Loudspeaker: 'Is it appropriate to prescribe a dress code for college students?'

Photo: iamplusone.com 

By Nebil Nizar

Can an educational institution insist that students must only wear a certain mode of dress during the college time? This question as like many other questions fetches us both- Yay and Nay.

Lets See what persons from different walks of life has to say on this subject.

‘The views of the students should be taken on this issue. I recently was at a women's college, where the students were in uniform. They looked disciplined and modest. The students should be modest in their clothes and a dress code may help in that respect’
-T.P Sreenivasan, Former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Vienna.


'I think it is an intrusion on personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. It is your right to wear the dress that you prefer. I however think, a 'college uniform' may be good enough so that economic and social inequalities cannot be reflected in the dress they wear'
-S Sreekumar, Senior Advocate, High Court of Kerala.

‘Imposing a uniform is an infringement on the Right to Personal Liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India. I am of the opinion that management should require students to follow a dress code which is simple and at the same time descent’– R Sam, Advocate at Kerala High Court. 

‘Looking at every aspect of college life I'm undoubtedly on the side of having a dress code for college. I'm sure we have seen the cons of not having a dress code and I guess it's the time to have one. To be precise show off, exposition, inequality, jealousy, impersonate, masquerade are all the denouements of not having a dress code in college. Unity & equality being the most convincing aspects on the said issue, as with a dress code comes the feeling of togetherness. If that wasn't true, we wouldn't have had a national symbol for every country and an Army uniform for a soldier. United we stand divided we fall’. – Mohil Puri, Student at Government Law College Mumbai, India.

‘Uniform has its own merits and demerits. It's ever debatable subject on whether uniform is necessary or not. The prime intention of uniforms is to create uniformity irrespective of upper or lower class. Such amendments should be done only with prior consent from the students or organization this is imposed upon’.
- Rizwan Assainar, Student at Arizona State University, Tempe, United States

‘The uniformity in dressing doesn't merely bring out uniformity in attire but  sense of togetherness and equally in minds of students. College campuses which witnessed thought provoking discussions has now been reduced to a platform displaying ultra modern apparels and gadgets. The introduction of uniform and its compliance in strict sense is a means to ensure social and economical equality at least in the minds of young generation.’- Raveena Naz, Student at Hidayatullah National Law School, Raipur, India.

‘I would say yes to the dress code for the students, at least until their secondary school. The dress code for students in school is primarily to bring uniformity and thereby avoiding the differences in their general lifestyle (basically between the rich and the poor). And I say until their secondary schooling because that would be the age where they will get to know the real meaning (value) for uniformity’ – Rahul Ramkumar, Alumnus of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), India.

‘Dress is a part of one’s privacy and in a country where we give a lot of importance to life and personal liberty, we should not infringe into the right of a student to choose his or her dress’   -Nisa Fasil, Advocate and Author.


'Imposing a dress code is a bolt on our personal liberty. Heaven never fell down for the only reason that dress code was not complied with. Suppression of individual freedoms by the managements and head of the institutions are not a welcome trend. Such an action must be condemned. Academia must instead mould students to think progressively and create history'
-M Swaraj, Kerala State Secretary, DYFI.


'More than prescribing a dress code, an educational institution has the role to make students to realize their dress code. Prescribing dress code for certain occasions can be justified but not for entire college life. My attire reflects my personality. If somebody restricts me to follow a special code of conduct for a long time, that would be suppression of my individuality. Each student is unique. Colleges should not be a place to generate people having same characters. Modern jurisprudence researches are concentrating more on individual liberty and freedom. When colleges in Kerala think about dress code they should keep in mind that their students career is not going to be restricted in the Kerala circle but it should go national even international'
-Jino M Kurien, Student at NALSAR University of Law, Hydrebad, India.


'It is absolutely inappropriate to prescribe a dress code for college students. Once students enter college life, they're adults and they have every right to be independent. They shouldn't be restricted with lot of rules. Colleges here in U.S. are a good example. Freedom in dressing should absolutely be given to college students.'
-Jerlyn Jose, Student at Collin College, Texas, Dallas, United States.


