ఆరోగ్య రంగానికి కొత్త రూపు తేవాలె

 

జవాబుదారీతనమే గీటురాయి

 

Janabalam Dec 2021

Janabalam Dec 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

http://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-12.pdf

Welfare first leads to disaster: Jayaprakash Narayan

"If we put welfare first at the cost of public order, justice and rule of law it is a disaster. It is ridiculous that's not what human society is about. We don't need a government for that; a charity will take care of it", Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, general secretary, Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR), observed here on Monday. 

Delivering a talk on 'Role of State in Public Service Delivery' at GITAM Deemed to be University, Hyderabad, he made it clear that, 'collecting taxes and distributing money is a third rate government act. These don't end poverty, don't promote equity nor enhance human dignity; only give votes to them; some temporary palliative of people'. 

"The government that does not enforce the rule of law is perpetually exploiting poverty. A government that does not build infrastructure of quality and create basic amenities accessible to people is degrading society. Because they are forcing us to lead inhuman lives. We can't even drink a glass of water without contamination. It's a disgrace", he asserted. "A society without quality education and quality healthcare cannot prosper. It is good for both the individual and society. If you don't promote that opportunity to everybody society languishes", JP cautioned. 

How to reorient the whole power structure and notional power differently? There is a purpose to serve and they are failing in that purpose, Dr JP noted while expressing dismay. Earlier, Sridhar Pabbisetty, founding director, Kautilya School of Public Policy, welcomed. Prof. N Siva Prasad, Pro Vice-Chancellor, felicitated Dr JP.

Courtesy: https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad/welfare-first-leads-to-disaster-jayaprakash-narayan-716506

ప్రభుత్వం కర్తవ్యాన్ని విస్మరించవద్దు

 

A NEW HEALTHCARE PLAN WORTH A SHOT

Politicians, irrespective of their ideologies, per se are very shrewd and they know which side their bread is buttered on. See, how they set agenda for people and drive public discourse for their advantage. A topic of politicians' choice would come to the fore putting any issue of public interest- its importance and relevance notwithstanding-on the backburner. 

The political class is blessed with the art of playing upon public sentiments while diverting people's attention from key issues in a jiffy. It thrives on the general public's short memory and the news media's burning desire to run after the latest information. I can cite two latest instances to drive this point home.

Telangana, akin to other States and countries, was on the boil in April and May, 2021 when the second wave of Covid-19 spelled the death knell. The global health crisis brought back the horrific weeks and dreadful days of 1979 when Skylab was about to crash at any moment. As the largest spacecraft ever was bound to hit the earth but no one knew exactly when and where, the smallest virus botched many lungs but no one knew exactly how and when.

As the politicians of those days sneaked into bunkers to withstand the impact of the Skylab metal ball, their ilk of the day quickly moved to their farmhouses or sprawling green campuses to be away from the virus. Those who came in contact with the dreaded virus, despite their best efforts to avoid human interactions, took shelter in highly sophisticated corporate hospitals even as general public was running from pillar to post in search of oxygen cylinders, intensive care unit beds and reliable medicines. Lakhs of people breathed their last in helpless conditions and the deceased were denied proper cremation due to the fear caused by the virus.

People were forced to spend their savings and sold off their gold ornaments, plots and lands to meet the medical needs of their family members. The tiniest virus thoroughly exposed the chinks in the medicare system prompting people to curse the government for its utter failure in dealing with the humanitarian crisis. The government was accused of playing down the number of casualties. 

Exactly at this precarious point of time, the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expelled the Health Minister Eatala Rajender from his cabinet following certain allegations of land grabbing. The government's political decision, wittingly unwittingly, eclipsed the public outrage. From May to till date, Eatala hogged the limelight as much as the Covid-19 did.

Then came Huzurabad by-election. The TRS government fought it tooth and nail by using money and muscle power to politically annihilate the six-time MLA Eatala, the BJP candidate, but to no avail. As soon as the results are out on November 2, a new subject was pushed on to the centre stage. Some non-issues during the electioneering, such as purchase of paddy, turned out to be the hottest topic in Telangana. 

The high decibel war of words between the BJP and TRS and the latter's decision to stage dharnas across the State triggered a heated debate. No political leader talks about mishandling of the pandemic or by-election time treacherous tricks. Now the focus will be shifted to MLC elections and the government's decision to send Venkatrama Reddy, a district Collector till November 15, to the Legislative Council in the last minute. I don't know whether it is a deliberate joint attempt but very important issues of public importance were swept away by the new issues racked up by the politicians. Don't we learn lessons from our experiences? Is this the time to play political games instead of gearing up to handle the next wave of Covid-19 that is already taking away the lives of people in the other parts of the world? 

A sincere attempt, in the form of a comprehensive report, titled, "Towards Viable Universal Healthcare," prepared by the Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR), spearheaded by the Loksatta founder Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, went unnoticed in the political cacophony filled with allegations and accusations. 

Since India's wish to achieve Universal health Care (UHC) by 2022 came a cropper, in the absence of sustained financial flow, strong political will, committed leadership, sincere involvement of all stakeholders and community participation, the report comes as a guide to ensure a viable universal healthcare with a minimum cost and maximum benefit. 

The report highlighted the fact that nearly six crore Indians are becoming impoverished due to lack of access to affordable health care and as many as 50 lakh people are slipping into the depths of poverty due to the out-of-pocket expenditure on health every year. The elected representatives should hang their head in shame to know that a vast majority (74.6 per cent) is depending on private sector to cure their diseases even though the cost involved in it is on a higher side.

People's financial condition is seriously impacted due to the low public expenditure (1.2 per cent of the GDP) on health. According to an estimate, in Hyderabad, every 22,323 persons have a liquor shop while there is only one police station for 77,792 residents. The State capital has one hospital dedicated for Covid-19 treatment for every 34,691 residents. You can imagine the situation in rural areas, where belt shops are more and medical facilities are less.

One of the key recommendations of FDR report is, establishment of public-funded primary care system, with a choice of selecting a family physician from a pool of ten available doctors, integrated with the existing primary healthcare centres; free diagnostic services in the locality; and a centralised drug procurement mechanism. It sounds like a traditional family doctor, a true well-wisher and not-for-profit service provider, taking care of our health. This model can bring back the lost human touch and missed trust between patients and doctors. 

The report suggests to limit secondary and tertiary services to inpatient care upon referral and to make district and public teaching hospitals the mainstay for quality, cost-effective tertiary care. It also proposes public-private partnerships and innovative modes of financing without burning the pockets of people. If implemented, it my cost Rs.1,900 crore (0.8 percent of the budget) for Telangana and Rs.2,600 crore (1.13 percent) for Andhra Pradesh per annum. 

Rank for hospitals and docs 

No doubt, people are betrayed by the successive governments when it comes to healthcare. Despite having a plethora of schemes, people are vexed with the present healthcare system and Covid-19 has further disillusioned them. With abysmal infrastructure and unclean environs, most of the government hospitals failed to win the confidence of patients and their family members. Scared by the skyrocketing costs- doctor consultation fee, bills of diagnostic tests and price of medicines- lesser mortals prefer to try the other cheap medicinal methods at the cost of their health. I strongly feel that there should be a mechanism to collect patients' perceptions on the care they received, especially in the hospital setting. 

