IT was a sad day for parliamentary democracy when Parliament was stalled for the entire winter session. Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansaris statement that peace prevailed only when obituaries were read,is a sorry reflection on the behaviour of MPs. Whether the Oppositions persistent demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the 2-G Spectrum scam and the governments unyielding refusal to accede to the demand were justified is besides the point. Preventing Parliament from undertaking legislative activity for practically the entire winter session was unjustifiable. Surely a mature political leadership could have devised a pragmatic solution? The Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation will not make JPC infructuous because there are certain aspects which the JPC can inquire into which would be outside the purview of the CBI investigation. It is imperative that leaders of political parties hammer out a solution to obviate stalling of Parliament in the next session. Reason and sense of proportion should prevail.
SCs timely admonition
Threats issued by some political parties and organisations to prevent lawyers from defending unpopular persons who in public perception are deemed guilty before they are tried,are reprehensible. What is shocking is that some High Court and District Bar Associations have passed resolutions that lawyers should not defend a particular person in a particular criminal case because he is alleged to be a terrorist or a person accused of a heinous crime. What is overlooked in these resolutions is that our country is not a banana republic. It is a democratic polity based on the rule of law. Denial of legal representation to persons in criminal trials would undermine the basic principles of fair trial which is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 21 to citizens and non-citizens alike.
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra in a well reasoned judgment has characterised these resolutions as wholly illegal. Justice Katju,speaking for the Bench,rightly points out that every person,however,wicked,vicious or repulsive he maybe regarded by society,has a right to be defended and correspondingly it is the duty of the lawyer to defend him. He has referred extensively inter alia to the statements and opinion of great lawyers like Thomas Erskine,Clarence Darrow and Justice Hugo Black of the US Supreme Court and concluded that these resolutions of the Bar Associations are against the great traditions of the Bar and a disgrace to the legal community. The court declared all such resolutions of the Bar Associations null and void. It warned that right minded lawyers should ignore and defy such resolutions if they want democracy and rule of law to be upheld in this country.
This stern admonition by the Supreme Court is very timely. Hereafter no Bar Association should call upon a lawyer to refuse to appear for a client in a criminal case. If it does so and the lawyer yields they would both be liable for contempt.
Swiss Bank dress code
The renowned Swiss Bank UBS suffered huge losses during the financial crisis. Understandably,it is keen to retrieve its business reputation. For that purpose,it has prescribed a strict dress code. Female employees are required to wear skin coloured lingerie and not to wear skirts that are too tight behind. There are detailed instructions about permissible hair-styles and which type of socks to wear. Again,underwear must not be visible against clothing or spilling out of clothing. The code also applies to male employees who are required to wear a straight-cut two button jacket and pants and not to wear ties that do not match the morphology of the face nor socks with cartoon motifs. All employees are urged to avoid smelling of strong scent,garlic,onion and cigarette smoke. In India,UBS would be construed as State in Article 12 of the Constitution and these dress restrictions could well be challenged as arbitrary. Swiss employees,however,do not have the luxury of judicial review and have to suffer these restrictions for the higher good of their banks reputation.
