MY VIEW - POST NO 6.
Dear Editor,
Much has been said by many on the
wisdom or the lack of it in KML’s Sr Advocate arguing on the maintainability of
LIC’s SLPs. Sri Mahadevan was almost poetic when he said that Mr Nidhesh Gupta
was doing the right thing at the wrong time. Mr Gupta was yet to touch the SC
Order dated 30/09/2013. When he or some other Advocate takes it to the notice
of the Bench, the futility (with due respect) of Mr Nidhesh Gupta’s exercise
will be clear on 7th May.
Without prejudice to the above, I
invite the urgent attention of everybody to the last sentence of the Bench
Order dated 08/04/2015 which goes as:
“Apart from hearing this preliminary objection, we also intend to hear the case on
merits. Learned counsel for the parties are requested to come prepared to
argue the matter on 22nd April, 2015”. (Now deferred to 7th May)
In the light of the above, will Mr
Nidhesh Gupta be right in persisting with arguing the maintainability and that
‘merits’ should wait for another round later?
Unfortunately we don’t know whether it is the chosen strategy of the Sr
Advocate himself or it is as per the ‘instructions’ of the client. As the Sr
Advocate is not accountable to anybody except the client and as in our case,
the client never accepted any accountability to anybody in any matter at any
time the Pensioners as a whole appear helpless. But I do hope that the AIRIEF
which owns the case as its own should also either own or disown the strategy
adopted by the Sr Advocate who gets paid by AIRIEF. The common concern is
avoidable delay in the SC proceedings