Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist) 30 December 2010

Apex Court related News Items

Below are some of the news items of SC of India, Plz, have a look,

Woman SC judge lists daughters as liability

CNN-IBN
Updated Dec 28, 2010 at 07:52pm IST

New Delhi: In an unusual disclosure, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court has listed her unmarried daughters as 'liabilities'. This has triggered sharp reactions from women rights activists.

The details of assets and liabilities owned by Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra for the year 2010, which have been put up on the court's website, mentioned the pending marriage of her two daughters under the column titled other liabilities.

Justice Mishra, who was the first woman Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court and is now the only woman judge in the Supreme Court of India, has clubbed the expenses needed for her daughters' marriage with her need to build a house post retirement in her other liabilities column.

Justice Mishra has also listed some property and basic jewellery as her assets.

Predictably, women activists have reacted sharply against Justice Mishra's move.

"This is most unfortunate that a learned person who is supposed to uphold India's constitution, which provides for equality between men and women, has to say something like this. It speaks volumes about the social mindset," said women's rights activist Ranjana Kumari.

"As far as the parents' thinking that marriage expenses should be collected and stored in order to give their children proper wedding - particularly girls - is concerned, I think that it's rather unfortunate that our culture and our traditions that prevail, force so many people to do this," said advocate Kirti Singh.

https://ibnlive.in.com/news/woman-sc-judge-lists-daughters-as-liability/138837-3.html

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Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist) 30 December 2010

Come clean, Balakrishnan

The New Indian Express

First Published : 28 Dec 2010 11:05:00 PM IST

Last Updated : 28 Dec 2010 11:47:10 PM IST

Justice V R Krishna Iyer is one of India’s most respected public figures. A former judge of the Supreme Court, he keeps his ear to the ground and is, therefore, heard with rapt attention on the rare occasions he speaks. So, when Krishna Iyer asks the National Human Rights Commission chairman and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice K G Balakrishnan to resign and face an inquiry, he is doing so in all seriousness. Incidentally, Krishna Iyer had criticised the attempt of the Supreme Court under Justice Balakrishnan to keep itself insulated from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Time proved how wrong Justice Balakrishnan was and how right Krishna Iyer was.This time, what has provoked Krishna Iyer to ask for his resignation is a media expose about Justice Balakrishnan’s son-in-law.

A news channel has reported that Justice Balakrishnan’s daughter K G Sony and her husband P V Sreenijan have amassed assets disproportionate to their known sources of income as budding lawyers. Sreenijan, who contested elections to the Kerala Assembly from Njarackal constituency on the Congress ticket in 2006 had disclosed to the Election Commission that he had a bank balance of only `25,000 and no landed property. Today, less than five years later, he owns plots of land worth tens of crores of rupees in several cities. Could it be that their proximity to the former CJI had anything to do with this accretion of property? An inquiry into their sources of income and the properties they own will reveal the truth. Incidentally, when Justice Y K Sabharwal headed the Supreme Court, his sons ran a huge “real estate business” from his official residence.

Recently the apex court made strong remarks about some judges of the Allahabad High Court having a nexus with some of their relatives practising in the same court. It is not our contention that the money-making practices of his daughter and son-in-law had the support of Justice Balakrishnan. As “Caesar’s wife” should be above suspicion, it would be in the best judicial and democratic traditions if the NHRC chief voluntarily quits the office and submits to an inquiry. In doing so, he will also be setting an example for others. By the way, Justice Balakrishnan had not crowned himself with glory by his bewildering statements on the allegation that former telecommunication minister A Raja had threatened a Madras High Court judge hearing a bail petition.

https://expressbuzz.com/nation/come-clean-balakrishnan/235003.html

‘Ex-CJI must quit as rights panel head’

Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, December 29, 2010

First Published: 00:00 IST(29/12/2010)
Last Updated: 00:01 IST(29/12/2010)

Allegations of amassment of wealth by his kin are weighing heavy on former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan’s position as chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A day after veteran jurist, former Supreme Court judge VR Krishna Iyer demanded an inquiry, former CJI JS Verma and

former SC judge PB Sawant asked Balakrishnan to quit as NHRC head to facilitate a thorough probe.

The government, however, appeared to be backing the NHRC chief, with law minister M Veerappa Moily saying allegations “need to be verified first”.

There is no word yet from justice Balakrishnan on the issue yet. The issue was highlighted by a Malayalam news channel on Sunday, saying the wealth of the son-in-law of the former CJI had grown around 130 times in the past four years.

His son-in-law PV Sreenijin, who declared assets worth only Rs 25,000 in the affidavit filed in the 2006 Assembly polls (he was the Congress candidate from Njarackal), now allegedly owns several prime properties worth crores of rupees. Former CJI Verma said it was time for the NHRC chief to volunteer for a probe. “It is not a matter concerning the individual; it brings the credibility of the entire institution under the cloud. All doubts need to be removed,” he added.

Justice Verma said since only a former CJI can be appointed the NHRC chief, “it would be desirable for justice Balakrishnan to step down till his name is cleared.”

Another former SC judge and former chairman of the Press Council of India, PB Sawant said it “will be good if justice Balakrishnan himself asks the current CJI to conduct a probe”. “Any right-minded person would automatically step down for the post till he gets a clean chit,” he opined.

The government, however, did not agree. “Issues like whether the former CJI was involved, whether he has misused his office, have to be verified. Without knowing it, I do not want to comment,” Moily said in Bangalore.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/Ex-CJI-must-quit-as-rights-panel-head/Article1-643973.aspx