Attempt to Murder: Episode 5

This was all I remembered of the night. In fact, it was the last thing I remembered until I woke up in the hospital room when Meher was preparing to leave for the night. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't do, well, anything. Meher had also left, so I would have to wait until she returned in the morning to give any sort of impression that I was indeed awake. Recollecting the frenzy of events that had landed me in this soup kicked up a storm in my heart. I could feel a sense of repulsion and anger towards Kavya seething from every pore in my skin, but this was all dwarfed by my desperation to face Meher and let her know that I had not betrayed her trust. I tried to calm my nerves by visualizing the relief which would soon become apparent on Meher's face as she would relax her shoulders and drop the guard. Besides, the fact that Meher had been here by my bedside surely signified something. Did Kavya not say anything to her yet?

While I took the recourse of diving into the empty abyss of my mind to try and discover anything more which could assist me in determining what was going on, a flurry of whispers could be heard outside the room. I couldn't make out what was being said, but did recognise the three distinct voices that were floating in. They were Meher, Kavya and Zafar.

Ramblings: The Eye of the Storm

[June 2020]

We often proclaim that we are fortunate enough to be living in a free world. Free of the vices of colonialism, slavery, racism and discrimination. We pride ourselves in having established a new egalitarian world order that is based upon the tenets of equality and justice. We preach the ideals of righteousness and fairness, that is, the golden rule of treating others as you would expect to be treated yourself. We take comfort in the innocent belief that all persons, regardless of their secondary identifiers such as colour, caste, religion, race, gender and sex, are treated alike.

The Constitution of India, considered by many to be a holy document, prohibits discrimination on the above-mentioned grounds and guarantees the right to equality to all persons, by way of Article(s) 14 and 15. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was aimed at putting an end to the racial discrimination faced by persons of colour. Today, historical movements against discrimination, such as the anti-Apartheid and the Civil Rights movements, are commemorated as the harbingers of equality. Discrimination, apparently, has become an alien concept to us, one which died a slow death a long time ago. It is treated as nothing but another chapter in the history books.

On May 25 of this year, however, the world was jolted awake from this fantasy with the homicide of George Floyd in Minneapolis, United States. Floyd, an African-American, was murdered by police officers in an apparent case of racism and police brutality. Derek Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds while the latter kept pleading that he was unable to breathe. Recordings of the incident show by-standers trying to intervene and persuade the officers to get off him as Floyd became increasingly unresponsive. The murder sparked outrage on an unprecedented scale as anger over racial discrimination and the use of excessive force by police officers bubbled over the breaking point. The incident also resuscitated the Black Lives Matter movement, a campaign against incidents of police brutality against African-Americans.

Life's Too Short

The world is a wonder,

With so much to display.

 

The world is a wonder,

With so much to offer.

 

The world is a wonder,

With so much to conquer.

 

The world is a wonder,

With so much left to discover.

 

Life's too short, start right away!

Attempt to Murder: Episode 4

"Would you mind if I borrow your beloved for a celebratory dance?" Kavya addressed Meher, disrupting the tranquil sweeping over our table.

"Not a bit, he's all yours..." responded Meher and then quickly added, "do return him once you've taught him how to let his body loose and actually dance for a change!" 

"In that case, I'm afraid I won't ever be able to hand him back over to you. For all his other qualities, he's never been one to shake a leg with." The two of them shared a good laugh at the expense of my incapability to dance.

Attempt to Murder: Episode 3

Our party of five occupied a large, circular table at the Matchbox Lounge. I was flanked by Meher on my right and Vidhi on the left side. Kavya was seated directly opposite to me, with Zafar placed in between her and Vidhi. The evening's celebrations were kick-started with a round of drinks from the bar. We merrily drank to our collective success and raised a toast for all the good times yet to come. As is often characteristic of such gatherings, conversations soon shift from the present to reminiscences of the past. Naturally, the subject-matter of our discussion had also started to steer towards memories of the early days - from how we all met and became fast friends to all the planning, dreams, struggles, failures, fights and embarrassments that tagged along. In ten years, we had formed quite the treasure trove of memories and experiences, all of which were recollected one-by-one.

Attempt to Murder: Episode 2

So there we were, the five of us, at the Matchbox Lounge in Hauz Khas, South Delhi. It was almost 10 PM in the clock and the weekday crowd had begun to call it a day, leaving us in a relatively empty and peaceful environment to relish our recent successes. None of us had bothered to get dressed for the occasion but had put on some modest, almost business-like, attires that gave out professional and sophisticated vibes. None of us, but Kavya! Kavya had chosen to dazzle in a stunning black one-shoulder midi dress. As she approached us at the entrance of the lounge, I felt as if she was strutting out on to the red carpet. Meher whispered in my ears about how beautiful she was looking, a proper damsel.

Attempt to Murder: Episode 1

As she came close and leaned over to land a gentle kiss on my forehead, beads of perspiration trickled from her body onto mine. They rolled down my cheeks and slowly dissipated within me, symbolic of the part of her that would always reside in my heart. As she kissed my forehead, numerous strands of her thick, dark hair formed a curtain around our heads. I had often found comfort from the deepest troubles when I ran my hands slowly through her flowing hair. In fact, her hair worked such a charm on me that I would start pouring out the most mundane thoughts to her. She was the perfect listener, soaking in all the love, hate or anger that my thoughts had to offer. Whatever trials, travails or tribulations that I encountered, she was always there... just as she had been there now for the past one week, waiting patiently for me to wake up and talk to her. When she got up and prepared to leave for the night, suppressing a sob every now and then, I longed to call out and tell her how much I yearned for the warmth of her hug.