'Recently several colleges in our state has been imposing uniforms and dress codes for students. It is totally against the democratic and vibrant culture of our campuses and individual freedom of the students. Majority of our college students are citizens above 18 years of age. They have the right to choose their dress style. Moreover our campuses have a history of creating new trends and ideas in everything from fashion to politics.'
-Sreeraj Natarajan, Student at Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

‘College students should be given more freedom when it comes to the outfits unlike school going children. Plus, some of the law schools already have their own uniforms and things. It must also be noted that since our profession is one where we have to wear a specific uniform, undoubtedly, once we graduate from college, we're all going to be stuck with our black gowns for the rest of our professional lives. Also, we can't say law students don't have a dress code. We do, and that's what we all wear for moot court competitions. But because we don't have mooting events on a daily basis, the need for a dress code to be adhered to by all on all working days doesn't arise'- Navaneeth Krishnan, National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), India.

myidnebil@gmail.com

ANOTHER GOLDEN FEATHER ON COLLEGE’S CENTURY OLD TRADITION

By Adhithyan.S.K                                                                                                                                                                    

Our prestigious law school has been acknowledged as a research institute .On 7/11/2013 the meeting of the Academy Council, University of Kerala has given us the status of Research Centre. From now onwards the college can grant post doctoral degrees. This decision by the Council is a revolution and a kind of coup 

d’état. The college even after having a history of more than 135 years was denied he status of research centre for the past 30 years. Decision of the Council has been unanimous and it shows the courage and vigor of all the members, hats off to them. While the decision of the council was welcomed by Academicians 

and students the question as to why the college was denied the status hitherto remains unanswered. Along with this decision the Academy Council has also proposed to the Board of Studies to recommend measures to reduce the duration of the LL.M course to one year.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                    

SEMINAR ON CURRENT LEGAL TOPICS

By Achut M Nair

Mooting, classroom study, Internships. Are law schools all about that alone?? They, sure, do pave
the way for honing the lawyering skills and the quintessential professionalism, but for exploring the
enormous possibilities and the new trends, one has to remain abreast with the latest developments in
law. This can be accomplished by interacting with eminent people who deal with various kinds of law in the society. So, we are happy to announce that Govt. Law College, Thiruvananthapuram is conducting a seminar on current legal topics ranging from 'E-Contracts and Digital Signature' to 'Legal Protection of Copy Rights and Patents' on the 5th and 6th of November,2013, to enhance the understanding and knowledge of law of the participants through day-long interaction with expert academicians and well-accomplished administrators, in the college auditorium. We, on behalf of the Principal and the staff cordially invite each and every one of you to this event, which will be inaugurated by Dr.N.Veeramanikandan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University and attended by subject-experts and scholars from various spheres. The occasion will also witness Miss Maneka Nair, the first rank holder of LL.B (5 year course, 2013) receiving a gold medal instituted by PTA of Govt. Law College as a token of appreciation for her feat. So we welcome you to this grand function to get acquainted with the legal topics of current relevance and carry home a plethora of knowledge which would definitely be helpful in your pursuit to acquire paramount expertise in the subject.

'I always say that the best time to start-up is college. Fear is a thing to regret. Start early. Because when you run the extra mile, it is always less crowded! ;) '

Her inclination towards writing led her to become a blogger/legal journalist. Anisha Aditya blog at law portal Law School Terrace and is a writer at Inc42, a social platform for young start ups. She also works as freelance journalist and a mind wanderer. She is presently studying law at Lloyd Law College, New Delhi.

Given below is the transcript of her interview with Nebil Nizar

1-What made you a journalist?

A positive impulse, an urge towards recognition and my own sentimental inclination to become a writer pushed me towards journalism. It is amazing how one thing kept rolling to another. Journalism opened up a plethora of opportunities for me. The walk has not really been a cascade of flower. But who wants an easy play?! Honestly, my decision to become a journalist has been much recent. And all that has set forth has only moved me to go along with it. It was never a measured route for me, as it happened to be a job I love doing.

       

2- How legal journalism come into your life?

Freshman year was a hustle. My archaic mindset that law students can only wear the black cloak and the bitter grin and sit behind a stack of briefs got overruled. The issue is law schools offer too much food for thought but less time to ponder. And hence everything seemed a hustle.

Once I started writing, my interface with the legal fraternity was much more than the other fronts – be it with law professors or advocates or startup founders or law associates. Many people connected with me for giving legal reports on the various legislations, verdict of the Judges, different aspects of law schools or the legal profession per se. Moreover, I encountered many wonderful personalities who motivated me in the pursuit of this field. Did the motivation help? Sure thing!

3- Specialized Branches of Journalism are growing- Legal, Business and Economy etc. Do you think this would take journalism to new heights?