There is a need to take up the feedback of patients on the lines of the USA's Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to find out the issues at hand. "During the hospital stay, how often did nurses treat you with courtesy and respect?" is the first out of 27 basic questions in the survey. Hospitals and doctors should be ranked based on the survey inputs to bring in more accountability into the healthcare sector. 

It is heartening to see the Telangana Chief Minister has realised the need of appointing a Health Minister, at last. The Finance Minister T Harish Rao, who was badly bruised in the fight against his former Health Minister Eatala at the hustings, has been given the portfolio. Instead, KTR should have been assigned this task given the fact that this ministry at this juncture can get more publicity followed by more popularity. 

Anyway, people turn to KTR's twitter handle for medical help and the dynamic young leader is also enthusiastically extending his helping hand to the people in need. All said and done, a full-time minister for health can deliver the goods than a minister with additional responsibility. 

There is no harm in making use of the vast experience of  Dr JP and his team to ensure a robust medical system. What about appointing the Loksatta founder as a medical advisor with a two-year term? A magnanimous decision in this regard will usher in a new type of political culture in the country. 

There is no doubt that Dr JP is a highly educated-dedicated professional with a medical background as well as a no-nonsense politician with impeccable character. Dr JP rightly pointed out in the afterward that true politics is about promotion of human happiness and health is a key ingredient in achieving happiness. 

Before considering this piece of advice, the trio-KCR, KTR and Harish- should have a brainstorming session on the report made by Dr JP's team for the sake of general public. As Dr JP rightly pointed out, sirs, any positive step that can improvise the health sector can generate votes too. 

By Dr Ramu Suravajjulla

Courtesy: The Hans India

'అందరికీ ఆరోగ్యం' అందించే సమగ్ర, ఆచరణసాధ్య నమూనాను విడుదల చేసిన జేపీ

Launch of FDR’s Publication - 'Towards Viable Universal Healthcare'

The Covid-19 pandemic has rightly turned public attention to healthcare delivery in the country. However, it must be recognised that our healthcare crisis is not one of recent origin. The policy failings predate the pandemic and the prolonged neglect of the healthcare system has worsened healthcare challenges over time. Public expenditure on healthcare has remained low at around 1.2% of the GDP. Similarly, patronage for public health facilities has been sub-par at 25% of all doctor consultations which means that majority of healthcare services are being availed in private facilities at much higher costs. There is no coordination across the three levels of care - primary, secondary, and tertiary - resulting in the overburdening of the secondary and tertiary care hospitals. Further, India’s population is undergoing an epidemiological shift with a rise in non-communicable diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease etc. This on the one hand adds to the burden of an already strained system and on the other hand, further increases healthcare expenditure. Consequently, about six crore Indians descend into poverty every year due to lack of access to quality and affordable healthcare services. In the two Telugu states alone about 50 lakh people are descending into poverty every year on account of ill health.

There is an urgent need to design a coordinated and comprehensive healthcare system taking into consideration current and future requirements. Fortunately, India can claim several strengths in the healthcare sector. We train a large number of healthcare professionals and are self-sufficient in human resources. After China, India has the highest annual inflow of qualified doctors. In addition, the cost of most healthcare interventions, including the most complex medical and surgical interventions, is among the lowest in the world. Similarly, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is highly efficient and economical, ensuring adequate drug supply at a low cost. Therefore, an effective healthcare system that provides quality healthcare at a low cost can be built by leveraging these strengths.

The proposed model in the publication titled ‘Towards Viable Universal Healthcare’ is a modest attempt to ensure effective, accessible, and affordable healthcare services for all. The model seeks to build on existing infrastructure, institutions and programmes with least dislocation. It leverages our considerable strengths in the health sector, and builds on successful best practices. Being flexible and pragmatic, it can be seamlessly adapted to suit varying conditions across states. It is an eminently sustainable framework that seeks to ultimately reduce the disease burden in a cost-effective manner for the state as well as the people.

The key elements of this model are: continuum of care through a publicly-funded Family Physician-led primary care system with choice and competition for all outpatient care; limiting secondary and tertiary level hospital services to inpatient care, upon referral; expanding the scope of Ayushman Bharat (and other public-funded single-payer health insurance/assurance schemes) to cover all secondary care procedures for all citizens, whilst removing tertiary care services from its coverage; and making district and public teaching hospitals the mainstay for quality, cost-effective tertiary care in the country. While the public exchequer will largely bear the cost of operationalising this model, private players will play a key role in delivering services, ensuring efficiency as well as cost-effectiveness. It envisages public-private-partnerships and innovative modes of financing. 

The additional cost of implementation of this model will be about Rs. 85,000 crores per year across the country - about 0.4% of the GDP. Even with this additional expenditure, the total government expenditure of the country will be only 1.6%, the lowest among all major countries. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the additional cost will be about Rs. 1900 crores and Rs. 2600 crores respectively. 

The proposed model, if implemented, will build a robust, viable, affordable, universal healthcare system in India. A holistic restructuring of the healthcare system is critical in transforming the health sector and improving the lives of hundreds of millions of our people. In an effort to advocate for these reforms, the Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) is reaching out to all stakeholders - the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Niti Aayog, Economic Advisory Council, Members of Parliament, the media and several of the organisations and individuals working in this field. With healthcare being a state subject, reform ultimately would have to begin from the states. Therefore, FDR has sent the publication to the Chief Ministers, Health Ministers, and the bureaucrats concerned of all the states in the country. Additionally, FDR intends to personally call upon various states to persuade the governments to implement these reforms, beginning with Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha. 

Janabalam Nov 2021

Janabalam Nov 2021 can be downloaded from the following link

https://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-11.pdf

హుజూరాబాద్ లో ప్రజాస్వామ్య, ఎన్నికల రాజకీయ సంక్షోభం చూశాకైనా దామాషా పద్ధతి, ముఖ్యమంత్రుల ప్రత్యక్ష ఎన్నికకు పార్టీలు ముందుకు రావాలి

ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ పరిణామాలు ఆందోళనకరం.. మౌనంగా ఉండలేం

ఏపీ లోక్ సత్తా పార్టీ పునర్నిర్మాణం: జేపీ

 

Jaya Prakash Narayana asks people to be bold, question govts, officials

 

Hyderabad: Making some interesting comments on the political scenario prevailing in the country and in the State, Dr Jaya Prakash Narayana, founder of Loksatta, said people have become silent spectators in the Huzurabad bypoll battle which seems to be waged for political gains rather than the people's welfare. 

He was attending as chief guest for the book launch of research scholar and academician Kanagiri SN Prasad titled, "A New Political Ethos: Panacea For Robust Societies." 

Speaking at the event, JP, as Dr Jaya Prakash Narayana famously known, said, "People in the country are scared of getting their work done by government officials, which is their right. They are even treating a low-level government official as superior to them, but not considering them as public servants, who has to deliver and fulfil their needs. Perceptions of people have to be changed and they should raise their voices." "If the youth enters the politics, the shape of India will be changed," said SN Prasad. In his book, he touched on the points pertaining to political parties in the country and new regional parties and their politics, politicians, freebies etc.