Life's A Mystery

Life's a mystery,

Puzzling you at every nook and corner.

Solve one and out pops another!

 

Life's a mystery,

Dazzling you at every curve and border,

Recover from one and there's another!

Life's a mystery,

Blinding you at every turn it has to offer,

Avoid one and run into another!

 

Life's a mystery,

Setting traps at every step in order,

Jump over one and fall straight into another!

 

But life's too short to worry, so,

Buckle up and grace every moment you have to deliver.

Tribunals in India: Questions of Independence and Constitutionality

The year 2021 has witnessed an unending battle between the judiciary and the government concerning the passing of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. The Act, which revived the exact provisions of an ordinance (also earlier struck down by SC to be unconstitutional) is known to pose a serious threat to the judicial independence of the tribunals by providing exemplary power to the Union Government regarding appointments, service conditions, salaries, etc. of members of the key tribunals. The question of the independence of the tribunals reverberates a scenario of potential misuse of the orders/judgements of these tribunals by the government, as the government remains the prime litigant in the Indian legal framework. 

In light of this, the article expounds on the evolving jurisprudence concerning the need for tribunalisation in India . It also explains the initial confusion regarding the scope of the jurisdiction of such tribunals to supersede the judicial review powers of the High Courts. The passing of the Finance Act, 2017 which positioned the Union Government to exercise sweeping powers regarding the appointment, removal, salary, etc. of the adjudicating members of these tribunals has been dealt with in the article along with the Roger Mathew judgement of the SC striking down such provisions. Further, the article also focuses on examining the constitutional validity of the tribunals formed for resolution of the matters which are out of the purview of Articles 323A and 323B.

Background – Post-1980s there has been a rapid proliferation of tribunals adjudicating matters concerning the domains which their parent statutes have provided for them. For some, it is the grundnorm, the constitution (under Articles 323A and 323B) which has enveloped the legal validity of working of these tribunals, and for others, it’s the combination of legislating power of the Parliament and the courts’ interpretation in consonance with the entries provided under Article 246, validating the establishment of these tribunals.

Be it as it may, the tribunal system in India is aimed at decongesting the astronomical number of cases, which often plague the formal court system. Rendering justice through tribunals is expeditious and less expensive when equated with pure judicial mechanisms of courts, and also allows specialized adjudicators of the concerned domain to nurture decision-making process. Although these purposes have attained a backseat due to the inconsistent constitution of these tribunals and lack of uniform guidelines in the adjudication of matters.[1]

Often, suggestions for improving the framework of the tribunals have been provided which include the establishment of a Tribunal Commission at a National level or an Appellate Tribunal Body for all domains, comprising of politically aloof members and judges. Independence of the members presiding such tribunals is the most contentious of all the questions which spawn infidelity on part of the public interest to hold good the constitutional principles of rule of law and doctrine of separation of powers.[2]

Doctrine of Merger - Kunhayammad v. State of Kerala

Introduction – The case of Kunhayammed and Others v. State of Kerala and Another[1] was concerned with a very important question of law in the realm of civil procedural laws. The subject matter of the case touched upon the doctrine of merger and res judicata in civil cases and posed a substantial question on the deeper nuances of its applicability. Before discussing the technicalities of the judgement and the arguments presented by the respective sides, let us delve briefly into the facts of the matter.

The Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 provided for the vesting in the Government of private forests in Kerala and for its assignment to agriculturists for cultivation. It was also provided that any disputes on the question(s) whether any land was a private forest or not, and, whether any private forest was vested in the Government or not, would be decided by the Forest Tribunal constituted under section 7. Appeals against any such decision could be made to the High Court under section 8-A within a period of 60 days from the date of decision.

In a particular dispute before the Forest Tribunal, Kozhikode involving 1020 acres of land, it was ruled on 11-8-1982 that the land did not vest in the Government. The State Government filed an appeal in the High Court that was subsequently dismissed on 17-12-1982. In the statute, no further mechanism of appeal or review had been provided to the parties. In such a scenario, the State chose to approach the Apex Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India by way of a Special Leave Petition. However, this petition was dismissed on 18-7-1983 by an order that only stated the following – “Special leave petition is dismissed on merits.”

A little while later, in January 1984, the Government went before the Kerala High Court and filed a review application of its earlier order. The original petitioners in this matter raised a preliminary objection concerning the maintainability of the review petition. The High Court overruled these objections petition and decided to proceed further on the merits of the subject-matter. The petitioners then sought for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, which was granted.

The two contentions that were primarily preferred by the appellants before the Supreme Court were that, first, the order passed by the Kerala High Court had merged into the order of the Supreme Court dismissing the SLP. Therefore, the consequence of such merger was that the order of the High Court had ceased to exist in the eye of law and the review application cannot be filed before the High Court. Secondly, the appellants put forth that the effect of the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the SLP was that the High Court’s decision had been affirmed. Thus, a further review petition could not be entertained.