The Hindenburg report and its hurtling impact on Adani’s wealth quickly outshadowed the Bombay High Court’s judgement of January 20, 2023, setting aside the write-down of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds of Yes Bank Ltd for ₹ 8415 crores. This must have cheered the institutional and retail investors in this instrument of not only Yes Bank, but also in the erstwhile Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) which was merged with DBS Bank in December 2020, which also suffered similar write- downs. These capital ranking instruments have been introduced not in India alone. Reserve Bank of India has followed globally accepted Basel norms of Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in which it is a representative from India. These norms are to be followed while permitting banks to raise capital through such instruments. Therefore, has the High Court transgressed into the domain of a global standard setter by quashing the basic features of AT1 bonds? To our relief, a closer reading of the judgement gives “No” as the answer. The absence of specific clause in the Scheme of Reconstruction of Yes Bank that Administrator appointed for reconstruction can write down capital ranking loss absorption risk carrying instruments and consequent overreach of authority by the administrator, (Shri Prashant Kumar, who was appointed by RBI as the CEO to oversee the reconstruction) are the problems highlighted by the judgement of the two judges Acting Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice S.M. Modak. Flowing from this, it is a moot question whether the aggrieved investors in LVBs’ capital ranking bonds will get similar relief, as there appear to be similar procedural inconsistencies.A quick look at some of the characteristics of capital ranking instruments of banks. The characteristics of these instruments and permitted modes of issuance are delineated in RBI’s Master Circular RBI/2022-23/12 of 1st April 2022 (updated version of their 2015 Master Circular) on Basel 3 Capital Regulations. The AT1 Bonds in question are issued as Perpetual Debt Instruments (PDI). They have no defined maturity period. However, the issuing bank can call back the bonds after a minimum of five years after obtaining RBI’s permission. These bonds carry “loss absorption” features as a going concern concept. Tier 2 bonds carry loss absorption features under “gone concern” concept. Loss risk crystallizes under “gone concern” only when the entity is wound up, as in LVB’s case. When the entity continues to thrive on a reconstruction plan after triggering non-viability concerns as in the case of Yes Bank, loss risk in AT1 instruments crystallize, but the entity continues to exist as a “going concern”. Annexure 4 Para 1.10 carries these features. The higher risk in such instruments carrying loss absorption features is reflected by the higher return (interest rate) they carry vis-à-vis ordinary bonds or fixed deposits. Perhaps, the investors’ avarice has made them overlook these concerns or lower their guard on diligence and prudence.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/yes_bank_768x500_368ef61aa6.jpeg" alt="yes-bank-768x500.jpeg">Annexure 4 Para 1.14 (i) states that the claims of investors in AT1 instruments shall rank superior to the claims of equity investors. As such, should not the equity shares be written down before the investments of AT1 holders are written down? Annexure 16 of the same circular deals exclusively on the loss absorption triggers. Para 2.3 of this Annexure clearly states that the write-down of any Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Capital shall not be required before a write-down of any AT1 capital instrument. Therefore, there is no inconsistency in writing down AT1 capital while equity share capital remains on the balance sheet. For clarity, the Basel Committee norms on Bank’s Capital Adequacy, which RBI has prescribed for all banks operating in India, mandates that all banks maintain a minimum capital under three heads, CET1, AT1 and T2 as a percentage of their risk-weighted assets, which together make up 9% as minimum regulatory capital.<figure class="table" style="width:770px;"><table style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-collapse:collapse;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:500;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:28px;margin:0px 0px 2rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><tbody style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Description</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Limit</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Common Equity Tier 1</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Minimum 5.50%</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">AT1 Capital</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Maximum 1.50%</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Tier 2 Capital</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;">Maximum 2.00%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>A plea from the retail investors to the Court was that these instruments with higher inherent risks were only for institutional investors and not the uninformed ones like them. Annexure 4 Para 1.22 of the circular permits banks to issue such bonds to retail investors. The Court also did not find merit in the argument.A case of mis-selling was also attempted by the retail investors. Similar lines of defence were taken by many aggrieved constituents when they lost significantly through derivative trades whose cash flows and risk profiles had not been correctly understood by many of them. All cases emanating from derivative disasters, beginning from Orange County abroad to Wockhardt back home, have not succeeded on the grounds of mis-selling or ignorance of the contract.RBI and Yes Bank have stated that they would go on appeal to the Supreme Court. All parties concerned will watch whether the Supreme Court will revisit the issue of altering the basic characteristics of globally accepted norms on capital ranking instruments or confine its scrutiny to the issue of overreach emanating from a procedural lacuna. If the High Court’s decision is upheld, Yes Bank’s CET1 capital will take a hit by 3% of risk weighted assets while it could be fully offset up to 1.50% under AT1 capital and, if room exists, by another 1.50% under Tier 2 also, as explained in table above. Therefore, there could not be much financial impact on the business model of Yes Bank, which has made a turnaround.

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The Hindenburg report and its hurtling impact on Adani’s wealth quickly outshadowed the Bombay High Court’s judgement of January 20, 2023, setting aside the write-down of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds of Yes Bank Ltd for ₹ 8415 crores. 

Yes and No in YES BANK Bonds

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Ear to the Ground is a special feature by The AIDEM that reports on offbeat field reports on people’s lives and livelihood issues.

Homeless in Prime Minister’s Varanasi…

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So what are the implications of the January 2, 2023 Supreme Court verdict on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s November 8, 2016 enforcement of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes ? Indeed, the five-judge constitutional bench of the Apex Court upheld the controversial decision with a 4:1 verdict.

