Maintenance
In India, family courts can pass an interim order on maintenance to a spouse when s/he is separated from the other spouse with minor marital conflict, with a decree of judicial separation or if one of the spouses has applied for divorce. So, a lawsuit for divorce or judicial separation is not mandatory to apply for monthly maintenance.
Interim maintenance order remains valid till the permanent maintenance order is given by the court during the divorce.
The maintenance amount is calculated (approximately) by taking into account the total monthly take home income (ie. without tax) of both the spouses. The educational background of the spouses, the number of years of marriage, number of children and child custody are also major factors, which govern the maintenance amount. Maintenance amount can also depend on who well the lawsuit has been fought by the advocates of both parties. The spouse with lesser income or no income can get a maintenance amount, which will make his/her complete earnings (plus maintenance) to be equal to 20% to 30% of the above total monthly income.
For example, if the husband has a take home income of one lac per month and the wife has a take home income of twenty thousand and they have no children in a marriage of 2 years, then the wife can theoretically get Rs.4000 as maintenance. How? The total take home income is one lac and twenty thousand and twenty percent of it comes to Rs.24,000. So, the woman gets Rs.4000 per month, so that her total income (her income+maintenance) becomes Rs.24,000.
If the couple have a child and the woman has the child custody, then she may get a maintenance amount of Rs.10,000 to Rs.16,000 per month so that her total income becomes Rs.30,000 to Rs.36,000 per month. Apart from that there can also be a judicial order defining the details on how the expenses for high studies of the child are shared. If the child decides to stay with the father after the age of 5, then the maintenance amount to the woman gets reduced accordingly.
If a woman’s income is at least half of her husband’s income, then most often she may not get any maintenance.
Similarly in a marriage of six months, if the wife is not working, but she has a masters degree and the husband has a monthly take home income of rupees one lac, then she may get a maintenance amount between Rs.8,000 to Rs.12,000 per month. Why? Because the argument would be that she has the capability to work and support herself.
Sometimes, the wife is also ordered to pay maintenace to the husband when the husband has a very small or no income compared to his wife’s income. In recent past, such orders are passed by high courts in Cuttack and Lucknow much to the annoyance of some feminists and media. But, laws have to be the same irrespective of gender. Is not it?
So, economically empowered women do not get maintenance or they may even have to pay maintenace to their husbands in case of divorce.
The maintance amount can get higher if its a long marriage. The parents can also claim maintenace from their grown up earning children. Even though, it is not clear, if they can claim maintenance from their earning daughters as today daughters have equal property inheritance rights.
It must be noted that neither the husband nor the wife can make claims on the property(residential or otherwise) of the other during divorce. So, some intelligent men make sure to get residential property registered only in their name, when they apply it through a bank loan. But, most other foolish men (being misguided by the builders) register the property in joint names, while its the man who pays fully for the bank EMIs. In case of marital conflict and divorce, the condition of such men becomes extremely miserable as they are already under a debt of rupees 20 lacs to 30 lacs and the wives make a claim on it apart from the maintenace they may get in the court. I know, some other men asking their working wives to pay for half of the property and loan so that the property can be registered in both names. These wives sometimes start complaining that he is asking dowry as they feel its only a man’s duty to provide for the family and the common expenses.
A woman or man stops getting maintenance from his/her spouse once s/he gets remarried unless they have a child. So, often women ask for a one time out of court settlement (or alimony) in stead of divorce. The man may agree to it or he can decline to it saying that he would prefer to give monthly maintenace.
For young guys (say techies within age group of 25 to 30) in marital conflicts, the maintenance amount given to their non working wives can be between Rs.2000. to Rs.7,000 (if they earn a salary between Rs.18,000 to Rs.50,000) provided they have no children.
So, often lawyers advise the women to file false dowry cases, so that the woman can force the guy to pay up a huge settlement/alimony (out of the court) in stead of going for a monthly maintenance. A monthly maintenance of Rs.3000 is in no way comparable to an one time alimony of Rs.10 lacs. But, the guy becomes bankrupt in such a situation as he ends up not only losing all his savings, but also takes loan from family and friends. He not only pays the alimony, but also ends up spending time in jail with his family, loses reputation, may be even the job, pays bribes to the police to stop harassing his family and the huge legal expense for bails and fighting the multiple cases. There is no way he can think of marrying again as he simply has no money to pay for even the marriage expenses. Of course, the painful experience can also keep him miles away from the very word marriage. On the otherhand, the woman’s dowry case is fought by the public prosecutor(ie. the lawyer from the State paided by the taxpayer’s money).
Its is alleged by some that the lawyers of both sides may also profit from this kind of a settlement. Its not at all surprising, if a husband finds himself cornered by his own lawyer, who keeps on pestering to go for a settlement, pay alimony, marry another girl (immediately) and live happily ever after.
The child is an important factor in a marital conflict, especially when the child is below the age of five. Fathers have natural right to child visitation. But, women can often evade the instructions/law and deny child visitation rights to the fathers. I have seen such fathers being allowed to meet their children once in a week or two just for an hour in the family court complex in Bangalore as in the police keeps dragging chained criminals into the vehicles in the background.
Mr.Rebates
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Divorce By Mutual Consent, section 13 B
Whole process of divorce by mutual consent. First thing which you have to see under which Act your marriage was solemnized. In case you both are Hindus & married according to the Hindu Marriage Act,1956 then you both can apply for divorce by mutual consent under section 13-B of this Act. Now what are the things you have to take care in such petition for divorce by mutual consent :-
1. You can file any petition for divorce only after one year has passed for such a marriage,
2. You have to file a joint petition U/S13B of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955,it means you both have to sign it & stamp; verify it jointly,
3. If you have any proof of your marriage e.g. marriage certificate etc you have to attach a true copy of such certificate with your petition,.
4. You have to mention in your petition the status & stamp; place of residence of both the parties before the marriage & at the time of filling of this petition,
5. You have to mention the period of your separation before filing of this petition which in any case should be more then one year,
6. You have to mention that both of you agreed for this divorce by mutual consent & this mutual consent has not been taken by fraud or force or any undue influence.
7. You have to mention that there is no collusion between the parties in filling such a petition.
8. You have to mention that this court has jurisdiction to entertain this petition.
9. That there is no unnecessary delay in filling this petion .
10. You have to mention there is no legal ground why this relief should not be granted, next you pray that this relief of divorce should be granted to you, both of you put your signatures, write a Para about verification of the petition & both of you sign this verification. Along with this joint petition you should even file affidavits signed by both of you &, attested by the oath commissioner were you satisfy the facts mentioned in the petition as correct &, best of your knowledge.
You have to put necessary court fee stamp on this petition &, even both your passport size latest photographs on the top of the petition, file this in the district court registry which will assign this petition to the designated family court of the district where both of you have to present on the first day of hearing.
The family court judge will go through the petition &, may ask you any question he/she likes regarding your marriage or married life, regarding you children, their custody &, maintenance and alimony etc. You can even be asked incase you both are interested in any sort of family/matrimonial counseling during the period before this divorce is finally decided after six months statutory time period.
Next a date for final hearing is fixed which can be any time after six months of filling of this petition but not beyond 18 months when again both of you appear & tell the family court your final decision if you both still want the divorce or reunite as husband & wife, if you tell that you still want divorce as there is no chance for any reconciliation the Family court will pass the order for divorce. This is the brief procedure one has to follow while taking divorce by mutual consent.