Yes ofcourse it will! The reason behind it being proficiency. You put an science teacher in a room of poetry, more often than not, the person will create meaningless scribbles. I am not disregarding the versatility of journalists, but you cannot throw the theory of right man in the right place in denial. It's simple: an economist can definitely give better economic reports than a political scientist, an entrepreneur can certainly write better about VC or angel investors than a social scientist. Division of labour is an old school theory prevailing in contemporary times! Specialization of journalism will lead to skillful work which will certainly lift up journalism to new heights.

4- What is the present status of legal journalism in India? How far it is seen as a career option here?

Legal journalism is no longer a wallflower in India. The skills of a researcher, argumentative thinkers, critical analyst are mutual epithets for all. Yet, a high tide of law students is not prevalent here. Opportunities are in plenty. Various new forums are coming up to boost legal journalism, both online and offline. Moreover, when you possess the knowledge of law and if you are giving reports on law, then certainly you are at an advantage. Seeing legal journalism as a career is a lucrative option now.

5- Recently Press Council of India Chairman Justice. Markandey Katju emphasized the need for minimum qualifications for a Journalist. What is your stand on this?

I never quite understood why Justice Markandey Katju said so. Training comes from experience, not from a paper degree. I think every journalist is a quick learner with a childlike curiosity. Even if he has never studied articulate venation or Higgs boson in life, he can write a complete report on that. Most importantly, a journalist knows how to filter the knowledge to extract the best. I totally agree with Barkha Dutt saying that the answer to attain greater heights in journalism does not lie in “more degrees”. Some of the stalwarts of this field are even without a successful university degree. Journalism is a movement. Absence of prescribed qualification for journalism is certainly not resulting it’s mediocrity. Infact, its liberalism is leading to its progress.

6- Do you think that there is a trend to scandalize and lower the authority of courts by legal media fraternity in the recent times?

Journalism is the only medium which exposes the public to the whirlwinds of the recent times. Media does not derogate the court. It only enlightens minds. If a factual truth about an incident sensationalizes the public, why must be the media be blamed? Moreover, lawsuits are not decided by the public’s reaction, but by the law of its jurisdiction. People have a right to know all that is happening within the nation, not just the headlines and the verdict of it. It has played applauded role in the case of Jessica Lal, Arushi Talwar, 2G scam and innumerous other cases. Atleast, someone is genuinely trying to enlighten and ignite minds!

7- Do you think that law schools should start a new course on legal journalism to impart training in basic laws combined with teaching journalism skills?

My institution itself has Law and Media in its course. But what is required is not a black and white teaching, but how to hunt in the wild. Law and Journalism both are two very powerful professions. When merged together, it can work wonders. The issue is, life even outside the education system seems to be scheduled - get good grades, graduate, get a job, marry, have kids, grow old, retire, die! Indian journalism needs young minds with bolder ideas. And hence practical oriented teaching is MUCH MUCH in requisite.

8- If a Journalism aspirant seeks your advice to help him choose between Print and Visual media, what will be your advice?

Everyone has to seek for their own niche. A kid with brilliant speaking skills can hit the visual media while the one who has more power over the pen can ink the script. It again varies from what you what you want. Apart from increasing local creditability, print media is form of art. Print Media is a job from which one cannot just gain recognition, but also satisfaction. For me personally, it is a source of contentment. Again that is broadcasted on the visual media is global and gives fame. One major misconception is considering social forums like Facebook, Twitter and the likes of it as Visual Media. These are merely alternate media. Whether to choose Print or Visual Media depends completely upon the potentials of the individual. On the whole, I think both hold equal significance for denoting media as the 4^th estate in a democracy.

9- What is your advice to law students who desires to be a Journalist?

Journalism is a brilliant profession to pursue. No ifs, no buts to it. The priceless perks of journalism are the connections which reaches you, your name being a common word, people find you, your current affairs is a major score and last but  least, a productive mindset. I always say that the best time to start-up is college. Fear is a thing to regret. Start early. Because when you run the extra mile, it is always less crowded! ;)

myidnebil@gmail.com

Law College Professor awarded Ph.D

Money Veena (L) with her guide Dr. Sunny (R).
Photo Courtesy: Dr. Sunny

By Lesley Rajan

Thiruvananthapuram: Assistant Professor in Law at Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, Money Veena V.R, has been awarded with Doctorate of Philosophy in Law by University of Kerala.

Her thesis titled 'Deficiency in Banking Service under the Consumer Protection Act 1986' was completed under the guidance of Dr. K.C Sunny, Professor and Head of Department, Law, University of Kerala.