Demonetisation, Supreme Court order and unanswered Questions

In 2022, legal and political observers witnessed a spate of bizarre pronouncements from ‘learned judges’ at various levels of the judiciary. Taken together, these statements demonstrated and underscored how these judges were drifting away from not only basic social sense and sensibility but also the primary parameters of the official code of conduct, law and rationality. In their urge to express emotions and personal opinions while interpreting the laws, they ended up creating major controversies. Here are some instances listed by The AIDEM Delhi Bureau:November 23, 2022: A live stream from the Patna High Court exposed the extent of casteism in the judiciary. The video showed a judge mocking reservations while questioning a district Land Acquisition Officer, Arvind Kumar Bharti. After adjourning the case to grant time to the parties to file their affidavits, Justice Sandeep Kumar was heard saying, “Bharti ji, reservation par aaye the naukri me kya? (Bhartiji, Did you get you job through reservation?)”. As Bharti replied in the affirmative, a lawyer in the courtroom commented, “Ab to huzoor samajhiyega baat (now your lordship will understand the matter).” Another lawyer and then the judge could be seen making a few more comments targeting Bharti and his caste amid peals of laughter.August 12, 2022: A Kozhikode District Sessions Judge S Krishna Kumar created a major controversy while hearing a bail application in a case under Section 354 (A) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. Granting anticipatory bail to writer and social activist Civic Chandran in the sexual harassment case, the judge said: “In order to attract Section 354 A (sexual harassment), there must be physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures. There must be a demand or request for sexual favours. There must be a sexually coloured remark. The photographs produced with the anticipatory bail application by the accused reveal that the complainant herself is wearing dresses which are sexually provocative. Section 354 A will not prima facie stand against the accused.”August 11, 2022: Speaking at an event on challenges faced by women in the areas of science, technology, mathematics and business, Pratiba M. Singh, a Delhi High Court judge, described Indian women as “blessed” because scriptures like Manusmriti give a “very respectable position” to them. The comments drew fierce criticism from women’s rights groups. In a statement, the National Federation of Indian Women, said: “Justice Singh seems woefully ignorant of the pathetic condition of women at large, particularly of women from historically marginalised communities, not just in the Indian subcontinent but across the globe.”June 17, 2022: A Karnataka High Court judge observed in a bail order that it was “unbecoming of a woman to fall asleep after rape”. Justice Krishna Dixit was hearing a case relating to the rape of a 42-year-old Human Resources manager, who was said to have fallen asleep after the rape. “The explanation offered by the complainant _ that after the perpetration of the act she was tired and fell asleep _ is unbecoming of an Indian woman; that is not the way our women react when they are ravished,” the judge had observed. However, following a furore, the judge expunged his controversial remarks.May 25, 2022: The Karnataka High Court gently urged love-struck young people to take parents into confidence while choosing their life partners, failing which they could face karmic consequences. “It is high time for the children to know that the life consists of reaction, resound and reflection. What they are doing to their parents today, they would get back exactly tomorrow,” the Court said in its order, while hearing a habeas corpus petition moved by a woman’s father after she eloped with her boyfriend and married him. Quoting the Manusmriti, the court order said, “Even according to Manusmriti, no person can repay his parents even in 100 years for all the troubles that they go through to give birth to him/her and raise him/her to adulthood. Therefore, always try to do whatever pleases your parents and your teachers, because only then does any religious worship done by you will bear some fruit.”May 11, 2022: In the Delhi High Court’s split verdict on marital rape, one of the two judges stated that “sex between a wife and a husband is…sacred”. While he said “legitimate expectation of sex” is an “inexorable” aspect of marriage, the other said the “right to withdraw consent at any given point in time forms the core of woman’s right to life and liberty.” The bench, however, held that the case raises a “substantial question of law” which requires a decision from the apex court. Under section 375 of the IPC, sexual acts by a man with his wife who is not a minor, is not considered rape.March 26, 2022: A Delhi High Court bench while hearing a plea to initiate criminal proceedings against Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Parvesh Verma for “hate speech” during 2020 Delhi riots, said: “If you’re saying something with a smile, then there is no criminality, if you’re saying something offensive, then definitely [there is criminality]. You have to check and balance. Otherwise, I think 1,000 FIRs may be lodged against all politicians during elections.”The case involved speeches by the two BJP leaders during the anti-CAA movement and the Delhi riots that ensued. Thakur had said, “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko (Kill the traitors)”. In his speech, Parvesh Verma had told a rally that the “lakhs of protestors” who have gathered at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh during the anti-CAA movement would enter their homes to “rape their sisters and daughters and kill them”.February 2022: Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Bombay High Court resigned after a series of controversial judgements regarding the interpretation of what constitutes a ‘sexual assault’ under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. She was denied an extension of tenure as additional judge and also an appointment as a permanent judge of the High Court. In a slew of judgments passed in January and February 2021, the judge had interpreted the law in such a way that there has to be ‘skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent’ in case of sexual assault against a minor and that ‘holding hands of a minor girl and opening of zip of his pants’ do not fall under the definition of ‘sexual assault’ under the Act.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Report: The AIDEM Delhi Bureau<hr><h4 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Read this article in<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/ml-seven-bizarre-things-that-judges-told-us-in-2022/">Malayalam</a>,<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/ta-seven-bizarre-things-that-judges-told-us-in-2022/">Tamil</a>or<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/hi-seven-bizarre-things-that-judges-told-us-in-2022">Hindi</a></h4>

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In 2022, legal and political observers witnessed a spate of bizarre pronouncements from ‘learned judges’ at various levels of the judiciary. 

