May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of the Indian system!!!!
----- Original Message ----- From: "Chan Mahanta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka > Probe into inquiry > > Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India > > By Nitin A. Gokhale > > Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish > hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka > panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come > as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry > commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used > by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or > as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore > chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven > malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people > who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be > 'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what > exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to > appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice > Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was > regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More > important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention. > > Inquiry panels are > used by governments > to hide the truth > and protect the > culrprits. Those who > head the probes are > chosen with care > After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became > chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda > government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka > panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the > Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman > of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B > ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let > someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel, > but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew > the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always > shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he > wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a > protest on being superceded. > > Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did > not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and > therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of > alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from > Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is, > however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry > commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden > hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of > men in gowns wearing tainted hallows. > > > May 14 , 2005 > > _______________________________________________ > Assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > Mailing list FAQ: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > To unsubscribe or change options: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
