The Indian judicial system is truly a very respectable one. That is why questioning its functioning is a crime and stupidity. It is a violation of the Constitution.. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, cases are decided under suo-moto with discretionary power.. And if new judgments are issued contrary to the judgment given by the same court.. who should be questioned? Who should be questioned? Should we meet the Law Minister? Should we take refuge in the President, the implementer of the constitutional provisions? If we dare to do that, will it fall under the violation of the Constitution? Has not a single big leader or businessman indirectly interfered in the trial of any case in the legal system so far? Can the goddess of justice answer as a witness? Today, the journalistic family of the country is seeking answers to many such questions. The Supreme Court’s judgment on the allocation of lands by state governments as part of various facilities to journalists, recognizing them as the fourth pillar of society, is leading to strong protests. In the context of this verdict, “Eagle News” is providing this article analytically to say that journalists also have self-respect. The recent verdict that it is not reasonable to allocate valuable lands in cities to journalists is somewhat surprising. Journalists are expressing extreme intolerance towards the statement that lands should be given to those working in a district not in the same area, but in forest lands or uninhabited deserted areas in other areas. The latest verdict given by the “Supreme” is an example of all this. If we look at the actual case, the verdicts and their implications of this case, which has been waiting in front of the “Supreme” for 17 years, here is what it looks like.
Where is the justice ..?
In 2007, when the late Rajasekhar Reddy was the Chief Minister of the united Andhra Pradesh state, 70 acres of land were allocated to journalists in Hyderabad in the then city outskirts in the Nizampet and Pet Basheerabad areas. At the same time, lands were also allotted to MLAs, MPs, IAS and judges in various areas. Some who were dissatisfied with this from various angles approached the court. After almost 16 years of investigation, in 2022, during the time when N.V. Ramana was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he ruled that it was right to separate the journalists from the main case and recognize them as community workers and allocate them houses. He also clarified why this judgment had to be given. Justice Ramana ruled that it was not right to treat journalists, who are constantly in search of news with meager salaries, on an equal footing with public representatives and high officials, and separated the case of journalists from the main case and gave the judgment. In accordance with that judgment, the Telangana state government also handed over 38 acres of land in the Pet Basheerabad area, which was pending until then, to the Jawaharlal Nehru Mutual Aided Housing Cooperative Society. This was actually done through the hands of the state Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. 11 hundred senior journalists were hopeful that the verdict given by former Chief Justice Ramana would not be reversed and that the lands would come into their hands in a few days. They are falling. They imagined Ramana’s verdict as their main hope. After this verdict, they took loans for the development of the land and paid some money to the society with high hopes. All this happened before Justice Ramana retired in 2022. But, despite separating the journalists’ case from the main case, including journalists in the main case verdict announced by the “Supreme” on the 25th of this month has become an incomprehensible matter.
Handing over the Land …
Journalists are worried because they cannot compare the legal aspects of the verdict given by the current Chief Justice Khanna bench with the verdict given by the same Chief Justice Ramana in the past. The question is which of the three-judge bench headed by Justice Ramana and the two-judge bench headed by Khanna in the Supreme Court of the country is true. Some members are even trying to meet the President, the head of the executive of the Constitution, demanding justice based on the previous judgment given by Ramana. If this judgment is true, then the leaders of the journalist association are saying that it is no longer possible for the respective state governments to allocate houses to journalists in major cities, towns and metro cities of the country. Comments are also being made on the Supreme Court’s opinion that these allocations were made in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. It is not a newly created article. If allocating lands under it is wrong, then the question is what is the answer to the issue of allocating houses to societies for decades. They are demanding a review of the judgment given by the three-judge bench headed by Justice Ramana in the case of journalists. The Telangana Working Journalists Association is appealing to think about the Supreme Court verdict as very unfortunate and from a humanitarian perspective. Just like corporates are paying, they too purchased land 17 years ago at the government’s value and members of the Hyderabad Jawaharlal Nehru Housing Society are demanding that the bench review the issue of this 70-acre land once again. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the state government is also considering the legal and technical aspects of the Supreme Court verdict.
At least think about it..
“What is the similarity between legislators, civil servants and journalists? Do they have huge salaries, are there any allowances beyond that, are there pensions, are there any huge unauthorized incomes that some people accumulate? If judges want to stay away from government bounties, it is understandable! Why this moral stone on journalists who live on a meager income? If the government wants to do good, can it tame the owners and not the owners? Can it stop the owners who join hands with the rulers?” This is the straightforward question of the journalists who have grown up in Telangana. With this verdict, the “Supreme” must give a clear answer to the word “equality”. That time has come.