1. You can file any petition for divorce only after one year has passed for such a marriage,
2. You have to file a joint petition U/S13B of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955,it means you both have to sign it & stamp; verify it jointly,
3. If you have any proof of your marriage e.g. marriage certificate etc you have to attach a true copy of such certificate with your petition,.
4. You have to mention in your petition the status & stamp; place of residence of both the parties before the marriage & at the time of filling of this petition,
5. You have to mention the period of your separation before filing of this petition which in any case should be more then one year,
6. You have to mention that both of you agreed for this divorce by mutual consent & this mutual consent has not been taken by fraud or force or any undue influence.
7. You have to mention that there is no collusion between the parties in filling such a petition.
8. You have to mention that this court has jurisdiction to entertain this petition.
9. That there is no unnecessary delay in filling this petion .
10. You have to mention there is no legal ground why this relief should not be granted, next you pray that this relief of divorce should be granted to you, both of you put your signatures, write a Para about verification of the petition & both of you sign this verification. Along with this joint petition you should even file affidavits signed by both of you &, attested by the oath commissioner were you satisfy the facts mentioned in the petition as correct &, best of your knowledge.
You have to put necessary court fee stamp on this petition &, even both your passport size latest photographs on the top of the petition, file this in the district court registry which will assign this petition to the designated family court of the district where both of you have to present on the first day of hearing.
The family court judge will go through the petition &, may ask you any question he/she likes regarding your marriage or married life, regarding you children, their custody &, maintenance and alimony etc. You can even be asked incase you both are interested in any sort of family/matrimonial counseling during the period before this divorce is finally decided after six months statutory time period.
Next a date for final hearing is fixed which can be any time after six months of filling of this petition but not beyond 18 months when again both of you appear & tell the family court your final decision if you both still want the divorce or reunite as husband & wife, if you tell that you still want divorce as there is no chance for any reconciliation the Family court will pass the order for divorce. This is the brief procedure one has to follow while taking divorce by mutual consent.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
Press the link to take you to the act
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
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(Act no. 28 of 1961)
Knowledge is Power
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
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(Act no. 28 of 1961)
Knowledge is Power
The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005
CONTENTS
Sections
Particulars
1. PRELIMINARY
2. Short title, extent and commencement.
3. Definitions.
4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
5. Definition of "domestic violence"
6. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROTECTION OFFICERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, ETC.
7. Information to Protection Officer and exclusion of liability of informant.
8. Duties of police officers, service providers and Magistrate.
9. Duties of shelter homes.
10. Duties of medical facilities.
11. Appointment of Protection Officers.
12. Duties and functions of Protection Officers.
13. Service providers.
14. Duties of Government.
15. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING ORDERS OF RELIEFS
16. Application to Magistrate.
17. Service of notice.
18 Counselling.
19. Assistance of welfare expert.
20. Proceedings to be held in camera.
21. Right to reside in a shared household.
22. Protection orders.
23. Residence orders.
24. Monetary reliefs.
25. Custody orders.
26. Compensation orders.
27. Power to grant interim and exparte orders.
28. Court to give copies of order free of cost.
29. Duration and alteration of orders.
30. Relief in other suits and legal proceedings.
31. Jurisdiction.
32. Procedure.
33. Appeal.
34. MISCELLANEOUS
35. Protection Officers and members of service providers to be public servants.
36. Penalty for breach of protection order by respondent.
37. Cognizance and proof.
38. Penalty for not discharging duty by Protection Officer.
39. Cognizance of offence committed by Protection Officer.
40. Protection of action taken in good faith.
41. Act not in derogation of any other law.
42. Power of Central Government to make rules
Sections
Particulars
1. PRELIMINARY
2. Short title, extent and commencement.
3. Definitions.
4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
5. Definition of "domestic violence"
6. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROTECTION OFFICERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, ETC.
7. Information to Protection Officer and exclusion of liability of informant.
8. Duties of police officers, service providers and Magistrate.
9. Duties of shelter homes.
10. Duties of medical facilities.
11. Appointment of Protection Officers.
12. Duties and functions of Protection Officers.
13. Service providers.
14. Duties of Government.
15. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING ORDERS OF RELIEFS
16. Application to Magistrate.
17. Service of notice.
18 Counselling.
19. Assistance of welfare expert.
20. Proceedings to be held in camera.
21. Right to reside in a shared household.
22. Protection orders.
23. Residence orders.
24. Monetary reliefs.
25. Custody orders.
26. Compensation orders.
27. Power to grant interim and exparte orders.
28. Court to give copies of order free of cost.
29. Duration and alteration of orders.
30. Relief in other suits and legal proceedings.
31. Jurisdiction.
32. Procedure.
33. Appeal.
34. MISCELLANEOUS
35. Protection Officers and members of service providers to be public servants.
36. Penalty for breach of protection order by respondent.
37. Cognizance and proof.
38. Penalty for not discharging duty by Protection Officer.
39. Cognizance of offence committed by Protection Officer.
40. Protection of action taken in good faith.
41. Act not in derogation of any other law.
42. Power of Central Government to make rules
Steps to prevent getting fooled by lawyers .......... 1
To prevent getting fooled by any lawyer ... whether recommended by SIF ... whether lawyer found in SIF meeting ...... or any lawyer appointed otherwise. I would recommend all those members who can spend money to please at least purchase the following law books
Protection of Women from Domestic Violenc Act (Bare Act)
Dowry Prohibition Act (Bare Act)
Dowry Prohibition Act with Delhi State Amendments (Bare Act)
Right To Information Act (Bare Act)
Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C. Bare Act)
Indian Penal Code (I.P.C. Bare Act)
Civil Procedure Code (C.P.C. Bare Act)
Marriage Act of your religion ie Hindu Marriage Act (Buy Commentary)
The purchase of all these books will be hardly between Rs.2,000/- to Rs.3,000/- and you may read them in your spare time or leisure. All those who can afford, must buy them.
Remember people get misled, fooled or misguided only when they are not aware of even the basic law. Remember the famous maxim that is KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Also the more law books that members read will give them and collectively the group more knowledge in combatting this legal terrorism
Alternately all these acts are also available on the websites like :
http://www.indiankanoon.org/
http://www.vakilno1.com/
Blogs
http://community.webshots.com/user/call2umesh
http://www.savefamily.org/
http://www.mynation.net/
http://biasedlaws.blogspot.com/
http://corruptjudiciary.blogspot.com/
http://scslaves.blogspot.com/
http://498aprotest.blogspot.com/
http://sluggishjudiciary.blogspot.com/
http://dvaware.blogspot.com/
Protection of Women from Domestic Violenc Act (Bare Act)
Dowry Prohibition Act (Bare Act)
Dowry Prohibition Act with Delhi State Amendments (Bare Act)
Right To Information Act (Bare Act)
Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C. Bare Act)
Indian Penal Code (I.P.C. Bare Act)
Civil Procedure Code (C.P.C. Bare Act)
Marriage Act of your religion ie Hindu Marriage Act (Buy Commentary)
The purchase of all these books will be hardly between Rs.2,000/- to Rs.3,000/- and you may read them in your spare time or leisure. All those who can afford, must buy them.