Manusmirti, Karma, Casteism, Sexism: Seven Bizarre things that Judges told us in 2022

Geethanandan M, a prominent Dalit rights activist in Kerala, explains why the Supreme Court verdict on the Economically Weaker Section quota raises many questions of constitutional validity.The AIDEM explainer on the Supreme Court Verdict on reserving a quota for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Listen to this article in English (4 minutes)<span class="mejs-offscreen" 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src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_1_1024x576_070945ef92.jpg" alt="EWS-1-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_2_Re_edited_1024x576_8d35761ea3.jpg" alt="EWS-2-Re-edited-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_3_1024x576_2317d83e08.jpg" alt="EWS-3-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_4_1024x576_218e1e5ec0.jpg" alt="EWS-4-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_5_1024x576_587d3b5236.jpg" alt="EWS-5-1024x576.jpg"> <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_6_1024x576_d4ae7d00cf.jpg" alt="EWS-6-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_7_1024x576_4e1cec9516.jpg" alt="EWS-7-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_8_1024x576_7e1f832ee0.jpg" alt="EWS-8-1024x576.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/EWS_9_1024x576_ed3436ed9e.jpg" alt="EWS-9-1024x576.jpg"><img 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Geethanandan M, a prominent Dalit rights activist in Kerala, explains why the Supreme Court verdict on the Economically Weaker Section quota raises many questions of constitutional validity.

Economically Weaker Sections Quota Imperils Social Justice

Until recently, who becomes the Chief Justice of India had been the concern of only lawyers, especially the elite among them. The same is the case with almost all democracies; Pakistan would be the sole exception. Appointments to the judiciary, including the highest court of the land, in all democracies except India and Pakistan, does not evoke any kind of sensation. Judges, by the very nature of their job, require to lead a relatively secluded life. Judges of yore used to wear wigs, symbolising that their identity is of little consequence to their work. In a democracy, the role of the judge is to adjudicate disputes between the parties before him/her, and the implications of their judgements for the public at large are largely incidental. The reason is that in a democracy, only the elected representatives can make laws. Every citizen is symbolically present in Parliament and every law enacted by Parliament is assumed to have their consent. And the executive is accountable to Parliament. But in India, the Parliament does not seem to be the supreme law-maker any longer. Every judgement of the Supreme Court, nay, even every word in a judgement pronounced by the judges, is now considered to be the “law of the land”. Matters which fall exclusively in the realm of governance (for instance, demonetisation, handling of the Covid pandemic, and so on) were all taken over by the judiciary. It is no exaggeration to say that the country is now ruled by judges. Appointments of Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Vigilance Commission, and Chairpersons of tribunals, which fall in the domain of the executive, now fall under the province of the Supreme Court. Therefore, the question, who the next Chief Justice of India is, is a matter of importance. The engineered hype on social media and the battalion of soothsayers vying with one another to glorify the incoming CJIs is an indication of the irreparable damage to democracy and its supreme institution, Parliament. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/SC_e1666260547336_768x429_a2a202b1d7.png" alt="SC-e1666260547336-768x429.png"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Supreme Court of IndiaI, like many, have been closely observing the performance of the Chief Justice- designate D.Y. Chandrachud from the days of his appointment as the Additional Solicitor General of India. He is erudite and hardworking. And he has authored many outstanding judgments. We see only the bright shining side of the moon. The moon has another side as well. I say this as one who represented thousands of slum-dwellers, who were faced with the threat of demolition of their shanties following the orders of the Bombay High Court, of which Justice Chandrachud was a member. The persecution of the poor started soon after the Maharashtra Assembly enacted the Slum Act in 2004 to give protection to slum-dwellers occupying land for long years. Acting on the Public Interest Petitions of elite non-governmental organisations like the Bombay Environmental Action Group, a bench consisting of Justice Dalveer Bhandari, currently a member of the International Court of Justice, and Justice Chandrachud, passed an order directing the demolition of illegal structures, a majority of them slums being within 50 metres of the Coastal Regulation Zone-1. That meant rendering homeless thousands and thousands of slum-dwellers who had been living in their shanties for many decades. Not one of them a party to the legal proceedings. The elementary principles of justice and basic human rights were thrown out the window. There was no amicus curiae to speak about their rights. The Court heard a battalion of senior advocates representing the NGO, the Central and State Governments, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Following the court order, thousands of homes of the poor were demolished and their personal belongings forcefully confiscated and destroyed so that they don’t set up shanties again. All this in Cuffe Parade, within a radius of 2-3 km of the High Court. In 2010, in Kalwa, Mumbai, when the authorities bulldozed 2000 shanties some of the affected women came to me, along with their infants, some as young as two weeks. As it was a holiday, I took them to the residence of the then Chief Justice, Mohit Shah, to file a petition against the demolitions. We were denied an audience with him and were asked to approach Justice Chandrachud, the judge in charge. He granted me a hearing over the phone and directed the authorities to provide temporary accommodation for a day in a rescue home, to the women who were with me. The case was listed for the next day in open Court. However, the affected women were not granted any relief. They were forced to the streets. It is gratifying to note that the views of Justice Chandrachud have broadened since then. I now see news reports about how he has been batting for human rights and for the underprivileged. I hope he will make use of his high office now to do something concrete to ameliorate the living conditions of the slum- dwellers who constitute 60 per cent of the population of Bombay and to relax the coastal zone regulations in such a way as to make available salt pans for housing – which the government could not do because of judicial interference. This will go a long way in undoing the errors of the past.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Untitled_1_min_768x401_1_d8c834b5b0.png" alt="Untitled-1-min-768x401 (1).png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Untitled_1_min_768x401_1_d8c834b5b0.png 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Untitled_1_min_768x401_1_d8c834b5b0.png 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Untitled_1_min_768x401_1_d8c834b5b0.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Slums in Dharavi, Mumbai<div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" dir="auto">The collegium which Justice Chandrachud will preside over will have Justices Joseph and Khanna, son and nephew of two former judges of the Supreme Court. That 50 per cent of the collegium falls in the exclusive privilege of the sons and nephews of the former judges of the Supreme Court is a glaring fact that highlights the fact that the collegium system is horribly flawed and is responsible for rampant nepotism, which has resulted in the denial of opportunity to the more eligible but less privileged members of the legal fraternity. I hope that the CJIs to come will undo the historical blunder that the collegium system is, and bring back the National Judicial Appointments Commission or any other just and equitable system of appointment of judges.<hr><h4 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4></div><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-19019" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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Until recently, who becomes the Chief Justice of India had been the concern of only lawyers, especially the elite among them. The same is the case with almost all democracies; Pakistan would be the sole exception. 