Courtesy: The Hans India

ఓటుతో జీవితానికి సంబంధం తెగుతోంది

 

ఓట్లకోసం నేతలు ఏమైనా చేస్తారు

 

ప్రజలను ప్రలోభ పెడుతున్న పార్టీలు

 

Janabalam Sep-Oct 2021

Janabalam Sep-Oct 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

https://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-10.pdf

తాత్కాలిక సాయాలు కాదు.. శాశ్వత పరిష్కారాలు కావాలె

 

సంపద సృష్టిస్తే మంచిదే

 

యూత్ ఫర్ బెటర్ ఇండియా (వైబీఐ) నూతన కమిటీని ప్రకటించిన జేపీ.. విధానాలపై విద్యార్థులు, యువతలో ఇక ముమ్మరంగా కార్యక్రమాలు

 

సమాఖ్య స్ఫూర్తికి ఆలంబన... అధికార వికేంద్రీకరణ

 

Janabalam August 2021

Janabalam August 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

https://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-08.pdf

Janabalam July 2021

Janabalam July 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

https://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-07.pdf

Janabalam June 2021

Janabalam June 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

http://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-06.pdf

రూ.లక్షన్నర కోట్ల లక్ష్యం కావాలి

 

Janabalam May 2021

Janabalam May 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

http://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-05.pdf

Janabalam April 2021

Janabalam April 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

http://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-04.pdf

ఎన్నికల హామీలకూ పరిమితులుండాలి

 

Janabalam March 2021

Janabalam March 2021 can be downloaded from the following link.

https://www.loksatta.org/documents/janabalam/janabalam-2021-03.pdf

జవాబుదారీతనానికి న్యాయవ్యవస్థ అతీతం కాదు

 

సుప్రీంకోర్టు ఫెడరల్ కోర్టుగా పనిచేయాలి, రాష్ట్రాల్లో హైకోర్టే సుప్రీంకోర్టు: జస్టిస్ లోకుర్

 

IDAW VALEDICTORY SESSION on RULE OF LAW

The deliberated conference on ‘Rule of Law’ concluded today after nine-day deliberations by over fifty panelists. The valedictory session was Chaired - Shri Justice Kurian Joseph, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and attended by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Former Chief Minister, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, General Secretary, Foundation for Democratic Reforms, and Prof. K.C. Suri, University of Hyderabad, Shri. D.N.V. Kumara Guru, Director of External Relations at Indian School of Business (ISB). 

This conference on Rule Of Law was deliberated with insights from eminent panelist who are known authorities in their respective fields. This elaborate conference covered the topics of (1) Addressing Challenges of Modern Policing; (2) Strengthening Investigation and Prosecution; (3) Criminal Procedural Reforms;  (4) Civil Procedural Reforms;(5) Speedy Justice in Trial Courts; (6) Strengthening the Role of Constitutional Courts; (7) Judicial Standards and Accountability.  In addition, other critical subject matters were discussed.  They were (1) Conversation on Extraordinary Law; (2) Conversation on Weaponization of Fake News: A Threat to Democracy?; (3) Conversation on Women's Safety; (4) Conversation on Setting up Systems to deal with Cybercrime; (5) Rule of Law & Economic Growth. 

Justice Kurien Joseph presented the opening remarks for the session.  The institutions of Rule of Law are shaken when it cannot serve our fellow citizens.  The judiciary should be insulated and be independent for the institutions to serve.  All measures should be taken such that confidence in Rule of Law is retained. Rule of law entails  Legal Certainty, Equality before Law, Law must guarantee adequate protection of Fundamental Rights, Governments must exercise Limited Power, Fairness in Adjudication, Observance of International Law

Shri. Prithviraj Chavan shared his perspective from practicing politician. He complimented the document brought out by the Foundation of Democratic Reforms. Having a consistent and fair application of law to all is needed for a healthy society.  He suggested compulsory internships for law students to gain practical knowledge of their respective works. Given the literacy rates it might take more time for people to know their rights.  This means rule of law must be judiciously applied and protected. It is critical to get political parties on board to achieve this.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan stated that Rule of Law was chosen as the theme for the conference as it is imperative in the present times. While democracy struck roots in India, there are serious deficiencies. Justice and democracy are inseparable, and rule of law is the most vital requirement to protect citizens and accelerate democratic revolution. This conference over nine days shows optimism because we have a functioning democracy and the problems are not impossible to overcome.  He congratulated all the participants for the depth and insights they shared. There is a viable roadmap for improving rule of law in our country and resources to achieve it are also within reach.  It is critical to get all the stakeholders jurists, police, politicians and civil society on board, and convince all the interested parties of the immediate need for reforms in rule of law. On this front, a broad consensus has been reached from the deliberations in the conference and the main elements are presented in the form of Hyderabad Declaration 2021.

THE HYDERABAD DECLARATION 2021

Over the course of the past nine days, broad consensus was reached upon a set of meaningful, well-thought out reforms that can go a long way in restoring public faith in the justice system and ensuring public order and safety: 

1. The police force needs to be strengthened with adequate personnel to effectively meet the growing challenges of a modern society and enhance public trust in police, with a proportion of officers embedded in the community to promote communication and collaboration with the citizenry.

2. A professional course in policing must be developed as a mandatory requirement at the entry level for effective training, to facilitate specialized and efficient functioning of the police force. 

3. Forensic infrastructure needs to be scaled up to meet present day requirements, with adequate facilities available at each administrative level - the police circle, the subdivision, the district and the state, as well as major urban centers based on the population, crime rate, and nature of crimes. 

4. An independent, well-equipped, and accountable crime investigation agency needs to be created, separate from the law and order department, to investigate crimes above a certain threshold, such as, crimes punishable by a maximum of 3 years of imprisonment. 

5. A strong system of prosecution, at the district level, must be instituted such that the competence, stature of prosecution, independence, public trust and coordination of investigator, prosecutor and the judge are assured. 

6. Criminal Procedural Laws must be amended to rationalise and simplify trial procedures, ensure effective investigation with transparency and accountability, protect the rights of victims, enhance the role of the judge in the trial process, and recognize non-custodial punishments when appropriate. 

7. Measures to reform the civil justice system must be based on an empirical analysis of both the supply and demand side of the ecosystem. On the supply end, increasing the judicial resources is necessary. The demand side of the spectrum calls for limiting the scope for appeals, adjournments, and interim orders, and introducing a case management system to ensure speedy and efficient trial through mechanisms such as a sunset clause on interim orders and ‘outcome date certainty’. 

8. Adequate resources, including more, well-trained judges and sufficient physical infrastructure, must be allocated and effectively utilized to make the judiciary accessible to the ordinary citizens, in terms of proximity, cost of litigation, and summary disposal of cases. Local courts with summary procedures dealing with simple cases as an integral part of the independent justice system will make justice accessible and affordable to the bulk of the poor, and ensure speedy delivery of justice, relieving the higher trail courts of excessive case load and pendency.

