The Hindu : New Delhi News : Patience is the key

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Monday, Nov 03, 2008
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Patience is the key - Readers' Mail

With reference to the recent temple stampede in Jodhpur and other such tragedies, the fact is that, more often than not, many devotees fail to comply with and defy the pleas of security personnel to maintain order so as to avoid any untoward incidents as religious places tend to get overcrowded. They want to offer prayers ahead of others and then display the same impatience in trying to get out first.

The authorities cannot entirely be blamed for such mishaps as it becomes difficult to control an agitated gathering. It is the duty of the public to comply with the directives to maintain the peace and tranquillity of religious places.

This, however, is not to insulate the authorities from the liability of inappropriate provisions and mismanagement of public places, but without the cooperation of citizens even the most well laid-out plans would fail. It is, therefore, imperative that we behave as responsible citizens in public places to ensure safety and convenience of everyone.I have been a victim of such push-and-pull tactics frequently during my visits to temples and have observed that age is no bar when it comes to flouting the guidelines of temple premises.

Observing self-restraint and persuading our fellow beings to do the same would go a long way in averting such mishaps.

Shubha Gupta,

Jagatpura, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

No, Your Honour….

A couple of orders passed by the Supreme Court in July and August in respect of a writ petition (Lalitha Kumari’s case) issuing directions to all States and Union Territories regarding mandatory registration of FIRs have been mentioning the name of the respondent as Government of Uttar Pradesh. The orders have also been uploaded on the official website of the Court for public information. As far as my knowledge goes, under Article 300 of the Constitution if any state government has to sue or if it has to be sued, it can only be in the form of State of __________ (name of the State concerned). So why not the State of U.P. in the above mentioned case?

Earlier this year also I came across such a situation when I noticed a case titled “Som Mittal Vs. Government of Karnataka” in which a judge of the Supreme Court directed the State of UP to issue an ordinance to restore anticipatory bail (though the order was later set aside by a larger Bench). When I brought this anomaly to the notice of the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court through an e-mail, I got a response from the Assistant Registrar by a registered letter informing me that necessary directions in the case for compulsory recording of FIRs had already been communicated to all Chief Secretaries/DGPs, etc. I was advised to approach the appropriate authority for redressing my grievance.

I fail to understand this response as my query pertained to an error apparent on the face of an order which has been accorded so much publicity.

Hemant Kumar,

414, Sector 7, Urban Estate, Ambala City, Haryana.

Information gap

The Central Information Commission (Management) (Amendment) Regulations, 2008, regarding “Finality of Decision” to hold a decision or order once pronounced by the Commission as final is the first such blow from the Central Information Commissioner.

Many a time, the CIC orders do not cover all the issues raised in the prayer. The Commission should at least review such aspects before summarily holding an incomplete decision as final.

Only recently a Delhi High Court judge suo motu re-opened a case summoning the parties again when he himself observed a flaw in his decision.

It would be best to have a provision of review for single-judge Bench decisions by a larger Bench of the Court to take care of such flaws. It will also reduce court cases filed against the Commission’s decisions besides ensuring a consistency in verdicts as some Information Commissioners are known to be appellant-friendly while others might be non-sensitive to the petitioners’ plight. However, to check unnecessary review petitions, these can be carefully scrutinised before being accepted. A nominal fee for filing a second appeal or review petition should be imposed to discourage petitioners from filing useless appeals or review petitions.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal,

1775 Kucha Lattushah, Dariba, Chandni Chowk, Delhi – 110 006.

BJP’s ways

It is high time the BJP reviewed its hypocrisy and parochial world-view. The bashers of “Islamic terrorism” should not take offence when the term “Hindu extremism” crops up in the media — it should remind them that terror has no religion. When Jamia Millia Islamia announced assistance for alleged terrorists who were on the rolls of the university, it was blasted by the BJP. But when similar elements were found in their midst, it was termed a conspiracy, a slander campaign by the media. Double standards, thy name is BJP.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad vice-president Milind Marathe’s lament that “the media is sensationalising the news and subjecting people to media trial without any proof” leaves one wondering why they did not speak up when similar damage was being done to those belonging to the minorities.

Double standard, thy name is BJP.

Also, the culprits of the Malegaon blasts have been booked under sections pertaining to murder and not terrorism. The law, last heard, was equal for all.

Sami Ahmad Khan,

Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

A matter of pride

I would like to draw attention to the report, “IIM-K student found hanging in hostel room” (The Hindu, October 22). While sympathising with Geetika’s family, I would like to clarify that Jamshedpur is in Jharkhand, not Bihar. I too am from Jamshedpur and am proud of it. We may be from a small city, but in terms of hard work we can match the best. It is really sad that a city (well, technically you cannot call it a city, it’s a town) which produces more IITians than Kolkata (a Metro) still goes unnoticed.

Even then, I must commend The Hindu on doing a very good job informing people of what is happening around the country and the world. Unlike some other newspapers which seem more concerned about what is happening in the life of Paris Hilton, this newspaper is based more on facts and doesn’t use obscene pictorials to catch the attention of the readers. Kudos to you guys.

Vivek Vishal Sharma,

S-90, Govind Bhawan, IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

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