The Next Chief Justice of India – Some Concerns and Some Hopes

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On 12 September 2022, Varanasi District Court dismissed the challenge raised by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee against the civil suits filed by five women affiliated to Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh. The court also accepted the petition filed by the women who sought permission to worship at the Gyanvapi premises. Hearing on this petition will begin on 22 September. The AIDEM has prepared a timeline leading up to this court order:<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">1991: Devotess in the name of the deity ‘Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar’ filed the first case claiming that the Gyanvapi mosque was built at the site of a temple that was demolished in 1664 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. They argued that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, hence didn’t apply to the mosque as it was allegedly built on the remnants of the old Visweshwar temple.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">1998: The management of the Gyanvapi Mosque, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, filed a counter-application in the court. They demanded the rejection of the suit on the ground that it is barred by provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2019: Advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi filed a plea in Varanasi district court representing Swayambhu Jyotirlinga Bhagwan Vishweshwar demanding an archaeological survey of the entire Gyanvapi Mosque complex by Archaeological Survey of India. This plea was filed a month after Supreme Court’s verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi case.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2020: Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee filed a petition against the survey. In 2020, they approached the lower court with a petition requesting to resume the hearing as the Allahabad High Court had not extended the stay on the survey.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2021: In April, the Varanasi court ordered the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct the survey and submit to the court their findings. the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee along with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board opposed this. The case then reached the Allahabad High Court. High Court granted an interim stay on the survey after hearing all parties concerned.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">18 April 2021: Five women affiliated to Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh filed a petition in the Varanasi Civil Court seeking permission to worship at the Gyanvapi Complex.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">26 April 2022: Ravi Kumar Diwakar, Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Varanasi, ordered for a video graphic survey of the Shringar Gauri temple in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex and the premises.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">6 May 2022: Video graphic survey had to be stopped midway as a group of advocates were denied entry into the Gyanvapi Mosque premises.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">12 May 2022: Civil Court informed that the survey will resume. Court ordered this survey to be completed and submitted to the court by 17 May. The petitioners argued that they found a shivling in a pond in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex when they dried out the pond. Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee later contested this by claiming that it was part of the fountain.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">13 May 2022: Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee presented its challenges to the video graphic survey before the Supreme Court. It requested a stay of the proceedings at the Varanasi Civil Court. Supreme Court did not order a stay, however, they decided to list it in a bench led by Justice D Y Chandrachud.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">16 May 2022: Varanasi Court asked the District Magistrate to seal off the contested pond.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">17 May 2022: Justice Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha began hearing the case.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">20 May 2022: Supreme Court transferred the case to Varanasi District Judge.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">24 August 2022: District Judge A K Vishvesh reserved his order until 12 September after hearing arguments from both sides.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">12 September 2022: Varanasi District Court dismissed the challenge raised by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee against the civil suits filed. The Court rejected the counter petition filed against the petition filed demanding the mosque should be discharged from the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The court also accepted the petition filed by the women who sought permission to worship at the Gyanvapi premises.

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On 12 September 2022, Varanasi District Court dismissed the challenge raised by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee against the civil suits filed by five women affiliated to Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh. 

