2015: Supreme Court stood up for rights of common man

New Delhi: If people of India have utmost faith in one institution, it is the judiciary. In the year that has gone by, the Supreme Court which is the top court in the country has lived up to its reputation in protecting freedom of speech and expression and human rights and in maintaining its independence in dispensation of justice to the litigants.

Through its landmark judgments, decisions and interim orders, the apex court came to the rescue of the people of all walks of life. It has proved that only an independent and efficient judicial system can create confidence in the society which it serves.

It was during this year several politicians such as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, industrialists Kumaramangalam Birla, the Ruis and Bharti Mittal and former Coal Secretary P.C. Parakh, Delhi Chief Minister Arvin Kejriwal, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Subramanian Swami, DMDK leader, Vijaykanth, former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran rushed to the court and got relief.

Asserting the court’s supremacy in appointment of judges, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional and void the National Judicial Appointments Commission law, providing for appointment of judges to the apex court and the High Courts. It restored the collegium system of appointments in vogue for over two decades.

It ordered the cleaning up of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. In a major setback to the then BCCI President in exile, N. Srinivasan, the Court restrained him from contesting for the post of President as long as he continued to own the franchise Chennai Super Kings.

The court which granted bail to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate case ensured that the appeal in the Karnataka High Court against the trial court verdict unseating her from power was completed in three months.

The Court declared as unconstitutional Section 66A of the Information Technology Act  which provided for arrest of a person for posting objectionable comments on the internet and social media. Describing liberty of thought and expression as cardinal in a democracy, the court said, “The public’s right to know is directly affected by section 66A of the IT Act and it clearly affects the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Constitution.”

At the same time, the court held that artistic or poetic freedom is not an absolute right particularly when a poem or an article pertaining to historical personalities like the Father of the Nation uses allusion or symbolism bordering on obscenity.

Reiterating that personal liberty is sacrosanct, the court held that arrest and custodial interrogation should be avoided in cases where the accused cooperates with the investigating agency in its probe and he is not likely to abscond. It said Extending this analogy, the court rejected the plea to debar candidates with criminal antecedents from contesting elections. It said an accused is presumed to be innocent till it is proved in a court of law and merely by filing a chargesheet, the court cannot debar him from contesting polls.

Stretching this forward, the court stayed the arrest of social activist Teesta Setalvad in an embezzlement case relating to 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. But it rejected bail on various occasions to  self-styled ‘godman’ Asaram, who is in jail since his arrest in August 2013 in a rape case even on medical grounds. In far-reaching decisions, the court stayed defamation cases filed by the Tamil Nadu CM against BJP leader Subramanian Swami and actor and DMDK leader  Vijaykanth and few others. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got similar relief in defamation cases.