9. The efficiency and efficacy of the District Courts and the Constitutional Courts can be enhanced by setting up a robust court administration system, including appointment of highly competent judicial managers and judicial clerks, allowing judges to focus on matters of adjudication and improving professionalism in the administrative functions.

10. The Constitutional Courts must be strengthened by limiting their jurisdiction to their primary role, that is the interpretation of the Constitution and substantial questions of law. This may be achieved by setting up Permanent Constitutional Benches in courts, reducing the number of appeals and revision petitions, and prioritizing clearing the current backlog. Ad hoc judges may be appointed according to Article 224A of the Constitution to dispose of the backlog.

11. There is a need to attract best talent into the judiciary at the Trial Court level and the Constitutional Courts. Therefore, remuneration for judges, the service conditions and the prestige of office, all should be significantly enhanced to make judgeship aspirational for bright young lawyers. A nationwide competitive, meritocratic recruitment with an assured fast track for elevation based on performance would go a long way in attracting talent. 

12. A permanent mechanism for ensuring judicial standards and accountability in the higher courts must be established to address issues of misconduct. Guidelines for the same have already been laid down in the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2010, which lapsed in 2012. 

Prof. K.C Suri congratulated the organisers for the conference.  This is another great endeavour in our country to achieve Rule of Law. Any rule by the discretion of the ruler is not in the interest of the society and for which rule of law is important.  Rule of law is also necessary for nation building and national unity.  

Shri. Kumara Guru of ISB congratulated the team for organizing this important and urgently needed conference.  Education and research institutions should encourage such deliberations for well-being of the society. 

IDAW SESSION on Judicial Standards and Accountability

The eighth session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on Judicial Standards and Accountability. Justice B. N. Srikrishna, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India chaired this session. The other panelists were Justice Jasti Chelameswar, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, Former Director, National Judicial Academy and Shri Harish Narasappa, Co-founder Daksh and Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana, Retd. IAS and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms.

Justice B.N. Krishna opened his remarks by stating that Indian Judiciary is limping with shortage of Judges and not filling the much required appointments and this leads to shortage of Judges.  Each state has its own peculiarity, and having judicial cadre from Indian Judicial Service might not work as because of language barriers. In Israel and Japan common language and system helps with its national judicial service. Another important point to consider is to whom is Judge accountable to and how will one make them accountable. The best option is to have a judicial committee that oversees the working of the Judiciary. Personnel Management can be done with professional management staff with proven management skills. Teaching or training on the latest developments in the society including technology are important.

Justice Chelameswar stated that judicial selection process must be done with clarity and transparency. Judicial Accountability Act envisaged the problems and addressed them, unfortunately the Bill was allowed to lapse. Efficiency is what is needed to be focused in the judicial system. Bringing in more transparency in the court management process will help in decrease of the backlog of cases.

Dr. Mohan Gopal said that there is a massive body of information in the world on judicial accountability standards.  The legal profession is insulating itself from standards. The Justice Rankin Committee of 1920s has put down several techno-managerial standards which are valid even now. He added that we have enormously powerful judiciary with limited accountability standards. We need to democratize the judiciary and let standards and accountability flow from the overall values in the system. Lot of people are ‘Docket Excluded’ i.e cannot approach the court. There are 300 new cases in USA per thousand population and only in 3 to 5 cases per one thousand population in Bihar and Jharkhand.  We need to rethink and must understand that judiciary accountability in socio-political framework. The political class must take initiative to hold the Judges accountable using constitutional means.

Shri. Harish Narsappa agreed with what Mr. Mohan Gopal and suggested that Judge to Population ratio is not a relevant measure to evaluate judiciary and must be reconsidered.  He expressed displeasure that Judiciary seems to have lost the concept of time.  What is the point of serving justice after the time for justice has elapsed? Judges in our country work hard, but it does not translate into efficiency as judicial system is unaccountable.  Not a single innovation in the Judicial system has taken place since 1950 and we need an institution that cares deeply. The office of Chief Justice is transitory post and for a short time and justices want to move on to higher courts.  Subsequently, due to their short tenure, there is no ownership and accountability. In addition, there is no skill development of the judges to deal with the complex court management system.  Mr. Narsappa added that we need specialized staff to manage the court management system to dispose cases.  Accountability from a citizen’s perspective and not from Judiciary perspective is the need of the hour. 

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan clarified that the prestige about the All India Services attracts the best talent. The hope is that the proposed the proposed Indian Judicial Service will attract some of the best minds to join the service and add value to the system. Democratization offers the best solution, but currently the constitutional judges are not accountable in any meaningful way.

IDAW SESSION on STRENGTHENING CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

The Seventh session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways to Strengthening Constitutional Courts. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India chaired this session. The other panelists were Shri V. Sudhish Pai, Lawyer and Jurist, Shri Alok Prasanna Kumar, Co-Founder and Lead, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Karnataka, Ms. Cathy Catterson, Former Clerk of Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, USA and Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Retd. IAS and the founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms also participated.

Justice Madan B. Lokur opened his remarks by stating that Supreme Court should be in the nature of the federal court with its limits and restraints. It should not intervene in High Courts decisions and let High Court of a state decide on matters of its state law.  The necessary interventions should be cautiously and judiciously done. The Supreme Court should also take up issues which have all India impact and not just impacting individual state issues. For this it is necessary to use filters given in constitution. He added that it is also necessary to have time bound High Court decisions and they should have the final word in interpretation of the law in the state. He added that more emphasis should be given to imparting constitutional vision to lower courts so that most of the workload coming to constitutional courts can be reduced.  He also suggested the ideas of increasing the number of benches in high courts in different areas of the state must be evaluated with caution. In addition, he gave an example of case management in USA that brought down the case load by 90% in three years such case management strategies must be applied to our courts also. Strong effort has to be made to achieve reforms working with in the system and using the resources of the system. 

Mr, Sudhish Pai stated at the outset that the primary role is to uphold the constitutional values and not mere dispute resolution. Supreme Court should work mostly with definition of fine nuances of constitutional charter and this is where the intellect and integrity of the judges comes into play. However, it looks like Supreme Court has turned into final court of appeals and it appears that the Court does not have time for serious constitutional issues. He wondered as to what is the appropriate number of Judges in the SC and increasing the number might be good.  He also added that increasing the number of judges in constitutional courts indiscriminately will dilute their role and prestige. He mentioned that the constitutional courts cannot just be a court of error correction from its lower courts.  He was confident that once we strengthen high courts, workload in SC will decrease. A quality that is most important is that statesmanship, legal balance, scholarship and integrity of judges in SC will go a long way in reforming the system.