Remember people get misled, fooled or misguided only when they are not aware of even the basic law. Remember the famous maxim that is KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Also the more law books that members read will give them and collectively the group more knowledge in combatting this legal terrorism
Alternately all these acts are also available on the websites like :
http://www.indiankanoon.org/
http://www.vakilno1.com/
Blogs
http://community.webshots.com/user/call2umesh
http://www.savefamily.org/
http://www.mynation.net/
http://biasedlaws.blogspot.com/
http://corruptjudiciary.blogspot.com/
http://scslaves.blogspot.com/
http://498aprotest.blogspot.com/
http://sluggishjudiciary.blogspot.com/
http://dvaware.blogspot.com/
Corruption and Culture – Part 2
Saberi Roy - 3/3/2008
The term culture as we understand would refer to our social and moral systems, as well as all forms of human activity that are carried through generations comprising the gamut of human beliefs, values, arts, religions, languages and behavior. Culture is the product of civilization, a way of life and establishes traditions for societies. Corruption is counter to culture and erodes cultural integrity and moral systems of societies and thus has a deep and long lasting impact on the continuous evolution of human society. The different facets of culture are reflected through arts, knowledge systems, music, entertainment, religions and rituals.
The corruption of different modern cultural manifestations would be the malpractices that have entered educational systems, corruption in entertainment and mass media, as also in business and environment.
Education, Ethics and Corruption: Education is the basis of a morally stable society as students go on to become teachers and public officials. Morals and ethics can percolate only through proper education and thus education remains the strongest tool to prevent corruption. Education spreads awareness against corruption and thus helps in strengthening the moral or ethical values of society. Raising general levels of awareness in the population is essential as this establishes citizens’ demands for accountability, and education creates a culture of accountability by emphasizing ethical practice and by creating the need for such practice. Thus there are two basic ways by which education helps – by developing responsible citizens through education and promoting values and ethics within the educational system and by developing a sense of awareness in people so there is a greater demand of accountability and transparency. Ethics is thus created by and within the educational system. Transparency International (TI) has focused on the anti-corruption education as also the corruption within the educational system. Within the education system, corruption ranges from exorbitant illegitimate fees and bribes and donations that deprive the less economically privileged and also leads to poor quality education. Corruption in education happens in many countries in large and small ways from accepting bribes and employing poorly qualified tutors to obtaining government funds in a fraudulent manner. Schools charge illegal fees or extra payments from certain communities, embezzlement of funds actually intended for teaching purposes and using school property and funds for private purposes are some of the common corrupt educational practices in developing nations. According to TI’s Global Corruption Barometer 2007, the educational sector is considered as one of the most corrupt after the police, judiciary and permit services. As knowledge and ethics begins at school, it is necessary to realize that educational structures are the pillars of society and culture and have to be monitored by an international organization for complete accountability and acceptable standards of practice.
Entertainment, Mass media and Corruption: Mass media and entertainment are not too far away from corrupt practices either. Corruption is especially conspicuous in the media during political campaigning and elections. Bias in the media in its extreme form amounts to corruption as it unjustly tries to sway voters by manipulating ratings and project a fabricated image of political parties rather than the reality. All media propaganda not based on accurate information suggests that the media tend to take advantage of the public impressionability and manipulate the public for personal gain of politicians. Instead of acting as a watchdog media sometimes participate in an entirely corrupt system. In recent years media corruption in the Philippines, especially during elections and even now, remains a hot topic and watchdogs have accused that journalistic integrity in the Philippines has been compromised and free press has been bought. Manipulation of the media and reports going out to the media is a standard practice in many countries including the Soviet Union and the US. This sort of manipulation is completely contrary to any democratic culture which is based on the principles of accountability and transparency. Entertainment in the form of books, films, music is also subject to corruption. In the US the FBI has investigated several cases of labor racketeering and bribery in the film industry and similar corruption is extremely common in the film and music industries abroad and in countries of South Asia, film industries like the Bollywood have always had close links with the mafia, terrorists and anti-socials and that’s an accepted fact in such countries. Media’s role is ultimately to support democracy and control corruption instead of being a part of it and the film and music industry directors, no matter how desperate they get, should not depend on criminals to finance them. Establishing a close link between the media and entertainment industry for purposes of accountability in journalism as also in entertainment would be necessary to stop malpractice. All film and media companies should have completely accessible information on their financiers, sponsors and supporters - political, business or otherwise and clearly indicate what their preferences or positions are and how or by whom they are supported and financed. This information should be made mandatory and should be easily accessible to the public to promote greater understanding of a media or entertainment company’s ideology, philosophy and practice.
Business, Environment and Corruption: Corporate social responsibility and focus on environmental issues is a major part of corporate governance. Good corporate governance prevents and checks all forms of corruption in the public and private companies. Large businesses have to be based on transparency since they have to remain accountable to stakeholders and customers. Along with transparency and management comes the need for corporate social responsibility which ranges from following labor laws and human rights issues to protecting the environment and contributing to the social and economic development of the regions. TI has provided an example on how hundreds of people were killed and injured when a fireworks factory burst into flames in Netherlands due to grave security breaches by government regulators and officials. Another example of environmental hazard is the logging of Borneo woods and destruction of habitats of rainforest nomads that have led to widespread deforestation adversely affecting the world’s climate. Several research studies have been conducted on the consequences of environmental exposure to factory waste dumps. From evidence of high levels of carcinogens in the river water in Greece to severe asbestos waste dumping in Canada and Brazil, the entire culture of waste dumping and disposal by companies have remained largely unaccounted for. The empty talk of corporate social responsibility will never hold any value until there is complete accountability of business transactions with regard to waste disposal and attainment or use of environmental resources. As can be seen from TI’s example, this sort of corruption at the corporate level and the link between big businesses and governments in actually creating environmental hazards is widespread and there is comparatively very little accountability. Unless there is some form of connection drawn between environmental hazards, corporate social responsibility and the widespread corrupt practices and misuse of natural resources, all attempts or hopes of preventing global warming or protection of the environment will simply remain unsubstantial.
Cultural change is a necessity at times but corruption directs these changes towards negative directions and all cultural products of society from corporate environments to the media, film industry and education are caused by and in turn cause corruption. To understand the true value of life and culture, we also need to understand the deeper and long lasting consequences of corruption that have permeated all aspects of modern society.
The term culture as we understand would refer to our social and moral systems, as well as all forms of human activity that are carried through generations comprising the gamut of human beliefs, values, arts, religions, languages and behavior. Culture is the product of civilization, a way of life and establishes traditions for societies. Corruption is counter to culture and erodes cultural integrity and moral systems of societies and thus has a deep and long lasting impact on the continuous evolution of human society. The different facets of culture are reflected through arts, knowledge systems, music, entertainment, religions and rituals.
The corruption of different modern cultural manifestations would be the malpractices that have entered educational systems, corruption in entertainment and mass media, as also in business and environment.
Education, Ethics and Corruption: Education is the basis of a morally stable society as students go on to become teachers and public officials. Morals and ethics can percolate only through proper education and thus education remains the strongest tool to prevent corruption. Education spreads awareness against corruption and thus helps in strengthening the moral or ethical values of society. Raising general levels of awareness in the population is essential as this establishes citizens’ demands for accountability, and education creates a culture of accountability by emphasizing ethical practice and by creating the need for such practice. Thus there are two basic ways by which education helps – by developing responsible citizens through education and promoting values and ethics within the educational system and by developing a sense of awareness in people so there is a greater demand of accountability and transparency. Ethics is thus created by and within the educational system. Transparency International (TI) has focused on the anti-corruption education as also the corruption within the educational system. Within the education system, corruption ranges from exorbitant illegitimate fees and bribes and donations that deprive the less economically privileged and also leads to poor quality education. Corruption in education happens in many countries in large and small ways from accepting bribes and employing poorly qualified tutors to obtaining government funds in a fraudulent manner. Schools charge illegal fees or extra payments from certain communities, embezzlement of funds actually intended for teaching purposes and using school property and funds for private purposes are some of the common corrupt educational practices in developing nations. According to TI’s Global Corruption Barometer 2007, the educational sector is considered as one of the most corrupt after the police, judiciary and permit services. As knowledge and ethics begins at school, it is necessary to realize that educational structures are the pillars of society and culture and have to be monitored by an international organization for complete accountability and acceptable standards of practice.