'An exclusive legislation to deal with Banking Service deficiency is needed in the country', she said in her thesis. Speaking to our blog, she said that she owes her gratitude to her guide, Parents, Husband and children for supporting her every moment.

Money Veena did her Bachelors of Law from Kerala Law Academy Law College and Masters in Law from Department of Law, University of Kerala. She is married to Kiran Shankar, law officer at Law Department, Government of Kerala.


*

FOOD SECURITY: A MILESTONE IN INDIAN POLITY

Photo: www.asianews.it

By  Adv. Niveditha Krishna. A. L*

  

 India is one of the most progressive nations of the world, making its mark in the field of

science, technology, nuclear energy etc. The growing face of India indicated by multi- national

corporations and growing industries has changed the urban life with high standard of living

and increased purchasing power. This is only one side of the coin. If we examine the other side

we can see “hunger amidst plenty” ie a huge population is suffering from mass hunger and at

the same time surplus food grains are getting damaged at the fields itself as well as in the store

houses. They still struggle for its basic necessities of life like food, drinking water, sanitation and

education. Almost half of the child population is suffering from malnutrition. Food security is an

ideal assured by the nations at regional as well as globally to reduce the hunger, which constitute

a worldwide problem.

Food security implies that every citizen of the country has assurance of adequate quantity of

quality grains all through his life time. It should aim to ensure the availability of food grains

to the common people at an affordable price and enable the poor to have access to food. The

majority of the people in the developed countries has not only enough to eat, but wide choice and

probably eats too much. Where as in developing world majority of the population do not have

enough to eat, struggling with poverty and starvation.

The Committee on World Food Security of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

defines food security as ‘food security means that food is available at all times, that all persons

have means of access to it, that is nutritionally adequate in terms of quantity, quality and variety

and that it is acceptable within the given culture. Only when all these conditions are in place can

a population be considered as ‘food secure’.

National Food Security Bill 2011- An Analysis

India, in its 62nd year of republic realized the need for food security legislation. Hence it drafted

the National Food Security Bill 2011 to provide for food and nutritional security by ensuring

access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices for the people to live a life with

dignity. Even though the Supreme Court has not included right to food in Article 21, it has issued

directions to the state to ensure that nobody dies of starvation.

It provides for right to receive food grains by priority household and general household at

subsidized prices through TPDS. But the problem is that today the public distribution system is

facing the allegation of hoarding, black-marketing etc. We cannot assess how far the system will

overcome from this allegation and provide for implementation of the provisions of the Bill.

It provides for nutrient support to pregnant women and lactating mothers and children. These

steps are to be implemented as per the guidelines of the Central Government and cost- sharing

between the Central and State Government. But the Bill does not specify the ratio of cost-sharing

to be followed or the authority to determine this ratio. Another issue is that a uniform ratio

cannot be adopted for all the States. The economic growth and financial level of each State vary

and every State cannot contribute uniformly in cost- sharing procedure.

The Bill states ‘migrants’ as a special group who are able to claim entitlements of special groups.

This provision may act as a booster for migrants to remain in India permanently. It is true that

the problems created by migrants in the eastern border States of our country really threatens the

peaceful atmosphere of the nation.

The Bill provides that the Central Government may, from time to time, prescribe the guidelines

for identifying the priority household, general household and exclusion criteria. But it does not

clearly state the basic principles or criteria to be considered in framing the guidelines.

As a measure of women empowerment, it sought to recognize woman not less than 18 years of

age as the head of household for the purpose of issue of ration card.

It provides for grievance redress mechanism. But in the case of appeal provision, it has to be as

per the manner provided by the Central Government. But the poor and the illiterates may not be

able to comply with such complex procedures, which may result in denial of justice to them.

The Bill provides for the establishment of State as well as National Food Security Commission.

It also clearly states the functions of such bodies. But it fails to indicate the powers as well as the

status of such bodies which defines the strength of such bodies and its orders.

To provide accountability and transparency, a provision of social audit is included. It also

states that the Central Government can authorize independent agencies to conduct social audit.

But it does not mention the qualifications to be satisfied by such agencies to get sanction for

conducting social audit. This may leads to favoritism and corruption.

Another provision is the penalty for public servant or public authority in case of ignoring the

recommendations of the District Grievance Redressal Officer. The penalty stated is only five

thousand rupees which is too meager when compared to the value of the basic right to food

security.

