Bar & Bench spoke to young Indian lawyers Jayant Mehta practicing in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and Abhishek Sharma at Link Legal on the Lokpal Bill..Bar & Bench spoke to young Indian lawyers Jayant Mehta practicing in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and Abhishek Sharma at Link Legal on the Lokpal Bill..Bar & Bench: While drafting public related laws, should the Government involve civic societies/public in framing of these laws. Your views on the same..Jayant Mehta: Yes. The Government does involve the general public in framing of the important legislation. Whenever any draft legislation is referred to any Standing Committee of the Parliament, more often than not, such Standing Committee solicits the views of the public. Even the Law Commission, which is entrusted with the task of researching and recommending changes in the legal framework, also consults the interested members of public. Besides these practices, which are followed, it is indeed imperative that the Government consult the members of public in drafting of a legislation, which is as important to an ordinary Indian, as the Lokpal Bill. How can we allow the Government an unbridled discretion and a right to ignore the general public in setting rules for its (i.e. the Government’s) own scrutiny?.Abhishek Sharma: The fact that politicians are voted to office by the people gives rise to a legitimate presumption that the laws enacted by the legislature reflects the aspirations of the people. Moreover, the laws of our country does not provide for a referendum before legislating a law. India has multiple interest groups and each of these groups invariably has a different perspective on different areas of legislation. It will become impossible to enact laws if the opinion of the public at large is sought while framing laws. Public related laws or welfare legislations are not an exception to this scenario. .Bar & Bench: Anna Hazare has gone on indefinite hunger strike to force the Centre to accept Jan Lokpal Bill in its entirety. Do you agree with the method he has chosen to fight against corruption?.Jayant Mehta: Yes and No. I value and respect his freedom to adopt the mode of his protest and expression. He certainly has a just cause for his protest and it cannot be denied that the time calls for for such unprecedented measures. However, I do not think that he is justified in seeking acceptance of the Jan Lokpal Bill in its entirety. Surely the Bill, whether it is Lokpal or Jan Lokpal should be put to the scrutiny of all the stakeholders and most importantly the general public..Abhishek Sharma: Although the Gandhian means adopted by Anna Hazare cannot be assailed, the approach could have been more responsible had the protestors agreed to a dialogue with the GoM at the initial stage itself. Corruption is a social issue and anti-corruption laws cannot be seen from the same eyeglass as other laws which may purely be regulatory in nature. The need of the hour is an effective anti-corruption law which benefits the people and there is no place for showmanship. Dialogue is an integral part of the Gandhian philosophy and protests for the sake of protesting will certainly not aid the cause..Bar & Bench: Why do you think Government has been delaying the enactment of the Lokpal Bill?.Jayant Mehta: Right to be corrupt and immunity from the public scrutiny is the delight of any politician. Our politicians, who are ultimately responsible for enacting this law, would surely put themselves before the country and thus the hesitation, which appears to be unanimous across the various political parties. I hope the protest by Mr. Anna Hazare at least shames the politicians of their inertia over the cancer which is eating the ‘Incredible India’..Abhishek Sharma: The present government clearly lacks the will to take effective steps against corruption. The fact that the PM turned a blind eye to the 2G scam all this while and let the people down on the CVC issue seem to suggest that weeding out corruption is not high up on the government’s list of priorities..(picture source: indiatogether.org)
Bar & Bench spoke to young Indian lawyers Jayant Mehta practicing in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and Abhishek Sharma at Link Legal on the Lokpal Bill..Bar & Bench spoke to young Indian lawyers Jayant Mehta practicing in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and Abhishek Sharma at Link Legal on the Lokpal Bill..Bar & Bench: While drafting public related laws, should the Government involve civic societies/public in framing of these laws. Your views on the same..Jayant Mehta: Yes. The Government does involve the general public in framing of the important legislation. Whenever any draft legislation is referred to any Standing Committee of the Parliament, more often than not, such Standing Committee solicits the views of the public. Even the Law Commission, which is entrusted with the task of researching and recommending changes in the legal framework, also consults the interested members of public. Besides these practices, which are followed, it is indeed imperative that the Government consult the members of public in drafting of a legislation, which is as important to an ordinary Indian, as the Lokpal Bill. How can we allow the Government an unbridled discretion and a right to ignore the general public in setting rules for its (i.e. the Government’s) own scrutiny?.Abhishek Sharma: The fact that politicians are voted to office by the people gives rise to a legitimate presumption that the laws enacted by the legislature reflects the aspirations of the people. Moreover, the laws of our country does not provide for a referendum before legislating a law. India has multiple interest groups and each of these groups invariably has a different perspective on different areas of legislation. It will become impossible to enact laws if the opinion of the public at large is sought while framing laws. Public related laws or welfare legislations are not an exception to this scenario. .Bar & Bench: Anna Hazare has gone on indefinite hunger strike to force the Centre to accept Jan Lokpal Bill in its entirety. Do you agree with the method he has chosen to fight against corruption?.Jayant Mehta: Yes and No. I value and respect his freedom to adopt the mode of his protest and expression. He certainly has a just cause for his protest and it cannot be denied that the time calls for for such unprecedented measures. However, I do not think that he is justified in seeking acceptance of the Jan Lokpal Bill in its entirety. Surely the Bill, whether it is Lokpal or Jan Lokpal should be put to the scrutiny of all the stakeholders and most importantly the general public..Abhishek Sharma: Although the Gandhian means adopted by Anna Hazare cannot be assailed, the approach could have been more responsible had the protestors agreed to a dialogue with the GoM at the initial stage itself. Corruption is a social issue and anti-corruption laws cannot be seen from the same eyeglass as other laws which may purely be regulatory in nature. The need of the hour is an effective anti-corruption law which benefits the people and there is no place for showmanship. Dialogue is an integral part of the Gandhian philosophy and protests for the sake of protesting will certainly not aid the cause..Bar & Bench: Why do you think Government has been delaying the enactment of the Lokpal Bill?.Jayant Mehta: Right to be corrupt and immunity from the public scrutiny is the delight of any politician. Our politicians, who are ultimately responsible for enacting this law, would surely put themselves before the country and thus the hesitation, which appears to be unanimous across the various political parties. I hope the protest by Mr. Anna Hazare at least shames the politicians of their inertia over the cancer which is eating the ‘Incredible India’..Abhishek Sharma: The present government clearly lacks the will to take effective steps against corruption. The fact that the PM turned a blind eye to the 2G scam all this while and let the people down on the CVC issue seem to suggest that weeding out corruption is not high up on the government’s list of priorities..(picture source: indiatogether.org)