Entertainment, Mass media and Corruption: Mass media and entertainment are not too far away from corrupt practices either. Corruption is especially conspicuous in the media during political campaigning and elections. Bias in the media in its extreme form amounts to corruption as it unjustly tries to sway voters by manipulating ratings and project a fabricated image of political parties rather than the reality. All media propaganda not based on accurate information suggests that the media tend to take advantage of the public impressionability and manipulate the public for personal gain of politicians. Instead of acting as a watchdog media sometimes participate in an entirely corrupt system. In recent years media corruption in the Philippines, especially during elections and even now, remains a hot topic and watchdogs have accused that journalistic integrity in the Philippines has been compromised and free press has been bought. Manipulation of the media and reports going out to the media is a standard practice in many countries including the Soviet Union and the US. This sort of manipulation is completely contrary to any democratic culture which is based on the principles of accountability and transparency. Entertainment in the form of books, films, music is also subject to corruption. In the US the FBI has investigated several cases of labor racketeering and bribery in the film industry and similar corruption is extremely common in the film and music industries abroad and in countries of South Asia, film industries like the Bollywood have always had close links with the mafia, terrorists and anti-socials and that’s an accepted fact in such countries. Media’s role is ultimately to support democracy and control corruption instead of being a part of it and the film and music industry directors, no matter how desperate they get, should not depend on criminals to finance them. Establishing a close link between the media and entertainment industry for purposes of accountability in journalism as also in entertainment would be necessary to stop malpractice. All film and media companies should have completely accessible information on their financiers, sponsors and supporters - political, business or otherwise and clearly indicate what their preferences or positions are and how or by whom they are supported and financed. This information should be made mandatory and should be easily accessible to the public to promote greater understanding of a media or entertainment company’s ideology, philosophy and practice.
Business, Environment and Corruption: Corporate social responsibility and focus on environmental issues is a major part of corporate governance. Good corporate governance prevents and checks all forms of corruption in the public and private companies. Large businesses have to be based on transparency since they have to remain accountable to stakeholders and customers. Along with transparency and management comes the need for corporate social responsibility which ranges from following labor laws and human rights issues to protecting the environment and contributing to the social and economic development of the regions. TI has provided an example on how hundreds of people were killed and injured when a fireworks factory burst into flames in Netherlands due to grave security breaches by government regulators and officials. Another example of environmental hazard is the logging of Borneo woods and destruction of habitats of rainforest nomads that have led to widespread deforestation adversely affecting the world’s climate. Several research studies have been conducted on the consequences of environmental exposure to factory waste dumps. From evidence of high levels of carcinogens in the river water in Greece to severe asbestos waste dumping in Canada and Brazil, the entire culture of waste dumping and disposal by companies have remained largely unaccounted for. The empty talk of corporate social responsibility will never hold any value until there is complete accountability of business transactions with regard to waste disposal and attainment or use of environmental resources. As can be seen from TI’s example, this sort of corruption at the corporate level and the link between big businesses and governments in actually creating environmental hazards is widespread and there is comparatively very little accountability. Unless there is some form of connection drawn between environmental hazards, corporate social responsibility and the widespread corrupt practices and misuse of natural resources, all attempts or hopes of preventing global warming or protection of the environment will simply remain unsubstantial.
Cultural change is a necessity at times but corruption directs these changes towards negative directions and all cultural products of society from corporate environments to the media, film industry and education are caused by and in turn cause corruption. To understand the true value of life and culture, we also need to understand the deeper and long lasting consequences of corruption that have permeated all aspects of modern society.
Corruption and Culture - Part I
Saberi Roy -
2/26/2008
Corruption is not just the abuse of power for personal gain but also personal gain at the expense of others so it has moral, ethical, social, economic, political and broader geographical impact. Although some form of corruption has always existed in human society, the practice or culture of corruption has taken up gigantic forms since the 20th century. From politics to the corporate world, from entertainment to education corruption is a disease and a vice of organizational systems. Almost like cancer, corruption begins slowly and gradually permeates to affect the whole of society. Most people in the world tend to believe that the political systems are corrupt and may as well be the root of all corruption. According to the Transparency International’s (TI) Global Corruption Barometer 2007, the poor are the most affected by corruption, bribery is a common problem in South Asia and Eastern Europe and seems to have increased in recent times, and bribery is particular common in judiciary, police and registry services. The politicians, police and judiciary are considered as the most corrupt and most people believe that government attempts to fight corruption have been ineffective. The global approach to corruption can be tackled in three ways –
1. Political corruption and its links with poverty and poor regional development in countries of Africa and other developing nations
2. Economic corruption and its links with globalization, mass media and privatization in the developed world and also in some emerging economies
3. Judicial corruption and its links with technology, terrorism and transparency as an approach to understanding crime and illegal activities in Asia, Latin America, Africa and many developing nations.
Politics, Poverty and Corruption: In politics or administrative roles corruption is the abuse of power and corrupt individuals act directly against public interest so the perception of politicians as corrupt is justified considering that politicians are the most public faces of society and yet their political activities are the least transparent. This gap between public life and private wealth has in some cases simply highlighted the flaws in the political system and for that matter even the legal system so politicians could easily get around legal problems and still have their accumulated wealth intact in some foreign bank. The Indonesian president Suharto had allegedly accumulated billions in foreign banks and so had Philippines president Marcos. Corruption is rampant in Africa as well and Swiss banks have estimated nearly 400 billion dollars held by heads of African states. Considering the challenges that Africa face to provide basic needs to its people, this severe corruption seems to be the foremost problem in Africa. Yet there seems to be very little that is done about it. Africa’s economic growth seems to have been relatively steady in the last few years with major growth of foreign direct investment, although there has been a limited effect on poverty reduction. Yet when media or analysts talk of starvation and poverty problems in Africa, the rampant corruption is not shown as an associated problem, corruption is only tackled separately. What we really have to do is highlight the link between corruption and poverty in Africa and develop strict monitoring of African governance, possibly through the UN or any other international organization. Although political corruption is found in many parts of the world, the adverse effect is the strongest in Africa because of the sheer magnitude of political corruption as placed alongside the widespread poverty, starvation and lack of basic needs of the people in the region.
Economy, Globalization and Corruption: If the problem of political corruption is the root of slow development of African regions, liberalization seems to have hit the global economy in good and bad ways and would be the cause of widespread corporate corruption across the developed world. Public contracting and implementation of public policies are meant to produce goods and services for the benefit of citizens. In most countries, such contracts between the government and the public companies can be fertile grounds of corruption and can lead to not just poor quality services for the public but also puts a strain on government resources. Although public contracting seems to be a regional problem in the developing and developed countries, it finally affects the wider economy. The large scale impact of contracting is through globalization which is actually the dominance of a few companies in all regions of the world. Globalization and the resulting spread of American companies throughout the world may be just beginning to show its real impact with wealth getting more and more concentrated in the hands of large global players rather than being distributed equally. Some however see globalization as an offshoot of democracy, free trade policy and neo-liberalism is something that was bound to happen, globalization seems to have brought the world closer improved communication and eliminated gaps between the developed and developing economies. But of course, like everything else there are two sides to this story and the control of the global economy by a few companies maybe not just widening the gap between the rich and the poor but also opening up newer routes of corruption. The multinational companies are bigger than governments and in many cases the governments seem to be acting as passive facilitators for these big businesses. One way this helps in the development of infrastructure in developing regions and on the other hand, increases widespread corrupt practices. The lure of privatization is hard to avoid yet with private companies commanding power through money, money laundering and corrupt stock market practices are easily associated with globalization and government approved trading. The IMF and World Trade Organization seem to be not doing enough to stop the corrupt practices of multinational companies and financial institutions as these practices are easily shown as aspects of legitimate businesses. There’s always a back door and an escape route and with information technology and communication systems having changed trade and businesses, it is easy to swiftly vanish illegal money through electronic transactions. Monitoring world businesses and trading patterns is absolutely necessary to establish fair play in a more advantageous form of globalization. The link between economy, globalization and corruption seems to be the major vice of the developed nations and any slowdown of economy would demand a scrutiny of business and trading practices, although like political corruption and poverty, the association between corruption, globalization and a weak economy is always overlooked.
