Indeed, public scrutiny is desirable for healthy functioning of judiciary itself.
I believe that open criticism of any institution is necessary in a democracy, to safeguard the constitutional order.
The secreting of wealth in tax havens is often justified as 'legitimate tax planning.'
PM Narendra Modi had promised to bring back black money, which he said could put Rs 15 lakh in each of our pockets. If he wants to repair his damaged credibility in this regard, we need to see swift and visible action on the Panama Papers.
If only Rs.10 lakhs on an average were given to each of the less than 1 million villages in the country for rainwater harvesting on the lines pioneered by the Tarun Bharat Sangh in Rajasthan, much of the agricultural land in the country could be irrigated.
Unless there is a strong movement of citizens, who are the consumers of justice, we are hardly likely to see any serious judicial reforms in this country.
If public servants are freely allowed to take up lucrative post retirement jobs with companies to whom they have awarded contracts while they were in government, it would open up an easy way for companies to bribe public servants by offering them lucrative post retirement jobs.
The retention of the power to punish for contempt for acts of speech alone, which do not directly interfere with the administration of justice, has removed the last shred of accountability of the higher judiciary in the country.
Ultimately, it is only a powerful civil society movement which can break the vicious cycle of corruption in any society.
The Supreme Court's non-transparent attitude on the disclosure of assets is in line with the judiciary's steadfast refusal to allow any transparency in the matter of appointment of judges, or for that matter, in the judiciary as a whole.
With the passing away of Mr Tarkunde, India has lost the father of the Civil Liberties movement in the country.
Though all soft drinks are acidic, dark ones like Coke and Pepsi are the most acidic and it has been found that it takes 32 glasses of high PH alkaline water to neutralize a glass of cola. So acidic are some of these drinks that they can be and are often used to clean corrosion of car battery terminals, and can even be used to clean toilet bowls.
When the entire administration of the state connives with the perpetrators of violence to thwart justice at every step, clearly there is no rule of law in that state.
The sword of contempt has kept the judiciary away from searching public scrutiny, particularly within the mainstream media. The judiciary is obviously happy to live with this situation as well.
For any unbiased and realistic enquiry against judges, one needs a full time body, independent of the government as well as of the judiciary, with an investigative machinery under its control, through which it can get complaints investigated.
It is a fundamental principle that every institution must be accountable to an authority which is independent of that institution. Yet somehow, the judiciary has propagated a view that the judiciary can only be accountable to itself.
The Ramaswami case and subsequent attempts to impeach judges have demonstrated the total impracticality of that instrument to discipline judges.
Gujarat, which Modi has made the laboratory of Hindutva, is the leading edge of the onslaught of communal fascism in this country.
It is true that there have been excesses of judicial activism.
In no civilised country is the head of the government immune from corruption investigation.