Looking Back at Gyanvapi’s Recent Past

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On September 9, 2022 the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique Kappan, a Malayali journalist who has been in jail for more than two years in a case filed against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in Uttar Pradesh.&nbsp; The bail has indeed brought a great relief to the journalist , his family and friends . However, if the signals emanating from the Uttar Pradesh government is anything to go by, there are some concerted moves to trap the journalist once again and push him back into prison .&nbsp;&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On June 10, 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Siddique Kapan while he was traveling to Hathras to report a case of rape and murder.<figure class="image"><img alt="kappaan.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg 234w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A clear indication of these moves had come up during&nbsp; the hearing on the bail petition itself, when the prosecution informed the Supreme Court that efforts are still progressing to find an approver against Siddique Kappan. Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the prosecution, told the Supreme Court that this would be possible and a fresh trial would begin within two months. Beyond this blatant statement, the information The AIDEM gathered from administrative and legal sources in the Uttar Pradesh government points to continuing sly attempts to fix an ‘approver’ . The identity of this person is not yet clear.&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A significant number of&nbsp; observers point out that the very fact that the prosecution is looking for an approver is proof of&nbsp; the failure of the nearly two-year investigation&nbsp; against Kappan.&nbsp; It goes to prove that the Uttar Pradesh police couldn’t find any solid evidence against Kappan. Supreme Court Chief Justice U.U. Lalit also had pointed out this failure of the police while hearing the bail plea.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Commenting on this case, Thulasi K. Raj, a practising Supreme Court lawyer, said: “No court has convicted Kappan. It is doubtful how much evidence has been found in the investigation. That is why when the Chief Justice asked how far the investigation had progressed while considering the bail plea, the prosecution said they are still trying for an approver. Many questions have been raised against the police investigation. It is clear that despite investigating the case for almost two years, no evidence has been collected against Kappan. The charges against Kappan are hard to believe. The charge-sheet alleges that Kappan wrote in such a way that portrayed Muslims as victims and provoked them to violently protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. It is highly doubtful how true these allegations are.”<figure class="image"><img alt="WhatsApp-Image-2022-09-10-at-17.52.31-768x572.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 209w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Adv. Thulasi K Raj<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:justify;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the prosecution to produce an approver in cases. The approver must be a direct or an indirect participant in the crime or should have knowledge of the crime. The information provided by him should also help in the investigation of the case. Section 306 provides that at any stage of the inquiry or the trial, the magistrate may pardon the person who shares vital information and willfully turns approver. Only the court of a First-Class Judicial Magistrate has the power to admit a person as approver. The approver shall be kept in custody until the end of the trial, unless he is already on bail.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Despite the submission of&nbsp; charge-sheet that runs into over 5000 pages, the trial has not yet started. Siddique Kappan approached the Supreme Court after bail was denied earlier by the Mathura Trial Court and the Allahabad High Court.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:justify;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">NCRB data<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) , 7,714 cases had been registered in the country in the last eight years under the UAPA, which came into force in 1967. It was amended in 2019.&nbsp; In the same year, 1226 cases were registered under the Act, the highest number in any year. The NCRB report says that 814 cases were registered in 2021. The highest number of cases under the UAPA is in Jammu and Kashmir. The number was 289 last year: the figure for Kerala is 18. The NCRB data shows that, even though many cases were registered, only 523 of them reached the trial stage. If one includes the 2,384 pending cases of the previous year, a total of 2,907 case had reached the trial stage in 2021. Among them, the trial was completed only in 68 cases; of them 27 had been initiated in the previous years.&nbsp; As many as 39 cases had been disposed without trial. The court acquitted the accused in 39 cases. As of end-2021, 2,800 UAPA cases are still pending in the courts. The conviction rate in UAPA cases is 39.7 per cent and the pendency rate is 96.7 percent. That means, a large number of accused persons remain in detention without trial or as undertrials.<figure class="image"><img alt="WhatsApp-Image-2022-09-13-at-11.22.24-768x768.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 156w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Says Thulasi K. Raj:&nbsp; “Trials getting delayed is a problem. The trial in Kappan’s case has not even started. That is one common problem with our criminal justice system, especially when it comes to cases filed under laws like&nbsp; the UAPA. There is no problem for the police or special investigation agencies even if the investigation or the trial get delayed. It’s a fact that even the courts have not been able to put an end to the problem.”<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The figures show that more number of cases have been filed under the UAPA after the Narendra Modi government assumed office. The number of UAPA cases filed in the States are also increasing. Journalists, social activists and people from the Muslim community are the most haunted sections under the draconian law.<figure class="image"><img alt="SK-768x454.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Endless prolongation of the cases and the trials violates the fundamental rights of those accused and detained. Siddique Kappan has been granted bail in the UAPA case, but he can be released only if he is granted bail in the money laundering&nbsp; case filed against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the Enforcement Directorate, which comes under the Union Ministry of Finance&nbsp;

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On September 9, 2022 the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique Kappan, a Malayali journalist who has been in jail for more than two years in a case filed against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in Uttar Pradesh.  

Relief is elusive for Siddique Kappan as attempts are under way to ‘fix’ an approver to fix him

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belated response on the Manipur violence, especially the sexual crimes that have sensationally unravelled over the past few days, is the focus of this AIDEM interactions.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Two young women socio-political-legal observers- Delhi based PhD student Kim and Supreme Court lawyer Thulasi K Raj- analyse the Prime Minister’s statement and the responses it has generated not only in Manipur but the country as a whole, with a special emphasis on the North Eastern States. Kim and Thulasi point out that beyond the emotional rhetoric, the Prime Minister and his associates in the governments at the Centre and the State have to take more substantive measures to rebuild Manipur and trust among the people.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belated response on the Manipur violence, especially the sexual crimes that have sensationally unravelled over the past few days, is the focus of this AIDEM interactions.

Analysing Modi’s Belated Response on Manipur Violence

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Teesta Setalvad, social activist and writer, has faced many tribulations and challenges through the constant struggles she has had against the Establishment. Yet, the recent past has been particularly tough, especially in the context of her arrest last year by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat Police. The AIDEM’s Managing Editor Venkitesh Ramakrishnan caught up with Teesta during her recent visit to Kerala. In this freewheeling interview Teesta talks about her life in jail, how she withstood the travails of incarceration and her future plans.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

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Teesta Setalvad, social activist and writer, has faced many tribulations and challenges through the constant struggles she has had against the Establishment. 