Judiciary, Technology and Corruption: With political corruption widespread in Africa and developing nations and economic corruption found across the developed world, the judiciary and law enforcement agencies are seen as becoming increasingly corrupt in Asian regions and other developing nations. In a global era of terrorism, it is important to understand the adverse impact of a corrupt judicial system that is unable to tackle crime effectively. Judicial corruption in the form of bribery or illegal practices and ‘getting around the law’ undermines the basic tenets of democracy and facilitates malpractice across different sectors of governance and society. What should be highlighted here is the need to promote greater judicial transparency and accountability. Increasing public knowledge about the judicial system in terms of its practices and disciplinary processes and computerization of the judicial systems with an open and accessible working environment are necessary. Computerized case tracking and public access to judicial information through published cases and stored databases help increase the accountability of judicial process and legal systems, decisions and practices. According to Transparency International (TI), the recommendations for increasing judicial transparency are through annual reports and access to information, asset disclosures, fair legal commentary and judicial reform. All these measures seem to highlight the importance of using technology to make the judiciary more public and transparent. Technology remains as the main tool for enhancing the public face of the judiciary and even technology can be used to track crime, illegal deals and aid in making judicial decisions quickly. The judicial system is largely complex with too many laws and clauses and the simplification of the judicial system is only possible with the use of technology. Advanced case management systems could improve court administration and the general efficiency of the courts and although many of these reforms are being implemented and some are already in place in developed nations, this is not so in developing countries and in many regions the judiciary is not completely computerized and there is absolutely no transparency or public access to information. The problem of bribery is thus naturally phenomenal in the judicial systems of developing countries. The police and judiciary are most likely to demand bribes with bribery being a huge problem in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Source: TI). Countries which are torn by conflict or have terrorist bases such as Pakistan, Afganistan, Albania, Kosovo, Nigeria have very high levels of corruption in the judiciary. It goes without saying that a corrupt judicial system is not just harmful economically but also extremely dangerous in terms of security of developed and developing regions alike. In an increasingly connected world, flawed or corrupt legal system in one small nation can have a deep impact on the rest of the world. The International Court of Justice and such governing bodies as also the media should focus on the roots of judicial problems and focus on improving transparency through improved technology. The link between judicial corruption, terrorism and technology is not highlighted significantly and it is high time and we perceive these links as absolutely important.
2/26/2008
Corruption is not just the abuse of power for personal gain but also personal gain at the expense of others so it has moral, ethical, social, economic, political and broader geographical impact. Although some form of corruption has always existed in human society, the practice or culture of corruption has taken up gigantic forms since the 20th century. From politics to the corporate world, from entertainment to education corruption is a disease and a vice of organizational systems. Almost like cancer, corruption begins slowly and gradually permeates to affect the whole of society. Most people in the world tend to believe that the political systems are corrupt and may as well be the root of all corruption. According to the Transparency International’s (TI) Global Corruption Barometer 2007, the poor are the most affected by corruption, bribery is a common problem in South Asia and Eastern Europe and seems to have increased in recent times, and bribery is particular common in judiciary, police and registry services. The politicians, police and judiciary are considered as the most corrupt and most people believe that government attempts to fight corruption have been ineffective. The global approach to corruption can be tackled in three ways –
1. Political corruption and its links with poverty and poor regional development in countries of Africa and other developing nations
2. Economic corruption and its links with globalization, mass media and privatization in the developed world and also in some emerging economies
3. Judicial corruption and its links with technology, terrorism and transparency as an approach to understanding crime and illegal activities in Asia, Latin America, Africa and many developing nations.
Politics, Poverty and Corruption: In politics or administrative roles corruption is the abuse of power and corrupt individuals act directly against public interest so the perception of politicians as corrupt is justified considering that politicians are the most public faces of society and yet their political activities are the least transparent. This gap between public life and private wealth has in some cases simply highlighted the flaws in the political system and for that matter even the legal system so politicians could easily get around legal problems and still have their accumulated wealth intact in some foreign bank. The Indonesian president Suharto had allegedly accumulated billions in foreign banks and so had Philippines president Marcos. Corruption is rampant in Africa as well and Swiss banks have estimated nearly 400 billion dollars held by heads of African states. Considering the challenges that Africa face to provide basic needs to its people, this severe corruption seems to be the foremost problem in Africa. Yet there seems to be very little that is done about it. Africa’s economic growth seems to have been relatively steady in the last few years with major growth of foreign direct investment, although there has been a limited effect on poverty reduction. Yet when media or analysts talk of starvation and poverty problems in Africa, the rampant corruption is not shown as an associated problem, corruption is only tackled separately. What we really have to do is highlight the link between corruption and poverty in Africa and develop strict monitoring of African governance, possibly through the UN or any other international organization. Although political corruption is found in many parts of the world, the adverse effect is the strongest in Africa because of the sheer magnitude of political corruption as placed alongside the widespread poverty, starvation and lack of basic needs of the people in the region.
Economy, Globalization and Corruption: If the problem of political corruption is the root of slow development of African regions, liberalization seems to have hit the global economy in good and bad ways and would be the cause of widespread corporate corruption across the developed world. Public contracting and implementation of public policies are meant to produce goods and services for the benefit of citizens. In most countries, such contracts between the government and the public companies can be fertile grounds of corruption and can lead to not just poor quality services for the public but also puts a strain on government resources. Although public contracting seems to be a regional problem in the developing and developed countries, it finally affects the wider economy. The large scale impact of contracting is through globalization which is actually the dominance of a few companies in all regions of the world. Globalization and the resulting spread of American companies throughout the world may be just beginning to show its real impact with wealth getting more and more concentrated in the hands of large global players rather than being distributed equally. Some however see globalization as an offshoot of democracy, free trade policy and neo-liberalism is something that was bound to happen, globalization seems to have brought the world closer improved communication and eliminated gaps between the developed and developing economies. But of course, like everything else there are two sides to this story and the control of the global economy by a few companies maybe not just widening the gap between the rich and the poor but also opening up newer routes of corruption. The multinational companies are bigger than governments and in many cases the governments seem to be acting as passive facilitators for these big businesses. One way this helps in the development of infrastructure in developing regions and on the other hand, increases widespread corrupt practices. The lure of privatization is hard to avoid yet with private companies commanding power through money, money laundering and corrupt stock market practices are easily associated with globalization and government approved trading. The IMF and World Trade Organization seem to be not doing enough to stop the corrupt practices of multinational companies and financial institutions as these practices are easily shown as aspects of legitimate businesses. There’s always a back door and an escape route and with information technology and communication systems having changed trade and businesses, it is easy to swiftly vanish illegal money through electronic transactions. Monitoring world businesses and trading patterns is absolutely necessary to establish fair play in a more advantageous form of globalization. The link between economy, globalization and corruption seems to be the major vice of the developed nations and any slowdown of economy would demand a scrutiny of business and trading practices, although like political corruption and poverty, the association between corruption, globalization and a weak economy is always overlooked.