Mr. Alok Prasanna Kumar stated at the outset that all courts are and must be essentially constitutional courts not just the High Court and Supreme Court. He stated some glaring problems in the High Courts and should be immediately addressed. Bureaucratic stubbornness in not implementing the High Court orders is very common.  He also said that High Courts are too concentrated in big cities in the state and so most of the cases are from urban areas.  He suggested that they should have more benches of high courts in different areas of the state. Criminal cases appeals are also not disposed off quickly sending wrong signals in the society and a special bench must be quickly constituted to quickly dispose the back logs. In addition, excessive number of bail petitions are taken up in the High Courts as lower courts simply deny bails, this must be urgently looked into. Another important concern is that there is a bias towards appointment of judges from bar and not from subordinate judiciary and this needs to change so that there is about fifty percent selected from lower benches.  This adds experience to the depth of the benches in the High Court.  In the short term, the High Court should prioritize and dispose of cases of 10 years or more pendency with clear deadlines. In the long term, Mr. Alok Prasanna suggested that software and artificial intelligence should be used to manage the voluminous material that needs to be reviewed in the courts. He finally added that the Supreme Court is apex civil, criminal and constitutional court and it may serve us well to be divides it into three such specialized courts.

Ms. Cathy Catterson stated that workload and case management, in addition to important reforms is critical. She pointed that Judges should be appointed for longer terms as they can provide lot of institutional knowledge. She pointed out that it is critical to have management and staff work with administrative matters and save time of judges so that they can concentrate on adjudication.  She suggested that the courts can have staff  lawyers that can look into jurisdictions and also have a preliminary review of the cases. These staff attorneys are centralized and work under the Chief Justice with supervisory guidance. Role of mediation in civil cases can also be considered to reduce the workload in the courts. To eliminate the delay, the contesting parties should be given strict deadlines to file all their information, counters, and evidence. She suggested a court management system where in simple cases can be disposed off with briefs and allot less time of judge and the complex cases more time. Ms. Catterson emphasized on the role of court staff which is professional with appropriate training and taking the services of paralegal staff.

గ్రామన్యాయాలయాల చట్టం ద్వారా స్థానిక కోర్టులతో సామాన్యుడికి న్యాయం: జేపీ

 

IDAW SESSION on SPEEDY JUSTICE IN TRIAL COURTS

The sixth session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways to get Speedy Justice in Trial Courts. 

Justice G. Raghuram, Director, National Judicial Academy was the chair for this session.  Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, General Secretary, Foundation for Democratic Reforms, Justice R. C. Chavan, Vice Chairman, E-Committee of Supreme Court and Shri Atul Kaushik, Chief of Party, Asia Foundation. The main topics covered in this session were: 1. Establishing local courts in rural and urban areas 2. Building capacity - Increasing the judge to population ratio and strengthening use of technology and court administration 3. Clearing arrears in trial courts 4. Reinforcing the authority of the trial courts - contempt of court and perjury provisions

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana set the agenda for discussion and said that he is concerned about need for fair, quick and affordable justice. There are 35 million cases pending in courts we have 18 judges per million population as opposed to 50 in many countries, only 14 are available. He added that people suffer injustice silently and the political discourse is only about vote-gathering and justice delivery is not given priority. He stated that local courts with summary procedures can render speedy justice at low cost, and can reduce burden on trial courts.  Dr. JP drew from examples of USA and UK about small claims courts.  Local courts can take care of 80% of the cases with some pecuniary and penal jurisdictions.   

Justice G. Raghuram gave direction to the discussion. At the outset he said there are 2 kinds of people, one that come to the court and another that are brought to the court.  The ones that come to the court seem to be more troublesome and ones brought to the court seem to be the victims, and this is not how it should be. A democracy must have robust justice delivery, failing which people lose faith. Reforms in the Judicial system starts with legal education and judicial recruitments. Justice Raghuram outlined the many failings in our judicial systems. He also suggested the need for psycho-social evaluations in recruitment of judges and other critical positions in the judicial system. He also emphasized that a complex society requires specialized knowledge and expertise in personnel working in the judicial system. An average law graduate is not competent enough to function as a lawyer, let alone be a judge. Training should be enhanced qualitatively. Faculty to judicial academies should be selected based on rigorous quality standards.  Justice delivery must be seen as a service and must be subject to quality and efficiency standards. Currently, there are no consequences to making false statements and this should be changed where in false statements and perjury should be punished. He also added that Media trials also hampers the investigation process and trials.  

Justice Chavan started with agreeing with all problems stated and some of the solutions proposed. He also added that adjudications must be evaluated for quality and be audited regularly. Political interference in charge-sheets and case filing disturbs the justice delivery of trial courts are not alert in these matters, it  leads to injustice.  There is also neglect of procedures by courts at all levels.  He added that Interminable appeals and revisions are an issue and they delay the process. Adjudications at the trial courts are not complete and thorough and this does not build confidence in the system. 

Mr. Atul Kaushik pointed out that the investment in the justice system is low with respect to the GDP of our country. He pointed out that we should ask a deeper question as to what our objectives should be for our justice system.  On that front he suggested 4 interventions for speedy justice in trial courts: 1. Application of technology; 2. Process Reengineering; 3. Alternate Dispute Resolution and mediation and 4. Having specialized Court Managers and Court Clerks. He further explained that Technology application from document management to content management with transparency, efficiency and will build trust in the system. Process reengineering has to take 2 components: efficient case management and abandonment of legacy and redundant procedures that delay trials. Mr. Kaushik stated that alternative dispute resolution and mediation for simple cases ensure speedy justice.

నామమాత్ర సంస్కరణల్ని క్రియాశీలకంగా మార్చాలి

 

IDAW SESSION on CIVIL PROCEDURE REFORMS

The Fifth session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways of challenges in civil procedures and reforms needed. 

Shri N. L. Rajah, Senior Advocate, Madras High Court chaired the session. Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, NLSIU, Bengaluru, Justice (Dr.), Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, Former Judge, Bombay High Court, and  Mr. Hiram E. Chodosh, President, Claremont McKenna College, USA and Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana, (Retd. IAS) and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms served as panelists. The main topics covered in this session were: 1.Institutionalizing case management in civil courts 2. Mitigating challenges in the functioning of Commercial Courts and 3. Updating pecuniary jurisdictions of civil courts

Shri N.L Rajah opened the session with welcoming all the panelists and complimented all for this much needed conference. Numerous commissions were set up to address this issue, however, much needed action is not coming forth.  The main problems in the system are lower amount spent on judiciary as a ratio of GDP, low judge to population ratio, lack of prioritization of cases, and need for trained paralegals and more training of judges. He opened the discussion for panelists. Justice Shalini Joshi suggested that we should have Procedural bench and Trial benches for quicker disposal of cases. She also suggested introduction of managerial approach in the courts to quickly evaluate the complexity of cases and prioritize to process them. Classification of cases with respect to pecuniary and other jurisdictions will go a long way in helping the cases.

Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy complimented the organizers for selecting the critical topic and timely debate.  He suggested that the problems should be measured not just in GDP and other indicators but also with more qualitative indicators. Problems are only evaluated from supply side and from the state side, and the demand side must also be looked into. Empirical grounded discourse with legal background and demand side analysis is also especially important. He gave an example that commercial dispute resolution slowdown in New Delhi courts is a classic example of how the delays have not be decreased by the Act and its amendments have failed to do the needful. We need to rethink of how our systems fundamentally. Handling Interim Orders, Interlocutory Orders, Setting Outcome Dates have shown good track record of clearing out cases quickly in common law countries.

