In the recent flurry of political NBWs non-bailable warrants, for the uninitiated being dished out to serving politicians, one truth got l...
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In the recent flurry of political NBWs non-bailable warrants, for the uninitiated being dished out to serving politicians, one truth got lost: that using the courts to settle political scores makes for shabby political practice. Not only does it undermine the majesty of the law, it can sometimes boomerang badly on those who choose to precipitate such action for extraneous considerations. The Congress government in Karnataka today finds itself with enough egg on its face to make a good-sized omelette over its inept handling of the Uma Bharati case.
Of course, the Dharam Singh government will deny that it had acted with malicious intent when, on August 19, it issued a NBW over a case filed against Uma Bharati in the mid-nineties. It was just an instance of the law taking its course, it shrugged. Yet, the twists and turns of this matter would seem to suggest that this, in fact, was not the case. There can be little doubt that the sanyasin was attempting, in February 8217;95, to fish in the troubled politics of Hubli8217;s Idgah Ground. Six people paid the price for this folly with their lives. However, seven years later, the Karnataka government had thought it fit to issue a government order withdrawing all the cases in this matter, including the one filed under Section 307 against Uma Bharati 8212; a position it had reiterated as late June 21 this year. So what happened between June 21 and August 19 that could have possibly inspired the state government to change its stance? Shibu Soren happened, that8217;s what. Some wise person in the Congress party obviously thought that here was a tailor-made opportunity to pay the BJP back in its own coin. Thus was a hastily conceived process set in motion.
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Uma Bharati herself made full use of it to shore up her image as a significant player in her party8217;s future. In contrast, the contortions that the Karnataka government has been forced to make over the case 8212; on Monday its advocate general told the Karnataka High Court stated that it stood by its 8217;02 order, withdrawing all cases against Bharati 8212; has severely dented its image. It finds itself in a conundrum today, having now to explain to the court the reason for its sudden change of stance. The judges, clearly, are not impressed. They understandably are concerned about protecting the letter and spirit of the law and obviously do not wish to have politicians exploiting the criminal justice system to serve their own ends. It can only be hoped that the lesson emanating from this episode goes home to politicians across the board: don8217;t use the courts to settle political scores.