Judiciary, Technology and Corruption: With political corruption widespread in Africa and developing nations and economic corruption found across the developed world, the judiciary and law enforcement agencies are seen as becoming increasingly corrupt in Asian regions and other developing nations. In a global era of terrorism, it is important to understand the adverse impact of a corrupt judicial system that is unable to tackle crime effectively. Judicial corruption in the form of bribery or illegal practices and ‘getting around the law’ undermines the basic tenets of democracy and facilitates malpractice across different sectors of governance and society. What should be highlighted here is the need to promote greater judicial transparency and accountability. Increasing public knowledge about the judicial system in terms of its practices and disciplinary processes and computerization of the judicial systems with an open and accessible working environment are necessary. Computerized case tracking and public access to judicial information through published cases and stored databases help increase the accountability of judicial process and legal systems, decisions and practices. According to Transparency International (TI), the recommendations for increasing judicial transparency are through annual reports and access to information, asset disclosures, fair legal commentary and judicial reform. All these measures seem to highlight the importance of using technology to make the judiciary more public and transparent. Technology remains as the main tool for enhancing the public face of the judiciary and even technology can be used to track crime, illegal deals and aid in making judicial decisions quickly. The judicial system is largely complex with too many laws and clauses and the simplification of the judicial system is only possible with the use of technology. Advanced case management systems could improve court administration and the general efficiency of the courts and although many of these reforms are being implemented and some are already in place in developed nations, this is not so in developing countries and in many regions the judiciary is not completely computerized and there is absolutely no transparency or public access to information. The problem of bribery is thus naturally phenomenal in the judicial systems of developing countries. The police and judiciary are most likely to demand bribes with bribery being a huge problem in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Source: TI). Countries which are torn by conflict or have terrorist bases such as Pakistan, Afganistan, Albania, Kosovo, Nigeria have very high levels of corruption in the judiciary. It goes without saying that a corrupt judicial system is not just harmful economically but also extremely dangerous in terms of security of developed and developing regions alike. In an increasingly connected world, flawed or corrupt legal system in one small nation can have a deep impact on the rest of the world. The International Court of Justice and such governing bodies as also the media should focus on the roots of judicial problems and focus on improving transparency through improved technology. The link between judicial corruption, terrorism and technology is not highlighted significantly and it is high time and we perceive these links as absolutely important.
Corruption, no less dangerous than Communalism
10/11/2009
Tanveer Jafri -
While India, the world’s largest secular democracy, on one hand, is rapidly moving towards becoming a developed nation and on the other hand, there are some manmade problems facing this country which are creating obstacles in its development. While the spread of communal forces in the country is a problem, the corruption throughout the country is no less dangerous than the problem of communalism. We Indians can thank God only for the fact that probably hitherto our Prime Ministers, Presidents and Chief Justices and Lok Sabha speakers have never been charged of corruption. Otherwise, we couldn’t have known the spread of the limits of corruption.
We have seen the impeachment procedure of a judge of the High Court in Parliament. We have seen the precipitation of Indian currency during the helicopter accident of a Governor. Indian media, through sting operations, has caught Union Ministers, President of a national political party and many Members of Parliament (MPs) accepting bribes red-handed. Here the Chief Ministers of the states have been found involved in corruption scandals. Numerous Union Ministers, State Ministers, MPs, Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), bureaucrats etc. can be found charged with corruption. In these circumstances, there is doubt that the raising of voice against corruption, by a few responsible people like former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh would have any positive effect. The roots of corruption in our country are so deep that in some government departments it has become the norm. In such departments, the situation is so worse that the bribes and corrupt people are known to be ‘talented’, while an honest official is termed as ‘moron’. The incident of Bhagwati Prasad Dixit of Kanpur might be known to the readers that how this honest and hardworking engineer, who dared to act against corruption, was declared mentally ill by the corruption ridden system. And eventually, while fighting against corruption, he died. Apart from this, there are innumerable cases of people like Satyendra Dubey, K. Manjunathan and Manoj Gupta, who became victims of this corrupt system. People get more encouraged to indulge in corruption when the entire system is submerged in it.
Recently, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing a conference of anti-corruption agencies, admitted that there is a perception that while petty cases get tackled quickly, the “big fish” escape punishment. He said that there is an urgent need to change this. He also said that "high level” corruption has to be aggressively pursued. He said that all such cases should be investigated on priority basis. This has certainly raised the eyebrows of those corrupt high level officials who carry on accumulating wealth for coming generations by misusing their office.
People of the country have taken seriously the clear message of Prime Minister. And now they are waiting for the first “big fish” in consequence of Prime Minister’s directive. There is no other view on honesty and courage of the Prime Minister. This also became evident from the recent general elections in which the people of India ‘erased’ those from the political scenario of the country, who, in order to grab power, were trying to declare Manmohan Singh as a ‘weak Prime Minister’. There were anxieties in many parts of the country over his being related to the Sikh community. But the Prime Minister himself stated in an election meeting in Ludhiana (Punjab) that first of all he is the Prime Minister of this country, and then a Sikh. He also said that he is against the mixing of religion and politics. In the same meeting, Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi called him as “pride of India”.
Congress party, the largest constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), tried to convey to the people that the Congress’ hand is with the common people. Certainly, the common man wants this slogan transformed into action. And if the common man really feels that the government is with him and he is getting justice, then he definitely support that government or political party. A small example of this was seen in Uttar Pradesh in recent general elections. The performance of the Congress party was best in those 39 districts of the state where the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was enforced in the first phase. The areas in which the unemployed got employment with full transparency and they need not migrate for earning livelihoods, such people joined the chorus of ‘Jai Ho’ with the Congress.
Today the common man wants to see a clean administrative structure, transparent and corruption free environment. And it would be possible only when the high level corruption, which provides patronization to corruption at lower levels, would end. The problem in India is that either it is the person adulterating life saving drugs or food items, economic fraudster, gangster or professional criminal, such characterless people quickly get political ‘asylum’. And after this patronization, the middle and lower rank officials automatically become helpless. In such situation, these few honest people are left with just two options. Either they face the suspension or termination of job while fighting against high level political intervention, become victims of such corrupt network or felling in line with them, they become participant of that network and enter its ‘mainstream’. Today we are concerned about the increasing might of China. But we ignore the basis of that power. The entire world is aware of the steps taken by China vis-Ã -vis population control. Last year, the same China sentenced two people to death, who were involved in a tainted milk scandal. In our country, since long time tainted milk, poisonous vegetables are available in the market. And now even there is news of fake blood. Amidst this, the Prime Minister’s concerns are not only justifiable; there is an urgent need to act on his concerns.
Hopefully, the top level honest officers would be encouraged with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and they would be able to ‘trap’ a ‘big fish’ as early as possible. Perhaps, then only the common people would say ‘Jai Ho’.
Tanveer Jafri is a columnist in India related with hundreds of most popular daily news papers and web portals in India and outside of it. He is also a member of Haryana Sahitya Academy and Haryana Urdu Academy (a State Government body in India).
