Calcutta, Aug. 14: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said “what I see is that many verdicts are being delivered in exchange for money”.
“Bicharer bani nirobe, nibhrite kandchhe. Keno aaj shudhu takar binimoye adalote bichar hobe (The voice of justice is weeping silently in the wilderness. Why should cases today be decided in the courts only in exchange for money)?” the chief minister said at a seminar in the Assembly.
The seminar on “Executive Accountability to Parliament/legislature” was held to mark the platinum jubilee of the Assembly. Speaker Biman Banerjee was present when Mamata spoke.
The chief minister, who mostly spoke in Bengali, added: “I’m sorry that I have to say this. I’m saying this because this is the legislative assembly. You can criticise me. I shall be very happy if someone takes me to jail, arrests me, lodges a complaint of defamation. There has to be some place to speak one’s mind. What I see is that many verdicts are being delivered in exchange for money today. Why? The judiciary’s job is to give justice. Corruption has become the main pillar now.... This is our misfortune.”
A sitting high court judge said “if the chief minister’s comment is published in newspapers tomorrow and a member of the legal profession moves the court demanding action, the court can ask for a report from the Speaker”.
He added that had the chief minister made the statement in public, the court could have acted on its own.
But former Assembly Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim said tonight in response to a question: “Since the House was not in session and the Assembly premises were just used for the seminar, her observations about the judiciary could not be part of the House proceedings. So the Speaker had nothing much to do. As such, the chief minister does not enjoy immunity and anybody can move court against the chief minister.”
Mamata tonight said she stood by her statement in the Assembly. “Some people are trying to distort my observations about the judiciary in the Assembly. But what I wanted to assert was that judgments must not be sold. Aami chai bicharer bani jeno nirobe nibhrite na kande (what I want is that no one should be denied justice),” she told a rally in Behala, alluding to a Tagore poem.
At the seminar, Mamata did not cite any specific judgment but her comment came a day after the state human rights commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge A.K. Ganguly, recommended compensation and action against police officers for harassing professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour on the charge of circulating a cartoon.
Without naming anyone, the chief minister said at the seminar: “I brought a very good person and gave him a post. Not someone from my party but someone a little neutral. But then what did I see — oh God, he has no clue at all! He writes as if he is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or the President of the country! Doesn’t even know what is under his powers; what his jurisdiction is!
“Therefore, it seems to me, there’s a persistent effort to destroy the system. We respect everybody — every commission, every committee, every kind of constitutional agency.”
Mamata said senior officials were being summoned at odd hours. She did not specifically identify anyone but panels such as the human rights commission can summon officials and have done so.
The chief minister said: “But you speak of accountability? Today someone will issue summons; some other day another person will; then on another day, someone else will. From the chief secretary to the home secretary, from the DG of the police to the CP, everyone is being summoned.
“He has secured some manpower. A car, a house, commission emoluments, facilities of all sorts — but what are they doing? Summoning everybody. Making them wait 12 hours out of the 24 hours. When will the executives work? Before deciding on others’ accountability, it’s necessary to determine the accountability of those who deliver verdicts. Politicians and executives will have accountability but you will not?”
The chief minister hit out at the media, too. “They have no authority on paper, they won’t come onto the field. Some people want to expand their business by abusing politicians. Is black money only with politicians? The media also have black money. If Surjya Kanta Mishra does something wrong, the CID, the CBI can inquire against him. Politicians can be caught easily but not the media because they run channels,” Mamata added.
The above is from the Telegraph. What Mamta has said is nothing new. Anyone who has visited any of the courts of the land will bear out what I say. Besides, having to pay your lawyers his fees, stationery and typing charges you have to pay a fee to the peshkar so that your file is placed before the learned judge. The amount depends upon what you want. Fortunately I am unaware of the big money which Mamata talks about for I have not felt the need to offer the same as I avoid lawyers like the plague.The little interaction I have had with one of them left a very bad taste in my mouth. The second lawyer was very good and reasonable. But Mamta should know that compared to corruption existing among the politicians,the judiciary look like angels. Instead of pointing fingers at the judiciary she should clean uo her own tribe.
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