Teesta Setalvad- Life, Society and Activism Beyond Jail

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<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg" alt="IMG-20240930-WA0007-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Communication is an art that many struggle with, but few realize it can be learned. Whether you’re talking to a friend, colleague, family member, or stranger, mastering this skill is within reach. Ever struggled to start a conversation or keep it going? Finding common topics of interest can be tricky, and navigating differing social or political views can feel like a minefield. But with the right approach, you can turn any interaction into a meaningful exchange.&nbsp;How do you find the right approach? More importantly, can you learn the required skills?“<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.charlesduhigg.com/supercommunicators">Supercommunicators</a>,” written by Charles Duhigg, is a book that teaches you to learn the skills to convert a conversation into a connection. It distills the art of conversation, any conversation, including the ones with your friends and family, into actionable steps that you can readily practice and improve.<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.charlesduhigg.com/">Charles Duhigg</a> is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and author of bestselling books. I read his first book, “The Power of Habit,” which is a constant presence in many bookstores, and liked it. I read it in 2013, and it convinced me about the importance of habits. Last year, I read his <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/the-inside-story-of-microsofts-partnership-with-openai">article</a> on the ChatGPT saga and liked it for its reporting breadth and depth.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:629px;" id="attachment_30055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp" alt="811bzOshn5L._AC_UF10001000_QL80_FMwebp_.webp" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 98w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 314w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 472w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30055">Cover of the book ‘Supercommunicators’</figcaption></figure>This book starts by breaking down every conversation into three types: Analytical, Emotional, and Social. Every conversation is essentially one of these three types. In analytical talk, the conversation is a transaction where facts and details matter. In emotional talk, the conversation is all about the feelings. In social talk, the conversation is about an identity. Now, listing the types helps in nothing. You still need to know what to do with this information.Suppose you argued with your father in the morning over a trivial issue. You reach the office and share the incident with your friend. Are you looking for a solution? Do you want to be listened to intently, get advice on who was wrong, or would just a hug do ? Suppose you differed with a colleague about a work issue. Another colleague, a friend, was listening. What do you want to hear from your friend? Advice or silence or just a hug? Suppose you hear about the sudden death of a friend’s loved one. What do you say to your friend? Advice or listen or a hug? As situations differ, so does the conversation, hence the importance of its type.After breaking the communication into its types, Charles goes on to break it into a step-by-step process of turning every conversation into meaningful, often joyful interactions, and in some cases, less stressful ones, even with a person with contrasting views. He uses psychological studies and instances of experts’ communication to establish the rules of effective communication.Stories form the backbone of narration and writing style, making it easy for everyone to understand, relate, and remember the content. Charles has used his recommendation to write the book as the writing oscillates between personal anecdotes, stories, and facts, often combining all three. As you turn the pages, you gradually get convinced about the process.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:767px;" id="attachment_30056" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30056"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg" alt="high-rez-duhigg-headshot-20160720afmduhigg0082-thumb-1536x1536-1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30056">Charles Duhigg</figcaption></figure>If you have read books on personal growth, they tend to follow a pattern. Every chapter makes a proposition supported by academic research or theories, followed by a story that establishes the usefulness of the proposition. Stories of failures are not part of this scheme. This book is no exception to this formula. However, this conformance should not take away the usefulness of this book.A few days after finishing the book, I took a train journey to New Delhi. The train starts at 6 in the morning from Varanasi, requiring me to get up at 4 AM. I always travel with a book, sometimes 2. If it is a mid-noon journey, I prefer reading books to talking to a co-passenger. But, early in the morning, I like a slow warmup to come to my full senses before picking a book. Opening a conversation with a co-passenger who is perhaps also in the same state has always been a nervous affair. But I had read this book, so at least I knew a theory I could test.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg" alt="images-2024-09-30T164448.607.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Charles suggests starting a conversation with a question that doesn’t have a 1-word answer. He calls them Deep questions. For example, instead of asking questions like, “Where are you going?” or “Are you from Varanasi?” you may ask, “What do you like about early morning train journeys?”. I started with a similar question. However, a few minutes into the conversation, the person said, “I do not like the Congress party (India’s principal opposition party).”Now, I like the Congress party. Had I not read the book, I would have gone on to list several reasons to prefer the Congress party. I would have given one argument after another, countering his response with facts and figures. I would have transformed myself into an evangelist, on a mission to reform this man and make him fall in love with the Congress party. After a few minutes of conversation, he would have silently waited for me to drain all my energy and stop. We would have withdrawn into our shells for the rest of the journey, talking only to ask for a way to leave the seat. Thankfully, I had read this book, and none of this happened.I instead said, “They give many reasons to people to dislike them.” It opened him up to offer his reasons for this blanket statement, which allowed me to steer the conversation to his upbringing, parents, childhood, values, work, motivations, etc. When I shared about my organization’s work with school children from economically underprivileged families, he shared his wife’s efforts of sheltering orphaned street dogs. We agreed on several issues, including the complete failure of the current central government, despite opposing political preferences. Neither did I contradict his personal experiences, nor did he contradict mine. Moreover, we agreed that our experiences shape our views, which are bound to change if we remain open.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg" alt="images-2024-09-30T164615.165.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">“Supercommunicators” book taught me to treat every conversation as a learning opportunity. It taught me not to approach a conversation as a right vs wrong battle but to connect by sharing stories and anecdotes more than the facts. Ultimately, you can convince a person more by listening than by speaking. In a world getting more polarised, we all need to learn to talk to each other and listen better. Thankfully, we have this book.</div></div>

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Navigating Difficult Dialogues: How 'Supercommunicators' Can Help in a Polarised World"

