Judging the judges

The recommendation of criminal proceedings against former Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal by the Central Vigilance...

The recommendation of criminal proceedings against former Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal by the Central Vigilance Commission is a blow to the reputation of the judiciary in India. Sabharwal faces charges of conniving with people in the former Mulayam Singh government to help his sons get valuable land in Uttar Pradesh at throwaway rates. Worse, it has been alleged that his order in a high profile case, such as the sealing of illegal commercial premises in Delhi, has benefited the interests of some in his family.

If the head of a democratic institution is charged with corruption, how can anyone have faith in the overall functioning of the institution? The case against Sabharwal deserves a high-level probe. I hope he is able to prove his innocence but if the accusations against him are proven right , the judiciary has a lot of soul-searching to do.

Misplaced reservations

Excluding the 8216;creamy layer8217; among the backward classes from the benefits of reservation is the subject of one of the most unfortunate and irrelevant public debates in recent history. The latest move to increase the income slab for defining the creamy later 8212; from Rs 2.5 lakh per year to as high as Rs 6 lakh 8212; comes as another misguided step, and a conveniently designed one to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling against extending reservation benefits to this privileged class.

The argument that people with an annual income below Rs 6 lakh are socially and economically disadvantaged and therefore need reservation clearly defies logic. An obvious example is of IAS and IRS officers belonging to backward classes. They are the privileged few among their communities who have achieved wealth and education at par with mainstream society. How far can anyone justifiably argue that the children of a person whose monthly income is Rs 50,000 be given reservation, while his fellow community members who do not earn even Rs 500 a month are deprived of opportunities?

It is discomforting to see how the creamy layer is trying to keep the reservation benefits to themselves. The privileged few are desperate to hold on to reservations so that their families can prosper, while they think nothing of depriving their own not-so-privileged brethren who are actually in genuine need of reservation and opportunities. Keeping the income criterion at its existing level is a basic step to prevent this blatant hijacking of quotas.

Awards lose their shine

National film awards have gradually become the most irrelevant of all film awards in India. Once again, the most popular film industry in the country 8212; Bollywood 8212; is ignored for reasons unknown. If at all a Bollywood movie is awarded, it is usually through 8216;manipulations8217;. Though the award for Lagey Raho Munnabhai as the most popular film is a well-deserved one, often many awards have gone to films and people who are either invisible or not popular at any rate. No wonder controversies erupt and courts intervene every year after national film awards are announced.

Of late, national film awards have become victims of the personal likes and dislikes of a few. From the selection of jury members to the announcement of the awards, the whole process is opaque. Nobody knows when the jury is constituted, what are the qualifications of jury members, the selection criteria for films and how the awards are decided. I had written a letter to Jaipal Reddy when he was the Information and Broadcasting Minister to make the process more transparent. If it isn8217;t made transparent, the whole exercise is futile and people will no longer take the country8217;s most prominent film award seriously. On the other hand, a number of film awards given by television channels have become far more popular for their participatory nature.

The writer is a Congress MP in Rajya Sabha