Letters To The Editor

Partial punishment 8226; While we, members of women8217;s groups and concerned citizens, ...

Partial punishment

8226; While we, members of women8217;s groups and concerned citizens, welcome the Supreme Court8217;s interventions in matters relating to the carnage in Gujarat, we are dismayed at its stringent verdict on March 8 which awarded one-year imprisonment to Zaheera Sheikh for committing perjury. The orders to freeze
Zaheera8217;s accounts for three months will mean that she may become unable to pay the fine of Rs 50,000 and face another year of imprisonment.
Zaheera is not a routine hostile witness; she is an injured witness, who has been used as a pawn in the unfolding drama of state politics. While the court has punished her, it has not passed similar stringent orders against politicians like Madhu Srivastava, who intimidated her to change her testimony even though the fact has been brought on record. In the interest of substantive justice, we believe, the Supreme Court should take action against Srivastava and the political powers responsible for the Gujarat violence.

8212; Uma Chakravarti
8212; Urvashi Butalia and several others, New Delhi

Higher judgment

8226; Justice Rajindar Sachar, in his article,8216;Judged by higher standard8217;, IE, March 15, argues for inclusion in the panel of a layman. A layman, even if he is an academician, may end up interfering in judicial proceedings. The panel being set up should be an independent investigative agency able to shield itself from the influence and manipulations of those making a mockery of the judicial
system as a whole.

8212; Deepika Batra, New Delhi

8226; The seeking of an asset declaration by every judge, as endorsed in your editorial, 8216;Citizen8217;s judge8217;, IE, 16 March is a welcome step. This measure would work the necessary 8216;correctives8217; into the system, without undermining the authority of the judiciary. One hopes this bill gets through Parliament. We have seen enough travesty of justice lately, as observed in high-profile cases in the Supreme Court.

8212; G.R. Vora Mumbai

Courting martial

8226; Besides separating the investigating wing of the police from its law and order wing Fali S. Nariman8217;s 8216;Witness to justice8217;, IE, March 14, there is a need to separate the criminal judiciary from civil courts. At present the highest court in the district acts as session judge in criminal cases and district judge in civil matters, in addition to being the appellate authority for all kinds of cases decided by the lower courts. And all heinous crimes like murder and rape should be tried by the court on a day-to-day basis like court martial cases.

8212; Dalip Singh Ghuman, Chandigarh

Rooster dose

8226; This refers to an ad published in major dailies in support of eating chicken. It showed a 8216;happy family8217; picture of a papa rooster, mama hen and their cute little chicks, with the 8216;papa8217; proudly proclaiming: 8220;Come and decimate my family because we are healthy.8221; Now what is the message? It is a cruel joke on the family. Here we have the head of a family inviting you to make a meal of those he is supposed to protect. Please do not go overboard in spreading the message that eating chicken is safe. We cannot afford to thus twist family values, be it among animals. Even in the animal kingdom, parents shelter and protect their family.

8212; Neelam Jain, New Delhi