Mr. Hiram E. Chodosh stated that all policy interventions still have limited impact and modest outcomes persist. We should look at structures and seek structural solutions in addition to procedural and systemic solutions commonly suggested. Most reforms are too little and too late and critical errors happen in diagnosing the problem. We need to start with having a clear vision of what to achieve and work towards it. Dr. Choodosh suggested we need to closely look at incentives and values the reform promotes and that previous reforms must be closely evaluated, and that we should monitor and analyze data more closely to get effective reforms. 

Justice Shalini Joshi said that justice delivery in civil cases is simpler than in criminal cases. In criminal cases the investigative and prosecuting agencies have a vital role, and the court alone cannot render justice. But in civil cases the Judge can make a vast difference. She onlined a series of practical and effective steps to render speedy justice in civil cases. Enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of trial courts as in Maharashtra, minimizing appeals, applying a sunset date so that the parties do not seek postponement indefinitely, and a competent case management system are at the heart of speedy and efficient justice in civil cases.

ఆర్థిక సంస్కరణలకు చట్టబద్ధపాలన కీలకం

 

IDAW Session on Rule of Law and Economic Growth

The Friday session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw an eminent panel deliberate on Rule of Law on Economic Growth. Shri R.N. Bhaskar, Senior Business Journalist was the chair for the session. Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Chairman, Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare, Shri Pradeep S. Mehta, Founder Secretary General, Consumer Unity & Trust Society and Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Retd. IAS and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms.

Shri R.N. Bhaskar started the explaining the importance and urgency of Rule of Law. He started with showing statistics how at all levels from Judges to police personnel are always short in numbers.  This repeated shortage is not an accident but by design. This needs urgent attention.

Evidence cannot live beyond a fortnight is a good attitude for the justice system to have to quickly provide justice. In ancient Rome lawyers were remunerated on swift conduct of trial and speed justice. Lack of adequate judicial system leads to organized crime filling the void and eventually leading to anarchy. Small protection pockets are created when a section of people come together and being legal becomes unimportant. When people have to vote for their protectors and no other criteria is used to vote a corrupt and criminal system develops.  The weakness in the system not to punish the corrupt is very detrimental. There are also lot of issues of MSME, India’s backbone, that need immediate attention.

Dr. Montek Singh said no worthwhile economic growth can take place without rule of law.  Our legal system is dysfunctional, laws are not well drafted and remedies lie in several different areas. We currently, do not have enough judges and policemen and state cannot have be expected to provide justice to its citizens with such shortages. He added that we also need high quality of lawyers and judges.  It sometimes feels that we are expecting reforms in the country from judiciary and judgements. On another front, government negating of licenses after granting them, leads destroying confidence in the investors and leads to larger uncertainty.  In addition, uncertainty of land titles leads investors to expect the government to acquire land for them.  This creates an uneasy relationship between the government and the business. On the long run no matter what decision you make it seems it can be controversial, but still we must deliberate and decide what is right.  He further added that raising the level of deliberations by including all segments of economy with transparency and hearing out to comments go a long way. 

Dr. Arving Virmani stated that economics and law are essential concepts to understand for all of us. Markets and role of governments are critical subjects and evidence of history is pointing to the answers.  Since ancient times, there have been rules and laws and there were always some kind of support system to conduct trade.  He added that regulations are in a grey area and that there are positive and negative externalities in modern economy. Three sectors namely Financial Sector, Education Sector, and Health Sector are full of information asymmetry. Similarly the modern economic activities seem to have lot of asymmetric information issues and moral hazards and so need modern and professional regulators to tackle the issues with vigour. 

Shri. Pradeep S Mehta said that seeking adjournments in courts and lack of appropriate court management system is dampening the economic activity. He also added that colonial system of holidays in court is inappropriate. This also increases the time for judges to pronounce judgements. We need to improve on the quality of Judges and increase the number of judges. Shri Mehta insisted that lok adalats and gram nyayalayas for quick justice at the village and local level will instill confidence in the society and economy.  Contract enforcement is one of the worst in our and on this front government cannot do much, but judiciary has to step up. For modern economy, we require reorientation of judiciary with cognizance on economic impacts. We should focus on constitutionality and institutions and that a few PILs cannot reform the whole system. Building institutions is necessary, rather than few individual pockets dispensing justice like police personnel acting as arbitrators and adjudications or local strongmen settling disputes.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan: Supreme Court is meant for determining constitutionality of laws, not for assessing merits or demerits of a policy or making better policy. He added that public opinion has not yet completely accepted clear separation of powers.  FDR and Loksatta constituted a committee of eminent jurist-Justices Venkatachaliah, JS Verma and Krishna Iyer -  to recommend a model for judicial appointments, and persuaded the main parties to create NJAC. But the Supreme Court quashed the 99th Amendment. As people are not ready to insist on separation of powers, it will take long to correct the distortion of judges appointing their successors. Finally FDR pursued the local courts law and Gram Nyayalayas Act has been enacted in 2009. But so far only over 200 courts are functioning whereas about 6000 courts should have been in place. Most simple cases can be decided by local courts swiftly through summary procedures, and reduce the burden on judiciary. Courts playing their rightful role, improving procedures, strengthing capacity and expertise, and injecting talent through IJS and other measures are needed immediately. 

పిల్లల నుంచి వృద్ధుల దాకా సైబర్ భద్రత గురించి తెలుసుకోవాల్సిన రోజులొచ్చాయి

 

IDAW Session on Systems to Deal with CYBER CRIME

The Thursday session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a renowned panel deliberate on developing systems that can tackle Cyber Crime. Mrs. Rohini Katoch Sepat IPS, Superintendent of Police in CID, Bengaluru is the Moderator of the session. Shri Amit Dubey, a renowned Cyber Security Expert and a Crime Investigator on Cyber Forensics to various Indian Investigation Agencies. Shri. Manoj Abraham, IPS, Additional Director General of Police and the Head of Cyber Security of Kerala. Jayaprakash Narayana, Retd. IAS and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms participated.

The interesting deliberative session was opened by Mrs. Rohini Sepat asking the esteemed panelists that targeting individuals for money, targeting women, and attacking online infrastructure is on the rise and how can we put systems in place to control this problem. She said that profile and identity are also voluntarily given out by unsuspecting individuals are and hence putting themselves to danger.  Identity theft protection measures and on another front training of judges and prosecutors to quickly punish criminals. Continuously upgrading of the systems, technology with Individuals being alert and careful will go a long way to curb the menace.  

Shri Amit Dubey said that guidelines must be established so that individuals who could be accessing systems should be well known More awareness at an individual level is also particularly important. Using latest technology with Centralized information System of all reporting of crime so that all law enforcement agencies are aware of the crime and can act quickly is equally important.  He also suggested that specialized department in police and investigation are need of the day. Further, he explained some latest cyber frauds and their complexities to make the audience aware of what is going on.   