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25952-india
Tanveer Jafri -
While India, the world’s largest secular democracy, on one hand, is rapidly moving towards becoming a developed nation and on the other hand, there are some manmade problems facing this country which are creating obstacles in its development. While the spread of communal forces in the country is a problem, the corruption throughout the country is no less dangerous than the problem of communalism. We Indians can thank God only for the fact that probably hitherto our Prime Ministers, Presidents and Chief Justices and Lok Sabha speakers have never been charged of corruption. Otherwise, we couldn’t have known the spread of the limits of corruption.
We have seen the impeachment procedure of a judge of the High Court in Parliament. We have seen the precipitation of Indian currency during the helicopter accident of a Governor. Indian media, through sting operations, has caught Union Ministers, President of a national political party and many Members of Parliament (MPs) accepting bribes red-handed. Here the Chief Ministers of the states have been found involved in corruption scandals. Numerous Union Ministers, State Ministers, MPs, Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), bureaucrats etc. can be found charged with corruption. In these circumstances, there is doubt that the raising of voice against corruption, by a few responsible people like former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh would have any positive effect. The roots of corruption in our country are so deep that in some government departments it has become the norm. In such departments, the situation is so worse that the bribes and corrupt people are known to be ‘talented’, while an honest official is termed as ‘moron’. The incident of Bhagwati Prasad Dixit of Kanpur might be known to the readers that how this honest and hardworking engineer, who dared to act against corruption, was declared mentally ill by the corruption ridden system. And eventually, while fighting against corruption, he died. Apart from this, there are innumerable cases of people like Satyendra Dubey, K. Manjunathan and Manoj Gupta, who became victims of this corrupt system. People get more encouraged to indulge in corruption when the entire system is submerged in it.
Recently, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing a conference of anti-corruption agencies, admitted that there is a perception that while petty cases get tackled quickly, the “big fish” escape punishment. He said that there is an urgent need to change this. He also said that "high level” corruption has to be aggressively pursued. He said that all such cases should be investigated on priority basis. This has certainly raised the eyebrows of those corrupt high level officials who carry on accumulating wealth for coming generations by misusing their office.
People of the country have taken seriously the clear message of Prime Minister. And now they are waiting for the first “big fish” in consequence of Prime Minister’s directive. There is no other view on honesty and courage of the Prime Minister. This also became evident from the recent general elections in which the people of India ‘erased’ those from the political scenario of the country, who, in order to grab power, were trying to declare Manmohan Singh as a ‘weak Prime Minister’. There were anxieties in many parts of the country over his being related to the Sikh community. But the Prime Minister himself stated in an election meeting in Ludhiana (Punjab) that first of all he is the Prime Minister of this country, and then a Sikh. He also said that he is against the mixing of religion and politics. In the same meeting, Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi called him as “pride of India”.
Congress party, the largest constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), tried to convey to the people that the Congress’ hand is with the common people. Certainly, the common man wants this slogan transformed into action. And if the common man really feels that the government is with him and he is getting justice, then he definitely support that government or political party. A small example of this was seen in Uttar Pradesh in recent general elections. The performance of the Congress party was best in those 39 districts of the state where the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was enforced in the first phase. The areas in which the unemployed got employment with full transparency and they need not migrate for earning livelihoods, such people joined the chorus of ‘Jai Ho’ with the Congress.
Today the common man wants to see a clean administrative structure, transparent and corruption free environment. And it would be possible only when the high level corruption, which provides patronization to corruption at lower levels, would end. The problem in India is that either it is the person adulterating life saving drugs or food items, economic fraudster, gangster or professional criminal, such characterless people quickly get political ‘asylum’. And after this patronization, the middle and lower rank officials automatically become helpless. In such situation, these few honest people are left with just two options. Either they face the suspension or termination of job while fighting against high level political intervention, become victims of such corrupt network or felling in line with them, they become participant of that network and enter its ‘mainstream’. Today we are concerned about the increasing might of China. But we ignore the basis of that power. The entire world is aware of the steps taken by China vis-Ã -vis population control. Last year, the same China sentenced two people to death, who were involved in a tainted milk scandal. In our country, since long time tainted milk, poisonous vegetables are available in the market. And now even there is news of fake blood. Amidst this, the Prime Minister’s concerns are not only justifiable; there is an urgent need to act on his concerns.
Hopefully, the top level honest officers would be encouraged with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and they would be able to ‘trap’ a ‘big fish’ as early as possible. Perhaps, then only the common people would say ‘Jai Ho’.
Tanveer Jafri is a columnist in India related with hundreds of most popular daily news papers and web portals in India and outside of it. He is also a member of Haryana Sahitya Academy and Haryana Urdu Academy (a State Government body in India).
http://www.globalpolitician.com/25952-india
Corruption in Judiciary
The sheer number of cases pending
in the Indian judicial system (26
million at last count) says it all.
One of the most frequently used words in India, corruption signifies a range of things. In 2005, Transparency International and Delhi based Centre for Media Studies, a research firm, undertook the India Corruption Study. The survey covered 14,405 respondents over 20 states and included interviews with service providers and users (of these services). The results, published the same year said Indians pay out around Rs 21,068 crore as bribes while availing one of 11 public services. While some of the results of the survey were published, many of the details were not. The study, however, remains the most recent and the most comprehensive report on corruption in India. Apart from calculating the extent of corruption, in Rs crore, it explains the mechanics of it.
Courting Corruption
The sheer number of cases pending in the Indian judicial system (26 million at last count) says it all. Given that, and the number of judges across various states (per lakh of population), the system is rife with delays and inefficiencies -- ideal conditions for middlemen to step in. In the year preceding the survey, 59% of respondents paid bribes to lawyers, 5% to judges, and 30% to court officials.
1. Inaccesibility
The judicial system is highly dilatory, expensive, and beyond the reach of the common man. Ordinary citizens find it hard to seek redress, as litigation is expensive and extra money is often required to oil the wheels of the system
2. Misuse of power
There are instances of Metropolitan Magistrates issuing bailable arrest warrants against individuals of whose identitites he has no idea, in return for an inducement.
Some time back, a Metropolitan Magistrate in Ahmedabad issued bailable arrest warrants against the President of India in return for an inducement of Rs 40,000.
In some cases, judges offer a favour in exchange for personal gain or favours. In Rajasthan, some time back, there were reports of a judge who offered judicial favour in exchange for sexual favours from a litigant. Some of these instances have been reported by the media, but no action has resulted.
Today, under existing rules, any person making any allegation of corruption or other things against a sitting judge can be charged and punished for contempt of court. This is a deterrent against more such instances coming to light.
3. A difficult impeachment process
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that no first information report (FIR) can be registered against a judge, nor, a criminal investigation initiated without prior approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Once appointed, a judge of the High Court or Supreme Court cannot be sacked except by a complicated impeachment process, done by members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the two houses of Indian parliament. Their immunity is reinforced by the fact that the procedure isn’t just cumbersome but also susceptible to political influence. In the 1990s, when the Congress was in power, a motion seeking to impeach Justice V Ramaswami could not be passed by parliament as Congress members of parliament abstained from voting. There have been no other attempts at impeachment in India.
4. Slow and inefficient
Many cases drag on for years. SAn oft cited excuse is the lack of staff, but the judicial process itself is unnecessarily complicated and inefficient, making cases drag on for a long time. Bribes are sometimes ought to davance the judgement or bend it. At last count, some 26 million cases were pending in Indian courts.
Why People Pay Bribes
1. Favourable judgement
Recent media reports have shown that it is possible to secure a favourable judegement in a lower court by bribing the judiciary, although the situation radically improves when it comes to the higher courts.
