This is an archive article published on June 23, 2015
Judge, the citizen, asks: Till when will politicians fool us?… NOTA option good
The judge then expressed his “immense satisfaction” over the apex court direction to the election commission to include the NOTA provision during elections.
“Till when will we – the common citizen – be taken for granted? As a general citizen, I want to ask, till when will the politicians continue to fool us?” Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tarun Yogesh posed the question to the defence counsel.
During arguments on the bail plea hearing of former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar, the prosecutor argued that Tomar despite “being a law minister” procured a fake “law degree”. Rebutting, the defence counsel said, “They have not secured a single evidence that documents are forged… It’s a flawed argument. Even a matriculation pass can be a law minister.”
It was in this context that the judge, in “his personal capacity”, said, “As a general citizen, I want to ask, till when will the politicians fool us? How can you forge a document or affidavit? Till when will they (politicians) keep fooling people?” The remarks had no reference to Tomar, though.
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The judge then expressed his “immense satisfaction” over the apex court direction to the election commission to include the NOTA provision during elections.
“The Supreme Court has done the right thing by making the provision of NOTA (None of the Above) option. As a simple voter, I get immense satisfaction by pressing this button on the EVM. I have now the right to record my choice, by rejecting those I don’t find appropriate to be voted to power,” the judge said.
However, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said, “What is the use of NOTA? Even if 99.9 per cent vote for NOTA, then the candidate who comes second would be declared the winner. So what is the point of NOTA?”
To which, the judge replied, “This is where both of us differ. I have immense satisfaction over the discretion that I have. I think NOTA gives me that right to record my vote, but still reject the candidates who I don’t want to vote. Why do someone always have to think about the outcome?”
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
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Former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar