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg" alt="images-34-770x393.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Prolific documentary filmmaker R.P Amudhan’s body of work is unique and striking, especially in the manner in which his creations address issues and concerns of the marginalised sections of society. He is known as a media activist too. Hailing from Madurai, in Tamil Nadu, he founded the Marupakkam Media Activist Group (MMAG) in in his home district. The MMAG produces documentaries, screens films, and conducts workshops. He has over 20 documentaries to his credit. His films primarily focus on caste and labour issues. In this Interview with poet and writer Rashida Nasriya, filmmaker Amudhan RP discusses his craft, concerns and challenges.&nbsp;Rashidha Nasriya: What do you consider as the most significant challenge you have faced during the making of your documentaries?Amudhan RP: The biggest challenges I have faced in documenting the kind of social issues I have chosen to film are threefold. First, identifying a crucial topic which requires in-depth understanding and sufficient data to substantiate the narrative. Once I have a clear understanding of the topic, I would conduct thorough research and convince people, that is the characters in my film and their kith and kin. This has been my approach from my very first film, Leelavathi, a documentary on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPIM- cadre killed in Madurai in 1997. I was relatively young at that time and the task of persuading her family and the district CPIM committee took a lot of effort. I finally did get their consent. It was a difficult task to get their trust.The second challenge – although a joyful one – is researching and gathering credible information, while the third is securing funding. As a solo filmmaker, I have learned to be self-sufficient. But still finding funds is a challenge. Any filmmaker would go through these challenges in varying degrees.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_35_721e230496.jpeg" alt="images-35.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_35_721e230496.jpeg 208w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_35_721e230496.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Nasriya: Did your activist background influence your decision to become a filmmaker?Amudhan: During my MA studies, I attended a workshop in Madurai organised by Center for Development of Instructional Technology (CENDIT), an organisation based in New Delhi. Here, I was exposed to several powerful documentary films. This experience opened my eyes to the significance of political documentaries. I was introduced to the concept of using film as a tool for social change, and I immediately knew I wanted to become a documentary filmmaker and an activist. This workshop sparked my passion for creating and screening films that inspire critical thinking and trigger meaningful conversations. It was a turning point that led me to merge my interests in social activism and filmmaking, ultimately shaping my identity as an activist-filmmaker. Activism and filmmaking are deeply intertwined for me – they’re two sides of the same coin. My filmmaking is an extension of my activism, and vice versa; the two are inseparable.Nasriya: Your film “My Caste” examines the intersection of caste, hegemony, and consensus in Indian society. What has driven your focus on caste in your activism and filmmaking?Amudhan: I wanted to take on the Caste issue from the perpetuator point of view rather than from the victim’s or survivor’s point of view. I wanted to get into the minds of the people who either follow or negotiate or negate caste in their lives. I wanted to know what happens in people’s minds when they deal with caste matters. That’s why I made the film ‘My Caste’ ‘recording the views of various people on caste related questions.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:951px;" id="attachment_30033" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30033"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg" alt="IMG-20240927-WA0021.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 154w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 495w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 743w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30033">Amudhan speaking at an event</figcaption></figure>Nasriya: Can you give some details on how you investigated labour exploitation in Tirupur’s garment industry for your documentary “Dollar City”?Amudhan: Many of my films focus on labour issues, with a considerable number exploring labour practices. For my trilogy on hegemony and consensus, I chose Tirupur as a case study. This city exemplifies how consensus is manufactured to prioritise the industry’s interests.In Tiruppur, a tacit understanding exists among industries, trade unions, workers, NGOs, and political parties to protect the industry at all costs. The prevailing narrative is: ‘Without the industry, we cannot survive.’ This consensus leads to widespread compromise and adjustment, perpetuating the exploitation.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:739px;" id="attachment_30028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30028"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg" alt="images-36.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30028">During production of Amudhan’s documentary</figcaption></figure>I want to capture this complex dynamic in my film, highlighting how Tiruppur’s industry-centric consensus affects labor rights and social justice.&nbsp;Nasriya: How did you approach exploring the complex and sensitive topic of manual scavenging in your film “Pee (Shit)”?Amudhan: I wanted to make a Tamil version of Lesser Humans – a documentary on Manual Scavenging in Gujarat by Stalin K. Although I wanted to make a similar comprehensive film about Tamilnadu, my encounter with Mariamma, a sanitary worker in Madurai convinced me to make a short documentary which practically covers every aspect of the work.I realised a shorter format could powerfully convey the urgency of this issue, making a compelling argument against manual scavenging. This inspired me to create the film titled ‘Pee’ (Shit) [Watch Below], highlighting the harsh realities of manual scavenging.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0eWOHAvVn4" title="Shit - a documentary by Amudhan R.P." frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;Nasriya: What inspired you to create a documentary about Mercury pollution in Kodaikanal?Amudhan: The film ‘Mercury in the Mist’ was initiated by workers from the Kodaikanal thermometer factory, who had been fighting against the company’s harmful practices. They sought my help to create a documentary supporting their cause, highlighting the devastating health effects of mercury exposure and their ongoing court battles. It was partially funded by the workers and their well wishers like Nityanand Jayaraman and others.&nbsp;Nasriya: Do you think the documentary can contribute to the border understanding of the challenges facing Indian democracy?Amudhan: Documentary watching is, in my opinion, one of the most engaging and intellectually stimulating activities. It offers a unique blend of education, art, and social awareness, empowering individuals to become responsible citizens. By watching documentaries, we gain perspectives on the world around us, exercising our right to informed decision-making and participatory governance. Through my screenings, I aim to create opportunities for social and political education, fostering a culture of critical thinking and civic engagement. Documentaries provide a valuable platform for raising awareness on critical issues, making meaningful conversations and inspiring social change.&nbsp;Nasriya: How crucial is creative freedom in documentary filmmaking for fostering critical thinking and public debate?Amudhan: In documentary filmmaking, merely reporting or recording is not enough. It is an opportunity to critically examine any subject, sparking meaningful discussions. We must be courageous enough to ask difficult questions, amplify marginalized voices and confront uncomfortable truthsUnlike commercial cinema, documentary filmmakers must take risks, challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries. By doing so, we humanize overlooked stories, Inspire critical thinking and foster empathy and understanding.&nbsp;Nasriya: How did your initiative “Marupakkam” come about…?Amudhan: Marupakkam is a network of people collaborating to promote documentary filmmaking and social change. We invite participation from individuals across India in various capacities, including funding, research, topic development, filmmaking, screening, and documentary workshops.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignright" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;float:right;height:auto;margin:5px 0px 20px 20px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1080px;" id="attachment_30029" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30029"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png" alt="Screenshot_20240927-1713542.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30029">Homepage of Marupakkam [Visit <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://marupakkammadurai.blogspot.com/?m=1">Here</a>]</figcaption></figure>Our activities involve screening documentaries, researching social issues, making films on relevant topics, teaching documentary filmmaking, and showcasing films made by others. Through these efforts, we aim to foster a community that inspires social change through documentary filmmaking.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nasriya: As a prolific documentary creator what advice would you give to emerging filmmakers?Amudhan: To young and upcoming filmmakers, I say: read widely, travel extensively, and cultivate an open-minded perspective. Listen to diverse voices, even in everyday settings like markets, where numerous perspectives converge. If you don’t have an open mind, you will only hear the voices that confirm your existing views. But with an open mind, you will identify and appreciate the varied voices, even within the same marketplace.</div></div>

