctor2@gmail.com
INDIA LEGAL September 15, 2015
81
PEOPLE / Tribal Tales
BASIC INSTINCT
A Turkana woman carrying
a child stands by a hut in
Napak village in northwestern Kenya.
BREAK TIME
A Reang tribal in a traditional attire
and ornaments in a relaxed mood
near Agartala in Tripura.
CULTURE SHOCK
Raoni Metuktire, a leader of the Brazilian indigenous Kayapo people,
arrives at Hotel de Lassay, residence of French National Assembly
Speaker, in Paris.
PLUMES AND THE MAN

An indigenous man from the Tabajara
tribe at the Tocantins river in Brazil.
LIFE ON THE
OTHER SIDE
Members of the
Mashco Piro tribe
spotted by a group
of travelers from
across the Alto
Madre de Dios
river in the Manu
National Park, in
the Amazon basin
of southeastern
Peru. The picture
is taken through a
bird scope.
Compiled by Kh Manglembi Devi
Photos: UNI
82
November 15, 2015
RNI No. UPENG/2007/25763
Postal Regd. No. UP/GBD-197/2014-16

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