The Bill in each provision clearly states the role of Central or the State Government in

implementing the provisions. But finally it denies the liability for loss, damage or compensation

arising out of failure to supply food grains, either directly or indirectly to force majeure condition

such as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or Act of God. Being a social welfare

legislation, instead of denial of liability, the Government should take over the responsibility of

providing adequate food grain at this stage and thereby reflect the concept of democratic and

welfare State.

Hence the draft legislation, to be practically applicable, should undergo certain basic changes

to suit the Indian scenario. The right to food being a part of right to life should be viewed with

importance given to a fundamental freedom. Thus the legislation should be made compatible to

the needs of Indian population.

The Parliament adopted several amendments to the Bill. First is that instead of

separate entitlements for different categories, there would be only one category of

beneficiaries with uniform entitlement of 5kg per person per month.  The entitlement of

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute poorest of the poor, will be

protected at 35 kg per household per month.  It also take care to protect the existing allocation

of food grains to the States/Union Territories, subject to it being restricted to average annual off-

take during last three years.

Corresponding to coverage of 75% of the rural population and 50% of urban population at the all

India level, State-wise coverage will be determined by the Planning Commission.  The work of

identification of eligible households is to be left to the States/UTs, which may frame their own

criteria or use the Social Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data. The uniform prices of Rs. 3/

2/1 per kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains will be applicable to all eligible beneficiaries. This price

rate is to be fixed for the first three years of implementation of the Act, and thereafter link the

same suitably to minimum support price (MSP).

Finally in order to address the concerns of States/UTs regarding additional financial burden, it is

proposed that Central Government may provide assistance to States towards cost of intra-State

transportation and handling of food grains, for which norms will be devised.

The global challenge of enhancing food security all regions of the world requires a concerted

effort from all the elements of social life. Food insecurity is longtime struggle and the

introduction of intellectual property protection in the field of agriculture made significant

changes in the policy framework regarding food security.

Neglect in dry land farming and cereals other than rice and wheat led to a steep decrease in the

nutritional level. An IFAD study in the state of Andhra Pradesh showed that the conversion

of paddy field into land to cultivate export crops like cotton, flower and aqua culture had

the following impacts: less land available for growing food crops, reduced amount of food

production for the family and decreased women’s control over the income and food supply as

women does not market cash crops, increasing level of alcoholism which reduced the amount of

income available for food and using a proportion of grains for brewing liquor, due to decreased

family food supply women reduced intake of food and at the same time worked harder to earn

cash income and more reliance on wage income and public distribution system for their survival.

Food security is not just a matter of food - quality of food that ensures nutrition, and healthcare

that protects people from debilitating diseases or intestinal parasites that leak nutrition are all

part of it. Hence solutions cannot be a single one but an integrated approach. Investment in rural

and urban development that ensures the livelihood of people in a measure that enables them

to get exchange entitlements and buildup their endowments like assets, skill and appropriate

technology are critical, but above all social and political power matter most. Public expenditure

on safe water, sanitation, health care, and public assistance for affordable food are all part of

ensuring food security. One cannot invest in one aspect of poverty. There is need for a balanced

approach, with large projects in education, health, nutrition and rural infrastructure.

 

 

Adv. Niveditha Krishna. A. L is an LL.M in 'IPR and Public Law' from Department of Law, University of Kerala. 

Letter to Readers

Photo: www.theatlantic.com

Dear Readers,
I am writing this open letter to announce to our readers that my year long tenure has finally come to an end.
It has been a privilege to coordinate content for this blog until now. Our blog magazine today has readership, recognition and authenticity. Read by policy makers to Judicial minds, we are happy to retain this class magazine status.

The story of this blog starts with a question by former World Bank Chief Counsel and National Judicial Academy Director Dr. Mohan Gopal. After his class at our college, Dr. Gopal asked 'why don't you people start a blog?'. There begins the journey. Initially named as Indian Legal Watch, it was changed to 'Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram Students Blog on Kerala Legal Affairs' on the directions of Dr. Mohan Gopal himself.

On my resignation from the post after the end of one year, I remember the following persons whose help at different times make us stand as of today. Thanks on behalf of our team

To our Editorial Board Chairman Dr. P.G Balachandran Pillai. He is the one on whose supervision this was set up. I remember words- 'Nebil, if our intention is good, then god will definitely get things in favor of us'. He is the real example of how a Board Chairman should be. He never interfered in the Editorial freedom and we all love him because of that.

Special thanks to Adv. Nisa Fasil for motivating us and pushing us ahead. Thanks a lot for providing us with facilities including your laptop, internet connection and office for this blog.