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Amudhan’s Craft, Concerns and Challenges

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The victory of Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Presidential election in Sri Lanka has been described as a political Tsunami by international politicians and observers. Sri Lanka based Independent policy analyst and writer Amita Arudpragasam analyses the context of the results in detail and points out that it was the economic mismanagement and corruption of earlier, dynasty oriented, regimes as well as Anura’s clean image that propelled significant sections of voters towards the Leftist JVP leader.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">She also points out that while the victory does indeed signify the emergence of new hopes in the country, it would be too early to predict dramatic policy and ideological shifts, including in the island nation’s orientation towards India and China. Watch the interview here.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ഈ വിഷയത്തിൽ പരിസ്ഥിതി പ്രവർത്തകനും എഴുത്തുകാരനുമായ കെ സഹദേവൻ എഴുതിയ കുറിപ്പ് ചുവടെ നൽകുന്നു:<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">അദാനിയും ശ്രീലങ്കയിലെയും ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലേയും ഭരണ വ്യവസ്ഥയിലെ വമ്പൻ മാറ്റങ്ങളും</h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ശ്രീലങ്കയിലെയും ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലെയും എന്തിന് ഓസ്‌ട്രേലിയയിലെപ്പോലും രാഷ്ട്രീയ ഭരണമാറ്റത്തിന് പിന്നിലെ പൊതുഘടകത്തെ കണ്ടെത്താൻ ശ്രമിച്ചാൽ ഗൗതം അദാനിയിൽ ചെന്ന് മുട്ടും. ഉഭയകക്ഷി ബന്ധങ്ങളെ വ്യവസായി താൽപ്പര്യങ്ങൾക്കായി ഉപയോഗപ്പെടുത്താൻ ഭരണകൂടങ്ങൾ തുനിഞ്ഞിറങ്ങിയാൽ അതിന്റെ അനിവാര്യഫലമെന്നത് ആ രാജ്യത്തിന്റെ സാമ്പത്തിക സുസ്ഥിരത തകർക്കപ്പെടുക എന്നതായിരിക്കും.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ബംഗ്ലാദേശിന് വൈദ്യുതി വിൽക്കുന്നതുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട കരാർ അദാനിക്ക് ലഭ്യമാക്കുന്നതിന് ബീഗം ഹസീനയ്ക്ക് മേൽ സമ്മർദ്ദമുയർത്താൻ നരേന്ദ്ര മോദിക്ക് യാതൊരു മടിയുമുണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല. 2015ലെ മോദിയുടെ ബംഗ്ലാദേശ് സന്ദർശനത്തിന്റെ മുഖ്യ അജണ്ടതന്നെ അദാനിക്ക് വൈദ്യുതി വിതരണക്കരാർ നേടിയെടുക്കുക എന്നതായിരുന്നു.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ഇന്ന് ബംഗ്ലാദേശ് ഭരണകൂടത്തിന്റെ മുന്നിലുള്ള പ്രധാന അജണ്ട അദാനിയുമായുള്ള കരാറിൽ നിന്ന് എങ്ങിനെ രക്ഷപ്പെടാം എന്നതാണ്. ശ്രീലങ്കയിൽ 400 മില്യൺ ഡോളറിന്റെ ഗ്രീൻ എനർജി പ്രോജക്ടുകളാണ് അദാനി നേടിയെടുത്തത്. 225 മെഗാവാട്ടിന്റെ കാറ്റാടിപ്പാട നിർമ്മാണ പദ്ധതി നേടിയെടുക്കുന്നതിനും നയതന്ത്ര ബന്ധങ്ങൾ ഉപയോഗപ്പെടുത്തപ്പെട്ടു.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ഇതിനുപുറമെ 700 ദശലക്ഷം ഡോളറിന്റെ കണ്ടൈയ്‌നർ തുറമുഖ പദ്ധതിയും നേടിയെടുക്കാൻ അദാനിക്ക് സാധിച്ചു. ഈ രണ്ട് പദ്ധതികളും ശ്രീലങ്കയുടെ ദീർഘകാല താൽപ്പര്യങ്ങൾക്ക് വിരുദ്ധമാണെന്ന ആരോപണം പാർലമെന്റിലും പുറത്തും ശക്തമായി ഉന്നയിക്കപ്പെട്ടുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുകയാണ്.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">ഓസ്‌ട്രേലിയയിൽ അദാനി നേടിയെടുത്ത കാർമൈക്കൾ കൽക്കരി ഖനന കരാറും ഇതേരീതിയിൽ അതിശക്തമായ രാഷ്ട്രീയ എതിർപ്പ് ക്ഷണിച്ചുവരുത്തിയ ഒന്നാണ്. ഒരു ദശകക്കാലത്തെ കൺസർവേറ്റീവ് ഭരണത്തിന് അറുതിവരുത്തിക്കൊണ്ട് ലെഫ്റ്റ് ചായ്വുള്ള ആന്റണി അൽബനീസ് ഗവൺമെന്റ് അധികാരക്കസേരയിലെത്തിയതിന് പിന്നിലും ഗൗതം അദാനിക്കെതിരായ പ്രതിഷേധത്തിന്റെ വേരുകൾ കണ്ടെത്താൻ കഴിയും…

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