Dear Shri. Gangadharan,
What happened to our case on 8th of this Month is a classic example
of how our courts function today. The Apex Court is no exception to
it. There is no need for our pensioner friends to be dejected or
agitated about it. As far as the judges of the Supreme Court are
concerned, this is just another case before them. We can't expect them
to be sympathetic or empathetic, as being dispensers of justice, they
cant get emotionally involved in any case. No doubt, our heart goes
out to all our pensioner friends and their families, who had to
depart this planet for their heavenly abodes. What cannot be cured
must be endured, let us accept this dictum, philosophically and
stoically and find the way to MOVE FORWARD.
What is worrying more than the adjournments and the resultant
procrastination is the 'infighting' amongst the Case Managers. Most of
them, I believe, must be on the wrong side of 75 and some of them even
80. Can we afford to quarrel like children in an issue which affects
the future left-over years of their life? All of them are highly
intelligent and some of them legal luminaries, still practising as
advocates after their retirements. Nobody can question their
intellectual integrity and sincerity in finding a solution to our
problem. And then,where lies the problem? It baffles the ordinary and
hapless pensioners who are watching the enactment from the sidelines.
Quite a few of our contributors agree that, in fighting our case we
have to give the primacy of place to Shri.Asthanaji. Both the Punjab
and Delhi cases where we tasted victory have drawn inspiration and
judicial wisdom from Honble.Bhandari's Jaipur judgement. Asthanaji is
not just fighting for Upgradation of Pension alone but also for parity
of DR between the Pre -1997 and post-1997 pensioners. He is a
gladiator, fighting the case for over a decade for the sake of the
pensioners. I had the good fortune of going through many of his
rebuttals which were unassailable and bore the stamp of a prudent and
erudite lawyer, while our case was in the Jaipur Highcourt. No one can
say that it was the handiwork of dame luck. Why not give him the
place and prominence that he deserves and take him into the fold as
the chief co-ordinator. Let us not forget that by inflicting hurt on
him by way of innuendos and insinuations we are only paving the way
for more unpalatable reactions from him.
As a country have not the opposition parties joined hands with the
ruling party when India had to face a common enemy. Diverse views are
bound to be there while approaching an issue. But unity in diversity
should be the watchword if we have to move forward. It is absolutely
necessary for our case managers to see the writing on the wall and if
need be redraw their strategies. Winning or losing is always there in
a court case. But let it not be on account of self-destructive methods
adopted by us.
Looking forward to HAPPY TIDINGS On 22nd of April.
Wishing your Blog all the best!
Warm Regards,
M V Venugopalan