The Hindu : Judge condemns abuse of power for political gain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 29, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Judge condemns abuse of power for political gain

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI DEC. 28. Executive excesses or legislative aberrations that infringe upon the rights of citizens need to be taken up by courts, A.R. Lakshmanan, judge, Supreme Court, said today.

The legislature, the executive and the judiciary were expected to respect the Constitution. Even instruments of the Government — Parliament and police — could not ignore it. ``No one can claim to be above the law,'' he said at the 22nd National Annual Intellectuals' Conference here.

Mr. Justice Lakshmanan condemned abuse of power by members of the executive and the police for political gain. All too often, cases were being withdrawn against the powerful and the influential because of the misuse of power vested in these authorities. He called upon the courts to ``protect and preserve the administration of criminal justice against possible misuse and abuse of authority.''

Political interference in police administration, especially in appointments, promotions, punishments, transfers and assignments, injured the efficiency of the force. Further, its image was tarnished by complaints of excesses to extract information from the accused. This was impermissible and offensive to the liberty guaranteed under the Constitution, said Mr. Justice Lakshmanan.

The growing divide between the rich and the poor in the country was unfortunate, said M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India. Of more than 4,300 cities, only 271 had any access to sanitary facilities.

Mr. Venkatachaliah was a recipient of the `Great Son of the Soil' awarded by the All-India Conference of Intellectuals.

Winners of this award, which recognises the contributions of prominent personalities in State administration, health, media, environmental protection and social activism, include O.P Verma, Governor of Punjab; Anshuman Singh, former Governor of Rajasthan; K. Parasaran, senior advocate; S.S. Badrinath, chairman and managing director, Sankara Nethralaya; Prathap C. Reddy, chairman, Apollo group; N. Mahalingam, chairman, Sakthi group; Cho Ramaswami, Editor, Thuglak; T. Ramasami, Director, Central Leather and Research Institute; K. Gurumurthi, Director, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding; V.R. Venkataachalam, Chancellor, R.S. Medical College and Research Institute, and Sushil Khanna, social activist.

The `Great Daughter of the Soil' was awarded to Ranjana Kumar, Chairperson and Managing director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Mr. Parasaran said India was becoming a nation of `fault finders.' All ills of the nation could not be attributed to politicians. Citizens who elected them to power were also to blame for the problems.

Suraj Bhan, former Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, said the Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, by his recent statement calling all politicians a cancer, had crossed the `Lakshman Rekha' of constitutional authority.

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