|
Mathews J.
Nedumpara
President
|
Mrs. Rohini
M. Amin
Vice
President
Mumbai
|
Ms. Sophia
Pinto Vice President
Bangalore
|
Sandeep Kumar
Vice President Delhi
|
A. C. Philip
Vice
president, Cochin
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Navaneetha Krishnan T
General
Secretary
|
25th May, 2015
AN OPEN LETTER
To
Hon'ble Chief Justice of India,
Supreme
Court of India,
Tilak
Marg,
New
Delhi 110 001
AND
His
Lordship’s companion Judges
Members
of Parliament
Members
of Press
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIPS,
|
Sub:
|
Video-recording of
proceedings of the Five-Judge Constitution Bench hearing the NJAC case, nay,
or the Nine or Eleven Judge Constitution Bench which might be constituted to
hear the said case.
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
1. I address Your Lordships with a heavy heart. I, as a lawyer of no consequence representing
the sons of lesser Gods, the first generation lawyers who hail from humble
backgrounds, who in relative terms suffer great disadvantage in climbing up the
ladder of legal profession, for the said noble profession has long been one meant
for those who have born with a silver spoon in their mouth, have been
campaigning for greater transparency and reforms in the judiciary for the last few
years. Our campaign has till date been a
cry in the wilderness, but that in no way could douse our spirit. For us, the cause gives the courage and
conviction and gives us the confidence that the goal of a just and fair system
of administration of justice will be achieved.
2. We believe that video-recording of Court proceedings
and live telecast thereof, nay, hearings of all important issues, as the
hearing of the constitutional validity of the Constitution
(Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointment
Commission Act, 2014 before the Five-Judge Constitution Bench or the Nine of
Eleven Judge Constitution Bench which might be constituted, will alone bring in
real revolution in making the system of administration of justice far fairer
than what it is today and will instill far greater confidence of the public in
the institution of judiciary.
3. We met Hon'ble Shri Justice R.M. Lodha, the then Chief
Justice of India, a learned, erudite and judicious soul, who in principle was
pleased to agree to our request for video-recording of Court proceedings. Legendary Justice Krishna Iyer, the vocal
advocate of transparency in judiciary, is the motivation and unstinted force
behind us. Hon'ble Shri Justice Lodha,
while agreeing with the concept of video-recording of Court proceedings, was
kind enough to indicate that the higher judiciary still constitutes to be
conservative, yet to come out of the shackles of the feudal mindset and
traditions, and promised to seek the support of Brother Judges. The hearing of the NJAC case, an issue in
which millions of ordinary citizens, lawyers, law students, academicians,
politicians, nay, the public at large, are keenly interested, is conducted in
Court Room No.4 of this Hon'ble Court which could hardly accommodate 200
people. Since the hearing of the said
case started, many lawyers who are part of the campaign for judicial
transparency and others are camping in Delhi to hear the arguments and waiting
for an opportunity to address the Hon'ble Court. An entry to the packed Court Room and to find
a place to sit is a near impossibility.
The members of the press are forced to crawl up in the seats between the
dais and the desk from where the lawyers address the Court.
4. Technology has advanced so much. All Courts in India are connected
electronically. Video-recording and live
telecast of Court proceedings offer no difficulty, and hardly involve any extra
expenditure. In the rest of the world,
UK, USA, Australia, Sri Lanka, Singapore et al, Court proceedings are video
recorded. Ordinary citizen is baffled at
the opposition, though not expressed in so many words, which some quarters
harbour, for video-recording and telecast of Court proceedings. All are expected to wholeheartedly support
it, for, the Supreme Court is a Court of record and there cannot be a better
mechanism for recording proceedings than video-recording. Right to information is held to be an
essential facet of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
5. Shri Deepak Anand, Advocate, made a request to the
Constitution Bench that the proceedings of the NJAC case be video-recorded,
though it was a mere oral submission.
The Constitution Bench has been hearing the case since 15th
April, 2015. The defence of the NJAC Act
by the learned Attorney General, which the undersigned had the good fortune to
listen, is one which, if video-recorded, will be remembered as one of the
greatest arguments in the legal history.
We worship the octogenarian senior lawyers for their great erudition,
wisdom and knowledge as also for their big devotion for the profession of
advocacy which, to them, is a mission.
At the same time, the young generation also ought to be heard; they are
also allowed to be spoken.
Video-recording of Court proceedings will mean fair treatment of
lawyers, irrespective of their age and standing.
6. Before
I part with, I can appeal to the learned senior lawyers that our Supreme Court
is supreme; its traditions are great; it is an institution which has enjoyed
the confidence of the people, but to maintain that foundation strong as ever
before, they should support the cause of greater transparency; they must come
forward openly in support of video-recording of Court proceedings. To ignore the seismic pressure which has been
built up for many an injustice, which the junior section of the Bar and the
poor litigant are made to bear, may mean an earthquake of high density which
legendary Justice Krishna Iyer forewarned by saying: “A day will come ……………………….”
7. I
part with in the unstinted hope that this letter at the hands of a humble man
of no consequence for the cause of billions of countrymen will not go unnoticed
and Your Lordships will introduce/order video-recording of all important Court
proceedings and in particular the proceedings of the NJAC case.
For
which act of kindness, I shall ever remain obliged.
With
most respectful regards,
Yours sincerely,
(Mathews J. Nedumpara)
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