Shri. Manoj Abraham said private public partnership, local level quick action, community participation, and strategic partnerships are a must for tackling this menace.  Research also shows that global networks and partnerships offer the best solutions. He said all department need to come out from department level boxes and coordinate with each other using technology.  At international level, different countries and private public partnerships who have the technology and expertise are very critical as the technology quickly changes and only private technology companies can respond to this dynamic changes. At local level, Mr. Abraham added that we need to develop capacity amongst various stake holders. National Crime Reporting Portal and connected police enforcement, i.e complaint in one state and arrest in another to apprehend even the smallest crime with some additional laws for quick justice will go a long way in tackling the crime. He cautioned in the end that no system is perfectly safe, however, must use best practices, systems and technologies in place to defend ourselves against cyber crime. 

మహిళల భద్రతపై వ్యవస్థల్లో అవగాహన పెంచాలి

 

IDAW Session on Women’s Safety

The Wednesday session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on Women’s Safety. Mrs. Deepa Mani, Executive Director and Professor, Indian School of Business was the chair for the session. Elsa Marie D’Silva is the Founder of Red Dot Foundation (India) and President of Red Dot Foundation Global (USA),Mahesh Bhagwat IPS, ADGP, Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda Commissionerate and Shri. Jayaprakash Narayana, Retd. IAS and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms participated.

The interesting deliberative session was opened by Mrs. Deepa Mani by welcoming the panelists and explaining the importance of the topic ‘women’s safety’ in the present times.  The Initiatives taken up by police, government, and community by creating safe spaces are short to medium term solutions, and she wanted to see long term solutions. She also requested the panelists to share their views and experiences. Ms. Elsa Marie explained that individual situational awareness, knowing the rights, community participation, technology like CC TV cameras and where we can use them and building trust within the community are very important to provide safety. Early age education, gender sensitivity and knowledge of laws are very important in achieving women’s safety.  She also expressed displeasure that it takes lot of time to get justice and that government should do more to provide women’s safety. Also the amount allocated to Nirbhaya funds was also not completely utilized. Women want some action be taken so that harassment and crimes can be stopped. Education on digital literacy and digital rights to women is also very important in achieving security to women.

Mr. Mahesh Bhagwat explained some of the measures taken by the Telangana Government for making it safe for women. Counselling and fining eve-teasers and initiatives like SHE TEAMS are going a long way in addressing this important problem. Now more women in distress are approaching due to trust in police and fining and counselling has significantly reduced repeated offenders. Initiatives like Sangamitra-community members training of crime against women also provide for some more avenues for women to seek assistance. He also added that technology CC TV Cameras and Phone Apps is a game changer for crime prevention and detection and its judicious usage is very important.  Similarly, fast tract courts where cases are disposed quickly will help providing safety for women. However, it is long way to go and that a culture of respect for women is lacking and should be inculcated. Additionally, Misuse of social media and cyber harassment against women is being special attention. 

Shri Jayaprakash Narayan said local courts coterminous with local police station should be created to try minor offences by summary procedures. Speedy  justice with stiff penalties can become a strong deterrent. We should create a culture of safety and address minor crimes against women before they escalate into major crimes. If we do not give confidence, concerns for safety may become another way of enslaving women. India has the lowest participation of women in work force at 21%; and we are the only country in which women’s share is declining. It is therefore absolutely vital that we ensure that public spaces are safe for women. The fundamental thing is that a culture of respect for women will only solve this issue on long term and this should be inculcated in the family and the education system at an early age.

కొవిడ్, ట్రంప్, భూతాపం.. నకిలీ వార్తల నియంత్రణకు సరైన సమయమిదే

 

IDAW Session on Fake News: Threat to Democracy

The Tuesday session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on Fake News: Threat to Democracy. Shri. AbhinandanSekhri, Co-founder of News Laundry moderated the session,Mr. Carlos Hernández- Echevarría, Head of Public Policy and Institutional Development, MALDITA, Spain and Shri. Jayaprakash Narayana, Retd. IAS and founder of Foundation for Democratic Reforms participated.

The interesting deliberative session was opened by Mr. Abhinandan Sekhri who said that spreading false information in order to further the agenda of vested interests is on the rise and can pose threat to democracy. He cited the recent behavior of former President Donald Trump as a danger to democracy. The Covid-19 pandemic also showed numerous situations where false information was perpetuated on the web. Tremendous amount of damage can be done when false information is spread which can spread divisions and polarization in a society. The discussion was what can be done about this.  

Mr. Carlos Hernandez answered that false information can be only countered with truths and fact-checking. A lot of people now realizing the damage done by fake news, are looking into ways of fact-checking and presenting as a counter to fake news.  

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said it is difficult to completely control the weaponization of fake news but said certain measures can be adopted to have some control in the beginning and later as more avenues are available more measures can be adopted. In democracies some amount of licence with truth is inevitable. Society and more responsible media can counter lies with facts. But there are three types of lies and fake news that need effective regulation. 1. Lies that spread hatred and violence. 2. Verifiable lies that can cause imminent danger to society and mankind. eg: Denial of Covid pandemic; spread of misinformation discovering vaccination; lies about global warming making responsible action difficult. 3. Trump-like lies that undermine Constitutional order and democracy. In respect of these three lies and fake news all civilizations should come together and evolve effective mechanisms to curb fake news. He suggested, the influential figures or people that have certain number of followers can be observed closely to check the truthfulness of their communication.  The context is also right to promulgate some regulation, especially, after the COVID-19 pandemic and the circulation of fake news and the political drama in America.  He also said as this fake news originates in one country and affects people in other countries, some kind of transnational regulations are required.  

Mr. Sekhri suggested that European Union can quickly move on this issue and start trans-national regulations to fight fake news. Numerous questions were asked by participants as to how to control the menace of fake news and false information.  Does spreading fake news become part of freedom of speech? Definitely not, a fact is a fact, one can have interpretations and perceptions of a event.  But facts and truth should be presented in the society.

అసాధారణ చట్టాలకు, పోలీసులకూ జవాబుదారీతనముండాలి

 

IDAW SESSION on EXTORDINARY LAWS

The Monday session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways to discuss EXTORDINARY LAWS. Shri. K. Aravind Rao, Former DGP, Prof. Kham KhamSuan Housing and Prof. K. Kailash, from University of Hyderabad, Prof. Ujwal Singh from University of Delhi and Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana, Retd . IAS participated.  Prof. Kham KhamHausing was the Chair for the Session.

Prof. Hausing opened the discussion with explain the history of Armed Forces Act, POTA, TADA, UAPA and their role in democracy.  Prof. Ujwal Singh asked Should we fight terrorism with one hand tied in the back.  He also said we need to adopt best practices in policing and counter insurgency, but with accountability measures. He also said that National Interest is not the same as political party interest and we should know our common national interest, and integrity of our country is most important, and that violence has no place in the society. Dr. Arvind Rao explained the idea of violence perpetrated on the society also drew its inspiration from certain ideologies that justify violence. There are also doctrines and its strong proponents that want to destabilize a strong society, and this problem is present in all over the world. He also said ideologues and tacit support to stir hate against a state is on the rise and should be effectively and decisively curbed.  Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan explained that we should trust our police and security forces and give them adequate authority but with strong accountability measures.