This blog can never forget the contributions of Dr. Justice V.R Krishna Iyer. Our lead matter was an article by him. His Lordship provided us with dozens of articles, statements and interviews. We are indebted towards you. His Private Secretary Mr. Ramanathan took a lot of pain to dictate, take down notes and get it typed for us. We can never forget you also.

First interview was with former Director General of Police Shri. MGA Ramen. This great man gave us two slots for the interview. One time at Cochin and next at Thiruvananthapuram. I even today have his hand corrected copy of the draft of the interview. Great gentleman.

Prof. Manoj Krishna from our college wrote for us and also did what ever possible to promote this blog. He always helped in the time of crisis, gave us guidelines and asked other students to write for us. He gave us excellent contacts like Adv. Jayesh Pillai, who also helped us in many ways.

Our distinguished reader and the senior Journalist who broke the 2G scam, J Gopikrishnan offered to write a piece on Criminal Lawyers. We were on cloud 9 hearing that. We got a blog post which was most widely read and criticized.

Ashraf Padanna (Foreign Correspondent of Gulf Today and Oman Observer), the first media person to recognize our existence. His news stories in the backdrop of our interviews gave us recognition and appreciation from the readers and interviewees.

John Mary Joseph (Resident Editor of Deccan Chronicle) for recognizing that we exist in this world.

Syam Devaraj (Correspondent, Kairali TV), for scrolling the news that we published. His works gave us authenticity.

Vivina (Correspondent, PRD) for taking pain to verify news relating to the government. Thanks for helping us even at the peak of your work schedule.

VR Rajiven IPS, for his help at multiple times. His interview was a great encouragement to many civil service aspirants. Your support from the prior launch days is deeply remembered.

Jacob Punnoose IPS, for his help and support, not sure that he actually remembers us. His accommodating attitude always helped us to do stories.

Sudheer Mukkam, Journalist at Madhyamam for equipping us with an interview of former National Judicial Academy Chief Dr. G Mohan Gopal. His interview gave us hope during those difficult times before the launch.

Shasthamangalam S Ajith Kumar for that interview which was carried by Gulf Today, Oman Observer, Deccan Chronicle and Kairali TV. First interview in a court corridor.

Dr. Mathew Kuzhalnadan, National Secretary of Indian Youth Congress, for his encouragement and cooperation. I remember well about your query about the blog during your college visit and desire to see the team behind this initiative. His visit had a positive impact on us.

Adv. Kiran Lal, for coming down to meet us and encouraging us. One of the most positive person I have ever meet. A 'Dil Mange More' attitude. His article on SSB was also widely read.

Prasanth Nair IAS for his email interview. Encouraged students from law background and also outside. Promptness in giving the interview is appreciated.

Adv. Moharaj Gopalakrishnan. Spl Prosecutor in Enrica Lexi case, for granting us time for an interview even at night amidst busy schedule and thanks for giving us an opportunity to talk to the Investigation officer in Enrica Lexi case. Thanks a lot Reju Prasad for fixing that interview with Mohan Raj sir.

Garima Tiwari. One of our most respected readers and critique. We had the privilage to interview this young legal wizard. Her knowledge of International Criminal Law always amazed us.

Adv. Simla Prabhakaran for giving us your frank and independent opinion on various issues. Her knowledge of law at this young age always amazed us. Also thanks for taking part in our discussion.

Adv. Jayesh Pillai, Mumbai High Court, for always guiding and motivating us. His expertise in law was at our doorstep a couple of times. Thanks for writing for us and offer to do the new one.

Jino M Kurian, Student at NALSAR for his writings that is always different. He was dare enough to stand against the view propagated by the main stream media and support P.J Kurian. His other writing was also excellent. He gave all the power to the Editor to rewrite his article, of course without changing the basic structure. Luckily we never had to do anything of such a proportion. We love you a lot.

Abdullah Karuthedakam is a great friend and regular reader of our blog. The email lists provided by him was a great help. We were able to win over a large number of audience with your help.

Vimal Koshy is our Special Correspondent and Technical Expert. His Sony Voice Recorders was used in majority of the interviews done by us. His assistance in many interviews and stories was a real help. Happy to edit his independent stories also.

Special thanks to Viswajith Anand and Navaneeth Krishnan for sending questions for the interview even at very short notice.

Thanks to our Cochin Special Correspondent Joseph MD. His readiness to do a work at any time is note worthy. I never remember as heard a 'No' from him.

