by
P.S. Sahni
The aforementioned title sums up the
impressions after watching live telecast of the ongoing court proceedings. A
few observations are in order:
·
Judges in the classical mould were
expected not to let anyone guess which way their mind is swaying; the judges in
the instant case are no respecter of this old tradition. There appears to be an
attempt to get their ‘attendance and views’ marked at the rulers darbar as fast
as possible.
·
The old men’s club of senior advocates
are given humungous time compared to senior women lawyers as also a senior
advocate who self-confessedly belongs to the LGBT community. Why should more
time be granted for arguments to male advocates with advanced age?
·
The Muslim lawyers from Kashmir were
given very little time with a young lawyer being egged on to finish his short
submissions fast; even as 20 minutes of court’s time was wasted while judges
and Mr. Rajeev Dhavan talked about personal matters relating to libraries.
·
Two senior advocates, Kapil Sibal and
Rajeev Dhavan were seen laughing and talking while a Kashmiri lawyer was arguing.
·
The comment made by the Attorney General
for India that in case of a medical emergency, often a limb is amputated to
preserve a life, alludes to Article 370 as a leg to be amputated. If this was
an emergency treatment by rulers why was the aftercare of Kashmir needed in an
ICU not provided for for full 4 years; this only entailed an immediate stay on the
disintegration of J&K. In any case the analogy of limb vis-à-vis Kashmir is
no different from that of a Shudra being compared to leg. It is Brahminical
sophistry as old as Manusmriti.
·
Let us accept that Kashmir is the heart
and brain of India (both literally and metaphorically) and the whole of India
is represented by two arms, two legs, full abdomen and pelvis – to wit the
major part of the body. In that situation would we dare cut the heart and
brain? Then India itself would have died. In that situation then the Attorney
General would have advocated a bypass surgery of heart and brain and not
amputation of heart and brain solely for the selfish purpose that India
survives.
·
The Attorney General’s comment merits
outright condemnation since amputation for limbs was done to save lives about a
100 years back. Presently even in a malignant tumor of the leg of a child
salvage surgery is done to preserve the limb even as the tumor mass is locally
removed. Limb transplants from donor to recipient is also an alternative. Not
just the Indian government but also the President of India failed to prevent
the limb from being amputated. The Presidential Orders to the effect then were
a fraud on the Constitution. If Mr. Venkataramani were to do a simple Google
search with the words typed as ‘limbs salvage surgery’ he will get dozens of
references on limbs salvage surgery. In fact if a student appearing for M.S.
(Orthopaedic Surgery) were to give the answer as provided for by the Attorney
General for India that student would never clear the M.S. examination. Clearly
the Attorney General is spreading obscurantist ideas about surgery which has
the mischief to mislead a generation of doctors.
·
The fact that the Supreme Court of India
took up the Kashmir petitions which required immediate emergency treatment
after 4 years is suspect. The Supreme Court should have immediately heard the
petitions and given a stay on the Presidential Orders of 05.08.2019 & 06.08.2019
and the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act of 2019.
·
Remember the obiter dicta of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul then that if need be they
can “turn the clock back”. Is the dream all but over?
·
Being dimwitted may I ask why we are
going further with the formalities of the court proceedings when the judges
have already opened their mind?
·
Though one does not expect justice from
bourgeois institutions could one hope that the judiciary like the corporate
press does not get labelled ‘godi’ judiciary?
·
The rulers of India have apparently
forgotten the most important lesson from Ramayan even as they are building a
Ram Temple in Ayodhya viz:
“रघुकुल
रीत
सदा
चली
आई,
प्राण
जाए
पर
वचन
न
जाई”
(Raghukul’s custom has always been
followed;
Life may extinguish but promise will not)
Come
what may the promise made by the Indian State to the people of Kashmir in 1947
should never be renegaded – now or ever.
P.S. Sahni
[P.S.
Sahni is a qualified orthopaedic surgeon & a member of PIL Watch Group.]
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