Wordsmiths & Newsplumbers

BY R.K.MISRA In a rare show of solidarity over the transfer of Justice Akil Kureshi to Bombay High Court, the Bar in the Western India state of Gujarat went on strike and relented only after a meeting with Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi. Rarely has the transfer of a High Court judge created the sort of upsurge in the   legal fraternity in Gujarat as was witnessed   when Justice Akil Kureshi was moved to Bombay. The Bar struck work, and in one voice urged the apex court to reconsider it’s decision. On October 29,the supreme Court   Collegium had recommended transfer of justice Kureshi, the second most senior judge of the Gujarat High Court to the Bombay High Court. It also cleared the elevation of Gujarat High Court chief justice R.Subhash Reddy as a Supreme Court judge. Ideally, after justice   Reddy’s promotion, Justice Kureshi should have been made acting chief justice. But on November 1, the Centre issued a notification appointing Justice A. Dave to this post an

BY R.K.MISRA The law is an ass unless you propose to ride it. Then it bucks you to spread-eagled state ! Is the search for truth in the quest for justice ,a matter of just right or wrong, a matter of bland rules and   just plain guided legality or does one need to break through the straight-jacket ,at times, to dispense it ? The question brooks an answer. Here’s a case study. The Supreme Court of India recently pulled up the Gujarat High Court for acting like “a trial court” in deciding a bail application and for disclosing the victim’s identity. The case related to sexual assault on a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The High Court had ordered lie-detector, brain-mapping and narco-analysis tests on the accused person for deciding the bail application. And it also ordered that the same tests be conducted on the victim’s family members. They appealed in the Supreme Court against this order. The apex court bench of Justi