This blog would have been nothing without our Photo Editor Navya Frederick Pereira. She chose to stay with us in our good and bad days. This blog is what it is today because of your sincere efforts. From statistics reporting to news reporting to Photography, you spend a lot of time and effort.

Remember many who climbed on to this boat in the initial days, but left us alone at rough seas. Our works made us understand that if we are ready to work, then even a free blogging site can function like a law magazine.

Readers are our assets. Thanks for staying with us even when in this digital graphics age we still followed EPW model. Can never forget readers like Ramesh Rateria who criticizes citing para number, that really shows the attention with which he reads. Readers like Anisha Adithya, Adv. Rajesh Ramamoorthy, Adv. Boris Paul, Anil Puliyila, Sarah Georgey needs a special mention. Many other distinguished readers do not wish to be named owing to Professional and other reasons, so no naming individually. Bar, Bench and Academia supported us to the maximum. Thanks a lot. Readers, support and criticize to help us grow.

Best wishes to my dear friend and new Editor- Lesley Rajan. Keep going. Confident that you would convert this blog into a website in the future. One request- Don't put all rubbish posts and claim public interest. One advice- Do not go behind the volume of Audience traffic and ratings.


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'Government has already provided a lot of subsidies and health packages for them. But due to the lack of responsibility and commitment, these plans are not implemented properly in Attapaddy'

Justice J.B Koshy
Photo: Navya Frederik Pereira

Justice Jacob Benjamin Koshy is the Chairman of Kerala Human Rights Commission. He is a former Chief Justice of Patna High Court and former Acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.

He obtained his undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Law from Government Law College, Ernakulam. 

Given below is the transcript of his interview with Lesley Rajan.

Qn: Sir, the number of harthals are increasing tremendously. Does it affect the whole people? According to the chief minister of Kerala, protest against a scam of 10 crore itself made a loss of more than 100 crores. How does human rights commission react to this problem, which affects a large population?

Ans : Human Rights Commission has passed an order against the  harthals as High court and Supreme Court  said that forced harthal is equivalent to  bandh . Government should compensate for the destruction for public and private property and should claim the money from those who has announced for the harthal ; the commission  has ordered . Harthals is mainly utilized by thugs and in spite prevailing public will.

Qn: Atrocities against children are increasing very widely. Sir, what all steps you have taken?

Ans: Certainly there are many laws against the atrocities towards children. In the case of Shafik from Kumily, the chief minister had directly taken action, when there is no action took from the part of government commission will interfere in that case. Main reason behind these child assaults are illicit liquor and alcohol. This will urge them to do these acts. Despite, we conduct many effective seminars and rehabilitation classes for the people against child abuses.   These rehabilitation programs and classes can decrease crime to an extent only, so the government officials should take action against these criminal acts. Laws only can’t control the crime rate, for example rape has been given even capital punishment, and also there are many laws but still yet rape occurs in many parts of the country in a high rate. Same in the case of murder, yet these crimes happens, a sad fact.

Qn: Recently we have seen many photos and videos are published in Medias against the accused persons. Here, are these publications amongst to defamation, since they are not convicted and if the court acquits them they lose the dignity in the society. This is a human rights violation, what you say about this?

Ans: Honourable Supreme Court and High Court ordered that Media Trials are unlawful. In this case Court has to decide, so I don’t want to comment.

Qn: Sir, you had said that, “Mullaperiyar issue is not a societal issue’’ Sir, Can you explain it?

Ans: Actually, it’s not what I said. For studying Mullaperiyar issue Supreme Court appointed an expert committee. I said people have to express their opinion about Mullaperyar issue was neither by picketing and hartals nor abusing Tamilians. It’s not the right way of doing. They should have given the evidence to the expert committee later, when the Supreme Court asks evidence they requested for time and Supreme Court did not allowed it, because the time has been over. Things should be done in the way they are meant to do.

QN: Recently P. K Jayalakshmi, minister of scheduled tribes, has recently said that alcoholism among the mothers was reason for new-born death in Attapaddy. As human rights chairman what’s your opinion?

