NEW DELHI: From scams in coal, cricket to CBI, the Supreme Court’s orders and observations in dealing with these cases in 2014 dealt a heavy blow to the credibility of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government indirectly helping the Narendra Modi-led BJP to stage a stunning victory in the general elections.
In maintaining the supremacy of the rule of law, the apex court made scathing remarks against the government in allotment of coal blocks since 1993 without following any rules whatsoever before cancelling all the 214 allocations.
Just two years ago, the court had taken a similar approach while scrutinizing distribution of 2G spectrum to cellphone service providers and cancelled all allocations while observing that auction of natural resources was the most transparent method for dispensing them and was the most effective in maximizing revenue for the exchequer.
Like coal, management of cricket by BCCI came under the scanner of the apex court after Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee gave a highly critical report indicting cricket board president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan in the betting scandal that rocked the cash-rich IPL T20 tournament. The Committee also declared that Meiyappan was an official of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team, owned by Srinivasan controlled India Cements.
The year 2014 witnessed Supreme Court keeping a close tab on government decisions regarding allocation of natural resources, its promise of bringing back black money, appointments in CBI and anti-corruption watchdog CVC while also taking pains to clean the game of cricket mired in betting and spot fixing.
The Supreme Court continued to push the Centre to take effective steps to bring back black money stashed by Indian citizens in overseas banks and refused to review its decision to appoint SIT to look in to all such cases. It forced the Centre to make public more names of those who have unaccounted money in foreign banks.
Sahara India Parivar, the largest unlisted company of the country, went through the most difficult time of its life as its chief and promoter Subrata Roy was arrested on the direction of the Supreme Court for not refunding investors’ money. Roy, who was arrested on February 26, continues to be in jail since then as the group struggles to raise Rs 10,000 crore to get its chief out of prison.
Another person who faced Supreme Court’s wrath throughout the year was BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan whose future as a cricket administrator and as an owner of a IPL franchise is still precarious and will be decided only next year.
Despite Srinivasan personally getting a clean chit on betting and spot fixing by Justice Mudgal Committee, the apex court raised serious questions on the conflict of interest arising out of Srinivasan’s ownership of CSK while presiding over the post of BCCI president.
Both Srinivasan and Roy wait with bated breath for the new year to bring some good news to them and lift the clouds of uncertainty hanging over their future.
The biggest embarrassment that the Supreme Court inflicted was on former CBI director Ranjit Sinha who was asked to step aside from the 2G and coal allocation scam probes after the apex court found that allegations against him of protecting some high-profile accused is prima facie correct. The court ordered him to recuse himself from cases days before his retirement.
The apex court, which had described CBI as a caged parrot speaking in its master’s (Centre) voice passed a slew of orders to make the premier agency free from the clutches of government. It ruled that the agency would not have to take prior approval of government before probing and prosecuting top bureaucrats in court-monitored cases. It also gave CBI director more say in appointment of people in the agency.
In landmark verdicts to ensure protection of fundamental rights of prisoners and neglected citizens of society, the Supreme Court gave a series of directions. It provided recognition to the transgender as third category of gender and directed the government to treat them as OBC for giving reservation in government jobs.
The apex court also ruled that delay in deciding a condemned prisoner’s mercy plea by government can be a ground to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. It also said that condemned prisoners must not be put in solitary confinement and it can be done only after he or she has exhausted all legal options including the plea for mercy.
The apex court also ruled that review plea of death convicts must be heard in open court by at least a three judge bench.
Bringing succor to thousands of indigent prisoners languishing in jails for their inability to pay sureties and bail bonds, the apex court ordered release of all under-trial prisoners who spent half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offences they are charged with. It ordered lower judicial officers to visit each jail under their jurisdiction to find out and release such prisoners immediately and set a deadline of December 31 to finish the task.
The court also took on itself the task to monitor relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir and passed a slew of directions to the state and central government to bring life back to normalcy. It also prod the Centre to take urgent steps for cleaning the Ganga and directed the National Green Tribunal to take stringent action against polluting industrial units situated on the river bank.
TOI | Dec 29, 2014
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