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Journalism of Courage
Chidambaram is cleared in 2G case. But this exercise framed just how the corruption debate has lost balance
The Supreme Courts dismissal of the case against P. Chidambaram,who was finance minister when controversial 2G spectrum decisions were made,is welcome,though wholly expected and belated. The court emphasised there was no material even prima facie,to conclude that Chidambaram abused his official position or used any corrupt or illegal means. And yet,this case has been an object lesson in the way legal and investigative processes can be misused as cover for the smear campaign and witchhunt. If there is credible evidence of wrongdoing,of a public officials decision being induced by a corrupt motive,he must be charged and punished by the court of law; and more generally,in an alert democracy,rewards and penalties for good and bad governance are administered in the peoples court,in the elections. But in the prevalent environment,when a kind of scandal mania rages,it has become all too easy to malign public functionaries with charges of corruption even when,as in this case,no evidence exists to begin with,and to leave them to fight it alone,with the case taking up valuable judicial time.
This exercise has also demonstrated why the concept of the Jan Lokpal as purveyed by Team Anna essentially,their version of the anti-corruption body deems public officials to be guilty till proved innocent is flawed and dangerous. It can be used to trap them in endless trials. This case is not just a matter of one reputation being smeared,serious as that is. It illustrates the grave pitfalls of a system that too readily offers the options of investigation and trial. That the petition has been dismissed is welcome,but this should have come much earlier. More crucially,the dismissal must restore balance and perspective to the public discussion on corruption.