Ans: Alcohol is one of the many reasons for such situation. I had visited Attapaddy and studied the conditions prevailing there. Government has already provided a lot of subsidies and health packages for them. But due to the lack of responsibility and commitment, these plans are not implemented properly in Attapaddy. The second reason is that the money among the women in Attapaddy. These women work very hard and earn money and it’s taken away by the men and given in Toddy shops. Illicit liquor is very common in Attapaddy. Married women are very affected by malnutrition. The rice available for subsidies to BPL families is resold in double price for buying Alcohol. These subsidies do not reach the family. According to the government scheme, the tribal people in Attapaddy have the right to get Medicines, Ambulance and other services. But the officers are irresponsible in providing these schemes. The main reason is the apartheid from the part of civil servants. Government has been spending more that Rs 10,000 per family in Attapaddy in every month. Alcoholism is worst habit and it destroys everything. There are woman who use Alcohol in Attapaddy. Another problem in Attapaddy is the child marriage. A woman of 16year old became pregnant 4 times. Child marriage is the foremost reason, why these minor mothers can’t bring up their children, and infant death increases. In these days sickle cell anaemia is very common there and National human rights commission has already taken case of this and we are not interfering in this.

QN: We heard “Retired Judges are always appointed as the head of the commission”. Sir what’s the truth about that?

Ans: Everyone has there own reasons. I have 27 years of experience as an advocate. After that I had been judge for a term of 13 years. I got training in this way that, when ruling party was Congress and when I wrote some judgments people said I am communist and when the left party ruled they said I am congress party supporter. So I don’t ear what people say and got trained to write a judgments impartially and unaffected by external forces. I have these skills and if I didn’t help government, and if I didn’t work as a judge it’s a huge loss to the government and the people. After I got retired I got pension 50% of the salary. I did not do anything for a term 6 months. In that time I got more income due to many people came for legal advice and arbitration. So I paid more income tax return. According to the protection of human right Act, 1993 the head of the human rights commission must be a retired chief justice. And in Kerala  he/she must be below 70 years of age. So then I was the only retired chief justice who knows Malayalam. There was no other option. Before the appointment I was working as the Appellate Tribunal of Money Laundering Act in Delhi. Then I got a request from Kerala, appointed as the Human Rights Commission Chairman. 90% of the orders are giving in Malayalam. The order must understand and convinced by the people. So, other state Judge cannot give judgment in Malayalam and there was no other option. So I accepted that request. If I did not accept it I would not get this much criticism from the Medias. If I worked as a legal adviser I would get more money still, I am doing this as a service.

QN:  As a retired Chief Justice, what do the reason behind the verdict of the Honorable Supreme Court about the disqualification of MP or MLA if they are convicted?

Ans: If a person is charged in a case they can also contest in election. The verdict says that the convicted people cannot contest in election. If a person is acquitted, he can contest in election. The prisoner who has been in prison more than 2 years, if that person filed an appeal, he/she can contest in election before the validity of the appeal expires. But the Supreme Court disagreed with that because when a prisoner files an appeal, the punishment is only stayed but conviction is there. The reason is that if a person has a criminal mentality and elected, when he rule he cannot control the crime, he also engages. In a country the security of people is the 1^st priority. So there would not be any problem with regarding the security concern of the people. For example if a person convicted for corruption, he is more likely to do that again. So if a corrupt person becomes a minister there is more probability for a corrupt ruling. I am not criticizing the verdict of the Supreme Court. What Supreme Court said is the law.

QN: What are the strategies of Human Rights Commission towards the society?

Ans: We must prevail Indian law when implementing that laws we will check whether there is human rights violation. If there is violation we will charge against them.

QN: Is there any compensation for the cases of human rights violation? Does the commission assure that parties get the compensation?

Ans: Government gives compensation. After I took the charge, most of the cases have been settled and had given compensation to the parties. Even in some cases we gave compensation directly to the parties. Others were given to the District Collector and ask the parties to collect compensation from the Collector. The complete compensation was given by the government. The government will take this money from the parties who violated the human rights.

QN:  Education bandhs are getting so common; here Right to Educate is getting violated by some student organization. As Human Rights Commission, what’s your opinion?

Ans: As I have already said that bandh and hartal violates the Fundamental Rights. Education bandh also a bandh. No one has the right to restrain others. I have the right not to go for classes, but nobody have the right to restrain me from education.

QN: Sir, what all changes you have made, when you took the charge of the commission?

Ans:. We conduct a lot of seminars with regard of human rights violation. We launch bulletin in every two months Before I took the charge, nobody didn’t know about Human Rights Commission. When I had taken the charge, the news regarding with human right commission is increased. So that our criticism also increased. When took the charge, there were almost 2002 uncleared files are there. Soon I finished that files. Nowadays almost 30 cases are charged daily. Some cases will not come in our jurisdiction, so we close that, others we will report and take action