2. Speeding up judgement
There is a huge backlog of cases in Indian courts which results in delayed judgements. It is quite common for a case to drag on for years. People often have to pay bribes to speed up the process.
3. Other activities
A llot of non case related work also falls under the purview of the judiciary. This includes the issual of affidavits, registrations, etc. People often pay bribes to get this work done by a middleman.
4. Obtaining bail
The judge has a lot of discretion in issuing bail; the guidelines governing this are fairly basic. It is possible to secure bail by influencing the judge in some cases.
5. Manipulating witnesses
As some recent high-profile cases have shown, witnesses are manipulated through money or force into giving favourable testimony.
Suggested Solutions
1. Use of technology
* A review of how court records are handled and the introduction of modern tracking methods can eliminate much of petty corruption existing in lower courts
* Websites and CDs can explain basic law to laymen
* Court files can be computerized
* Video recordings of cout procedings should be maintained
2. Reduce the gap
* Provide alternative methods of dispute redressal to lighten burden on courts
* Increase number of judicial officers and number of fast track courts
* Create a vigilance cell for redressal of public grievances
3. Making the judiciary accountable
* Judges must be subject to judicial review
* Judges must follow a code of conduct
* Bar associations must act against corrupt members
* A public body must keep an eye on the judicial system
* An Indian judicial service must be created
* The proposed National Judicial Commission should have powers to fire judges
* Judges should declare their assets and those of their family
http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/02160432/Corruption-in-Judiciary.html
in the Indian judicial system (26
million at last count) says it all.
One of the most frequently used words in India, corruption signifies a range of things. In 2005, Transparency International and Delhi based Centre for Media Studies, a research firm, undertook the India Corruption Study. The survey covered 14,405 respondents over 20 states and included interviews with service providers and users (of these services). The results, published the same year said Indians pay out around Rs 21,068 crore as bribes while availing one of 11 public services. While some of the results of the survey were published, many of the details were not. The study, however, remains the most recent and the most comprehensive report on corruption in India. Apart from calculating the extent of corruption, in Rs crore, it explains the mechanics of it.
Courting Corruption
The sheer number of cases pending in the Indian judicial system (26 million at last count) says it all. Given that, and the number of judges across various states (per lakh of population), the system is rife with delays and inefficiencies -- ideal conditions for middlemen to step in. In the year preceding the survey, 59% of respondents paid bribes to lawyers, 5% to judges, and 30% to court officials.
1. Inaccesibility
The judicial system is highly dilatory, expensive, and beyond the reach of the common man. Ordinary citizens find it hard to seek redress, as litigation is expensive and extra money is often required to oil the wheels of the system
2. Misuse of power
There are instances of Metropolitan Magistrates issuing bailable arrest warrants against individuals of whose identitites he has no idea, in return for an inducement.
Some time back, a Metropolitan Magistrate in Ahmedabad issued bailable arrest warrants against the President of India in return for an inducement of Rs 40,000.
In some cases, judges offer a favour in exchange for personal gain or favours. In Rajasthan, some time back, there were reports of a judge who offered judicial favour in exchange for sexual favours from a litigant. Some of these instances have been reported by the media, but no action has resulted.
Today, under existing rules, any person making any allegation of corruption or other things against a sitting judge can be charged and punished for contempt of court. This is a deterrent against more such instances coming to light.
3. A difficult impeachment process
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that no first information report (FIR) can be registered against a judge, nor, a criminal investigation initiated without prior approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Once appointed, a judge of the High Court or Supreme Court cannot be sacked except by a complicated impeachment process, done by members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the two houses of Indian parliament. Their immunity is reinforced by the fact that the procedure isn’t just cumbersome but also susceptible to political influence. In the 1990s, when the Congress was in power, a motion seeking to impeach Justice V Ramaswami could not be passed by parliament as Congress members of parliament abstained from voting. There have been no other attempts at impeachment in India.
4. Slow and inefficient
Many cases drag on for years. SAn oft cited excuse is the lack of staff, but the judicial process itself is unnecessarily complicated and inefficient, making cases drag on for a long time. Bribes are sometimes ought to davance the judgement or bend it. At last count, some 26 million cases were pending in Indian courts.
Why People Pay Bribes
1. Favourable judgement
Recent media reports have shown that it is possible to secure a favourable judegement in a lower court by bribing the judiciary, although the situation radically improves when it comes to the higher courts.
2. Speeding up judgement
There is a huge backlog of cases in Indian courts which results in delayed judgements. It is quite common for a case to drag on for years. People often have to pay bribes to speed up the process.
3. Other activities
A llot of non case related work also falls under the purview of the judiciary. This includes the issual of affidavits, registrations, etc. People often pay bribes to get this work done by a middleman.
4. Obtaining bail
The judge has a lot of discretion in issuing bail; the guidelines governing this are fairly basic. It is possible to secure bail by influencing the judge in some cases.
5. Manipulating witnesses
As some recent high-profile cases have shown, witnesses are manipulated through money or force into giving favourable testimony.
Suggested Solutions
1. Use of technology
* A review of how court records are handled and the introduction of modern tracking methods can eliminate much of petty corruption existing in lower courts
* Websites and CDs can explain basic law to laymen
* Court files can be computerized
* Video recordings of cout procedings should be maintained
2. Reduce the gap
* Provide alternative methods of dispute redressal to lighten burden on courts
* Increase number of judicial officers and number of fast track courts
* Create a vigilance cell for redressal of public grievances
3. Making the judiciary accountable
* Judges must be subject to judicial review
* Judges must follow a code of conduct
* Bar associations must act against corrupt members
* A public body must keep an eye on the judicial system
* An Indian judicial service must be created
* The proposed National Judicial Commission should have powers to fire judges
* Judges should declare their assets and those of their family
http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/02160432/Corruption-in-Judiciary.html
Top 10 reasons Behind Lethargic Indian Judiciary
In fact , it is a deliberate approach of the courts in India to delay the proceedings in all matter. The reasons can be well understood :
1. Delay the process to such an extent that people stop expecting justice from courts & settle issues amicably.
2. Issued settled amicably are best ways of settlement , no one will feel aggrieved.
3. Less work for the judges (for same remunerations)
4. Who is there to question us(judges)? Politicians (law makers) need judiciary's and judiciary needs politicians' support.(Andar ki baat !!)
5. We do not want to trouble our heads for others' disputes.
6. Oops I do not know how to decide the matter. I need to re-open the book.
7. Yawn !!! I have forgotten what happened before the vacations .( I am dreaming ---SWITZERLAND in cozy arms of my wife)
8. Let them wait !!
9. Ok Senior vakil sahib ! As you say , lets keep it for next year.
10. Dont eat my head. If you are aggrieved , go and file appeal .(as it is the matter is off my head,you go n screw my senior judge now).
1. Delay the process to such an extent that people stop expecting justice from courts & settle issues amicably.
2. Issued settled amicably are best ways of settlement , no one will feel aggrieved.
3. Less work for the judges (for same remunerations)
4. Who is there to question us(judges)? Politicians (law makers) need judiciary's and judiciary needs politicians' support.(Andar ki baat !!)
5. We do not want to trouble our heads for others' disputes.
6. Oops I do not know how to decide the matter. I need to re-open the book.
7. Yawn !!! I have forgotten what happened before the vacations .( I am dreaming ---SWITZERLAND in cozy arms of my wife)
8. Let them wait !!
9. Ok Senior vakil sahib ! As you say , lets keep it for next year.
10. Dont eat my head. If you are aggrieved , go and file appeal .(as it is the matter is off my head,you go n screw my senior judge now).
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