Gourav Vijay no more

Gourav Vijay

By Nebil Nizar


Thiruvalla: Taking into grief the students and faculty of Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, Gourav Vijay, a final year student passed away.

A very good mooter and bright academic student, Gourav, along with poetry, was also active in Politics. Being a very acceptable and friendly person, he represented his class in the College Union last year.

 'He was an excellent friend and a good human being. Our friendship was no more than acquaintanceship until a few months back, we then became thick friends.No person can ever forget him', remembers his friend and classmate Hashir Sharaf. His friend and former roommate Rahul V.Iremembers him as a human with strong principles and ideologies. He added, I learnt a lot of things from him. He loved being addressed as comrade. His senior at college and close friend Raveena Naaz says, 'It is he who said to me that life is not that silly. I had a lot of good moments with him. His poems still linger in my ears.'

Gourav is the son of late Judicial Officer Vijayakumar and Komala Kumari, now a court officer. He also has a brother named Vivek Kumar. He is also a close relative of Prof. Suhrut  Kumar.

Gourav's body will be cremated on Thursday, 24th January 2013 at 03:00pm at Podiyadi near from here.

Condolence messages maybe sent to  Thundiyil House, Nedumpuram P.O, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. Prof. Suhrut Kumar may be contacted at 09446981571.



(Originally published at http://glctvpmlaw.blogspot.in/2013/01/gourav-vijay-no-more.html)

Prof. Rajesh Rajagopal passed away

Prof. Rajesh Rajagopal
Photo: Government Law College Ernakulam

By Nebil Nizar

Kollam: Celebrated teacher of Law at His Highness Maharajah's Government Law College Ernakulam, Prof. Rajesh Rajagopal, aged 42, passed away at his residence in Cochin on Sunday, 13th January 2013 following a cardiac arrest.

A native of Kollam, Professor Rajesh earned his undergraduate law degree from Kerala Law Academy Law College, University of Kerala, and LL.M in Criminal Law from Cochin University of Science and Technology, with Gold medal. 

Rajesh was a very active leftist thinker during his student days. He belonged to the early batch of mooters of the very prestigious Kerala Law Academy Moot Court Society.

He practiced Law at Kollam District Court for several years. His career as a Law teacher began at Government Law College Calicut. He was then transferred to Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram. His last posting was at Government Law College Ernakulam.

Prof. Manoj Krishna, his Professor, friend and later colleague, remembers Rajesh as a very good friend. He added 'Rajesh was a good teacher. His analytical skills were very popular and second to none. As a teacher, he went along with the students and supported them in every curricular and extra curricular activities. He was a real asset to the teaching fraternity.'.

Niaz Salim, Public Prosecutor of Indian Railways, remember their association at college days. He said 'Rajesh was my senior at college, but seniority in age never acted as a barrier to our friendship. We always stayed in constant touch all this years. He was a sincere, down to earth intellectual who always helped others in need'.

His former student at Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, Parvathi Janaki, speaking to us said 'He played a huge role in shaping my career. I remember some valuable moments with him during moot court time. His contributions must be really appreciated. He was a real visionary and guru.'

Prof. Rajesh is the son of Dr.V.K Vijayalakshmi and late Advocate-Politician N. Rajagopal. He is survived by wife Bindu V (Engineer, BSNL) and son Arjun Rajagopal. Condolence messages may be sent to Dr. Vijayalakshmi, Lakshmi Nivas, Kankathumukku, Thirumullavaram P.O, Kollam- 691012, Kerala.



(Originally published at http://glctvpmlaw.blogspot.in/2013/01/prof-rajesh-rajagopal-no-more.html)

Post Retirement job mania

Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

By Nebil Nizar


The Indian Express news story dated July 30, 2012 exposed a shocking fact, out of 21 Judges retired from the Supreme Court since January 2008, 18 are granted post retirement jobs by government. In many cases, judges accepted post-retirement appointments much before they formally demitted office.

Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Dr. B.R Ambedkar spoke the following words in Constituent Assembly: ‘There is no difference of opinion in the House that our Judiciary must be both independent of the executive and must also be competent in itself. And the question is how these objects can be secured’. The primary talk on the independence of Judiciary is based on the doctrine of separation of powers.

Judiciary acts as a watchdog by ensuring that the other two organs of the Government function within the limits set by the Constitution of India. If the Judiciary is not independent then the other organs will pressurize the Judiciary to interpret the constitution according to them. It is also expected out of Judiciary to deliver judicial justice and not committed justice.

At present, the Constitution provides a lot of provisions for the independence of Judiciary. Art 124(2) and Art 217 (1) speaks about the retirement ages of Supreme Court and High Court Judges, respectively. They can be removed from the office only by an Impeachment in the Parliament on the grounds of proven misbehavior or incapacity. Art 121 and Art 211 speaks about the restriction to speak on the conduct of a Judge of Supreme Court or High Court  on the floor of Parliament and state legislature, respectively. Art 129 and  Art 215 deals with contempt power of Supreme Court and High Court, respectively.

In the recent times, reports of billion dollar worth scams are coming out. Let us take 2G Spectrum scam for example, 1.76 lakh crore is the estimated loss by Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The then Union Cabinet Minister and many senior bureaucrats are now in Jail. The media and section of society is accusing another serving Cabinet minister in the fraud. Maybe he is innocent. A basic postulate of the rule of law is that ‘justice should not only be done but it must also seen to be done’.  Can Justice be ‘seen to be done’ if the same Judge who gave clean chit to this minister is tomorrow accepting a post retirement benefit from the Government?

If a tendency to appease the government arises, then the entire Justice system would collapse. It will surely undermine ‘public confidence’ in the administration of justice.

Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

The four options in front of us to solve this issue are (i) Appoint Judges for Life as like in the United States. (ii) Retirement age shall be increased to 70 for both High Court and Supreme Court Judges. (iii) Name of the Judge for post-retirement jobs should be suggested by a Panel headed by Chief Justice of Supreme Court/ High Court with Law Minister, Opposition leaders as members. (iv)125th Report of Law Commission of India speaks about introducing shift system in Courts and re-employing retired Judges. This may also be considered.

The gravity of the situation is so heavy that the ‘academia’ must urgently moot this and find a solution for the same and forward it to all the three branches of government.


(Originally published at http://glctvpmlaw.blogspot.in/2013/01/post-retirement-job-mania.html)

News Stories- Castration as punishment

News story about my interview with Dr. Justice (Rtd) V. R. Krishna Iyer carried by Oman based 'Oman Observer' in today's newspaper. 
See Page 5 at http://main.omanobserver.om/files/pdf/2013/1/3/OmanObserver_03-1-13.pdf

News story about my blog interview with Dr. Justice (Retd.) V. R. Krishna Iyer carried by UAE based media Giant 'Gulf Today' in their website.
Read at http://gulftoday.ae/portal/08bfb327-261e-4b9c-a416-f7018a27a1cf.aspx

(Full text of the interview may be accessed at http://www.nebilthinks.blogspot.in/2013/10/modern-system-of-young-women-dressed-in.html)