The draft Lokpal Bill, in its current form can only be be termed as draconian
The Lokpal in the Bill enjoys the authority of Police and Judiciary. That is not justifiable. Are we trying to create parallel government?
The Lokpal shall have the authority to confiscate property, cancel government tenders and contracts, remove government officials from the job. It is accepted that the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus is the root cause of most corruption in the country. However unlimited power to Lokpal is a dangerous proposal. What is the guarantee that the Lokpal does not misuse his authority?
The current bill requires discussion on much wide scale. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It should not be forgotten.
The traffic in Pune is unmanageable. The roads and their maintenance is poor. The traffic monitoring and control is also bad. The number of accidents on the road is on the rise. The majority of the deaths due to accidents are due to serious head injuries. Keeping that in mind, few months back, the traffic police made it compulsory for all two-wheeler riders to wear helmet. Surprisingly the common citizen opposed it. Yeh Punekar hain bhaiya ! The local politicians were not far behind. They supported the opposition looking at the general public opinion. So, the rule remains only in the book and followed only in breach.
Sharad Bapat, an innovative techie from Pune has started a website and there is an offer. He wants citizens to come forward and take an oath to wear helmet and the techie rewards them with Rs 500/-. It pays partially towards the cost of the headgear. What an idea !
We see ministers, judges taking oath while taking the charge of new office. The witness in the court of law is also required to take an oath. Why oath ?
I think an oath puts a moral binding on the individual. It is a verbal commitment. In fact, following a commitment depends on one’s value system, verbal or written notwithstanding.
Initially though some citizens, especially youngsters, will be attracted by the money offer but later the oath shall put a moral binding on them. Even if 50% follow the oath, it will be good.
Thus from every angle, this is a welcome initiative and Sh Sharad Bapat deserves both cheers and congratulations.
This is what Sh Sharad Bapat has to say:
“It will be a win-win situation. Interested parties will get their advertisements, our stickers will bear their name, they will be on our website and most importantly, people will wear helmets”
The women in India suffer from domestic violence. The Article 498 (A) of the Indian Penal Code has been specially prepared to protect such suffering women. According to the provisions of the Article, the Police are required to immediately arrest the perpetrators of violence, as mentioned by the victim in the FIR.
However, many times it is seen that the legal provision does not fulfill its desired goal. That is on two accounts, (a) payment of huge compensation to the victims and (b) misuse of the article by the some women, especially educated women in the urban areas, to settle personal scores against their male counterparts.
According to the principle of natural justice, culprits can be set free for the want of evidence but innocent should never be punished. However, when the article is misused, innocents are punished by way of arrest and jail. It is rather surprising to see that the Police are not required to carry out any enquiry, before the arrest. Whomsoever named as perpetrator by the woman in the FIR, that is taken as an adequate ground for arrest.
That the Article is being misused to take revenge on males, has been observed the Bombay High Court also. All are equal in front of law. However the Article 498 (A) appears to be unjustifiably skewed against the males, as he gets no protection by law. The following amendment is suggested to the Article:
“In case the allegations are not proved and the malicious intent is established by the court, the woman filing the FIR must be arrested immediately and tried under the relevant provisions of law”.