ఆత్మనిర్భర భారత్ కి చట్టబద్ధపాలన ఎంతో అవసరం.. ఈజ్ ఆఫ్ జస్టిస్ కు చట్టాలను సంస్కరించే ప్రయత్నం ప్రారంభించాం: ఐడీఎడబ్ల్యూ సదస్సులో కిషన్ రెడ్డి

నేర పరిశోధన, ప్రాసిక్యూషన్ లను రాజకీయం నుంచి వేరు చేయాలి

 

IDAW SESSION on Strengthening Investigation and Prosecution

The second session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways to strengthen investigation.Justice B.S. Chauhan, Chairman of 21st Law Commission, was the chair for the session, with him the panelists were Shri. C. Anjaneya Reddy, IPS (IPS), Shri D.R. Karthikeyan Former Director of Central Bureau of Investigation, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, General Secretary of Foundation for Democratic Reforms and Justice M.L. Tahaliyani former Judge of Bombay High Court.

Justice BS Chauhan: Justice Chauhan started off with explaining that the foundation of criminal justice system starts with suspicion raised by the investigators. He expressed displeasure that cases are not being decided even in the lifetime of the plaintiffs. Additionally, most of the political people do not have the willpower to accept any of the recommendations made by the Judiciary and that most inexperienced people are being appointed as public prosecutors due to political pressures.  Justice Chauhan expressed that Section 25A is not being followed by the states where in the State Government may establish a Directorate of Prosecution consisting of a Director of Prosecution and as many Deputy Directors of Prosecution as it thinks fit to strengthen prosecution.Justice Tahiliyani stated that people are having bad experiences when they visit police station, so most do not want to go there to launch a complaint.Trust deficit is there in both police department and judiciary. Justice Tahiliyani explained that no separate cadre of police exist to deal with investigations, and this must be addressed urgently. Police needs to be trained on investigation before they assume their jobs and that Investigation shall be separated from law and order.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana stated that police should be empowered and should be held accountable. He said that conviction rate in India is very less and that trial process should be expedited. He also emphasized the need for non-partisan, autonomous, professional, accountable, and transparent independent crime investigation wing is needed. Dr. JP also suggested to increase the number of judges and appoint judges as District attorneys for a period of 5 years and make prosecution independent from political control. Shri. DR Karthikeyan stated that an unjust acquittal is as bad as an unjust conviction and unless we correct the deficiencies in the system the lawlessness of the country will not go.Politicization of police is also a major problem.Shri. Anjaneya Reddy, IPS explained that crime is investigated at different levels like district level, state level, and CB-CID level. The Investigation process should be facilitated over multiple jurisdictions without obstacle and the laws should be changed accordingly.  He emphasized that the laws governing us now are of the colonial era and that the changing times demand robust laws.  The laws governing now are not designed in a democratic system but for a colony.  In addition, Shri Anjaneya Reddy explained that people do not go to police stations because police of apprehensions. Police are given uninhibited powers of arrest, which is misused frequently. Also, encounters happen because people have lost faith in the criminal justice system and that strengthening criminal justice system will build public trust and promote over all development.

Shri. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home addressed Rule of Law Conference Organised by Foundation for Democratic Reforms.  The session on Criminal Procedure Reforms was Chaired by Shri. PS Rammohan Rao IPS, former governor of Tamilnadu, Shri Jayaprakash Narayana Retd IAS, Shri Ranvir Singh, Former Vice Chancellor NALSAR, and Shri. MR Ahmad former Prisons IG.  Shri. Kishan Reddy expresses concern over Rule of Law in the country and conveyed his wholehearted support to the conference.  He also stated that BJP government under leadership of Shri Narendra Modi is commited to Rule of Law and Reforms to the CrPC and IPC.  Shri. Rammohan Rao explained the importance of Rule of Law not just for the health of the society, but also for the economic growth and there by reduction of poverty and increase in employment.

ప్రజల భాగస్వామ్యంతోనే మెరుగైన పోలీసు సేవలు

 

పోలీసింగ్ కు భయం స్థానంలో సహకారం ప్రాతిపదిక కావాలి

 

IDAW SESSION on CHALLENGES TOMODERN POLICING

The first session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways of addressing the numerous challenges of modern policing. Shri K. Padmanabhaiah, Former Union Home Secretary, was the chair for the session, with him the panelists were Smt. Maja Daruwala - Senior Advisor, Commonwealth Human Rights, Shri Kamal Kumar, Former Director SVP National Police Academy, Mr Raj S Kohli, Chief Superintendent, Metropolitan Police London, Shri. Jacob Punoose, former DGP of Kerala and State Police Chief and Shri. V. N. Rai, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh. 

Shri Padmanabiah began his address by stating that the police are tasked with the duty of enforcing the Rule of Law, failing which any state would regress to the status of a failed state. On the other hand, excessive use of force and coercion would turn the state to a police state. He then proceeded to give an overview on the experience of police reforms in India and broad areas in a dire need for reform. He continually appreciated the police reforms done in Kerala and suggested that every police force in the country learn from them. Smt. Maja Daruwalaspoke next on the issue of the public’s perception of the police, elucidating the pressing issue with references from various reports on policing. She stated that increasing negative perceptions must be immediately addressed. Shri Kamal Kumar highlighted the essential requisites of a modern police force that a vibrant democracy like India urgently requires. He also illustrated the issue of the inhuman and unenviable working condition of the police in India and that they should be immediately improved. Mr Raj S Kohli spoke about the differences between Indian Police and the police of the United Kingdom. He asked an important question in "we never ask the people how they want to be policed". Shri. Jacob Punoose started out by talking about how fear can never be a source of policing, rather the basis for policing should be co-operation and friendliness. He went on to emphasise that police should be friendly with the people firstly, which would be reciprocated by the people. He shared his experiences in community policing in the state of Kerala. Shri. V. N. Rai, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, spoke about how the most essential parts of policing in recruitment and training are being neglected. Excess political interference and arbitrary transfers of police personnel makes policing job difficult.

The Second session of the Indian Democracy at Work Conference 2021 on Rule of Law saw a distinguished panel deliberate on ways of addressing the numerous challenges of modern policing. Smt. Aruna Bahuguna, Former Director of National Police Academy is the chair for the session, with her the panelists are Dr. Gandhi P.C. Kaza - Senior Advisor, founder of Truth Labs and prominent forensic expert, Shri M. Mahender Reddy DGP of Telangana State, Shri.Mohit Rao, Independent Journalist, and Dr. Vipin Mudgal, Director of Common Cause.

Smt. Aruna Bahuguna started with Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence has a big role to play. Mr. Mohit Rao mentioned that police response to large unrest was mostly political and that the technological applications of police are mostly in urban and it is not being used in rural areas as much.  He also talked about contamination of crime scenes and mishandling of investigations.  Dr. Gandhi, top forensic expert shared his experiences on forensic investigations and expressed displeasure on the lack of budget, equipment and resources to tackle investigations and said that some cases are investigated for many years.