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Looking back at magnificent tenure of Justice Sanjay Karol at HP High Court
Shimla: The Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Surya Kant, has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He would be taking the charge soon. Justice Kant started practising law at the District Courts, Hisar, in 1984 and moved to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was designated as Senior Advocate in March 2001. He also held the office of Advocate General, Haryana, till his elevation as a Permanent Judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 09, 2004.
The time is right to look back at the tenure of Acting Chief Justice and the functioning of the Hon’ble High Court in the past year under his leadership.
Justice Karol belongs to Garli village, Tehsil Dehra Gopipur in District Kangra of Himachal Pradesh.
He was born in Shimla on August 23, 1961. He is an alumnus of the St. Edward School, Shimla, and graduated with Honours in History from Government Degree College, Shimla.
He obtained a Degree in Law from H.P. University, Shimla and enrolled as an advocate in the year 1986.
He had assumed the charge of the office of the Acting Chief Justice of the State High Court on April 25, 2017.
India has had many brilliant judges but few amongst them became great. A brilliant judge might know the law to its minutest detail, but a great judge knows ‘justice’ and the spirit that it posses. The road to greatness is paved by compassion, kindness and a seeking for truth. With empathy in heart and sensitivity in mind, Justice Karol has been setting an example for us of how human dignity and compassion is to be practised, not just through his judgements but also through his acts of kindness and compassion in normal life situations.
Justice Karol is greatly admired for encouraging the young lawyers and welcoming them to the profession with open arms. The Hon’ble Justice is also known for his work in public interest litigation since assuming the charge of Acting Chief Justice of Himachal High Court. The greatest change which the Hon’ble judge brought was to accept letters of common people and convert it into public interest petitions, in case, those letters revealed miscarriage of justice and breach of fundamental rights.
In India, the first PIL was filed in the year 1976 – Mumbai Kamgar Sabha v. M/s Abdulbhai 1976 (3) SCC 832. The seed of the PIL was sown by Justice Krishna Iyer through this landmark judgement. Soon thereafter, with the efforts of Justice Bhagwati, the concept of the PIL evolved and developed to a great extent. The courts started accepting letters as petitions if they happen to disclose any violation of fundamental rights and matters of public importance.
Justice Bhagwati once said,
“Public interest litigation is essentially a cooperative or collaborative effort on the part of the petitioner, the State or public authority and the Court to secure observance of the constitutional or legal rights, benefits and privileges conferred upon the vulnerable sections of the community and to reach social justice to them. The State or public authority against whom public interest litigation is brought should be as much interested in ensuring basic human rights, constitutional as well as legal, to those who are in a socially and economically disadvantaged position, as the petitioner who brings the public interest litigation before the court. The State or public authority which is arrayed as a respondent in public interest litigation should, in fact, welcome it, as it would give it an opportunity to right a wrong or to redress an injustice done to the poor and weaker sections of the community whose welfare is and must be the prime concern of the State or the public authority.”
The importance of strengthening such a practice of Letter Petitions as PILs in a state like ours was absolutely necessary. Himachal has poor people, farmers, and large parts of villages are backward, hence, the judicial process for most of the people in the state is incomprehensible or costly to pursue. This has led to unchecked human rights violations and also large scale unchecked environmental degradation. The Hon’ble High Court in the past year has done extensive work in taking up the fundamental rights and environmental issues of poor and downtrodden, even if they have been addressed by way of letters.
The Acting Chief Justice during his tenure has dealt with issues of public importance and made efforts with the tool of Public interest litigation for the realisation of the dreams of our Constitution. His orders and judgements cover the whole spectrum of issues, such as:
- Landmark order for ‘right of sanitation’ and directing the state for construction of public toilets at highways
- A landmark judgement in Directing payment of unpaid salaries of nurses, which was unpaid for months
- Landmark judgement for removing discrimination against married women in matters of employment
- Protection of trees through technology, use of RFID, Drones and Satellites
- Protection of wetlands, the direction was given for the creation of a wetland authority, which facilitated funds to the state from centre
- Directions for Checking illegal mining
- Protection of rivers from the illegal running of dams
- Providing compensation to the families of road accident victims or to families who suffered an act of criminal violence
- Thinking about hemp and medical cannabis as an alternative source of income to farmers and as a mode to curb drug market
- Deliberating upon police reforms, directing the installation of cameras in the prisons to check human right violations. Also directing the Advocate general to re-look at H.P police Act and bring it in consonance with the constitution
- Reforms in the forest department especially the condition of forest guards
- Several judgements on animal rights issues
- Several directions for building roads, most importantly monitoring the construction of national highways
- Several Directions for the protection of the UNESCO heritage sites, including a drive to clean up Shimla-Kalka railway
- Several directions to tackle the garbage problems in various places in Himachal
- Several directions to improve the medical facilities in the hospitals
To take up and decide the above-mentioned issues requires a spirit rooted in kindness, empathy and compassion. This kindness was not just limited to judgements but also in the pragmatic handling of real-life situations. During Shimla’s water crisis, alongside high-ranking state and municipal corporation officials, Justice Karol nearly spent all night inspecting operations at the water control rooms to ensure that they were working without any impediments. The court also gave orders that no special treatment be meted out to the VIPs during the time of crisis.
In an another and very recent incident, a milkman who fainted after suffering a seizure in the Lakkar Bazaar of Shimla was saved by the acting chief justice who helped the man reach the hospital in time. Justice Karol got out of his vehicle and directed the driver to take the man to the hospital immediately. He then simply begun to walk. It was an example of humbleness for those taking perks of the VIP culture.
We spoke to a High Court lawyer, Advocate Deven Khanna, who as an amicus has assisted the court in various matters.
The most significant work of the acting chief was the focus on Access to justice. Without the ‘access’ or means of accessing justice, the constitution is redundant. Once the constitution is triggered, then only fundamental rights can be realised. Public interest Litigations is the tool that the Acting Chief has used to democratise the judicial process. The court has essentially said that justice does not only belong to the rich people, corporates and governments (who take up most of the litigation time in courts), it primarily belongs to the poor. The poor can write a letter or get legal aid or get assistance from an amicus currie, who on his behalf, will pray to the court on a violation of his most basic rights,
Deven told Himachal Watcher.
It is said that Article 32 was the most favourite article of the great B.R Ambedkar. He said that it is the soul of the constitution. When he was referring to Article 32, he actually meant ‘access to the courts’ in case fundamental rights are violated. Article 32, 226 and letter petitions are essentially the same and are the heart and soul of the constitution. It was visible in practice in the working of the Hon’ble Acting Chief Justice during last one year
, he added.
When the state has failed to protect the rights or has failed to do its duties, its the duty of the Superior Courts to step in and make sure that law of the land is not sabotaged and common man or the environment is not jeopardised,
he further added.
More about Justice Sanjay Karol
Including Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, he practised in various Courts in Constitutional, Taxation, Corporate, Criminal and Civil matters. He had appeared as Counsel in the Inter-State water Dispute (BBMB Project) in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
He also discharged the constitutional duties as the Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh from 1998 to 2003. In the Year 1999, he was designated as Senior Advocate.
He remained on the Senior Panel for Central Government, Supreme Court of India. He was elevated as the Judge of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on March 8, 2007. He also remained the Chairman of State High Court Legal Services Committee
Presently also discharging statutory duties as Executive Chairman of H.P. State Legal Services Authority and a member of the Board of Governors, Himachal Pradesh Judicial Academy.
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PIL Filed in HP High Court Re-Ignites Quest for Recognizing Pahari (Himachali) as Hill State’s Official Language
Shimla- November 10, 2021, Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday passed an order concerning a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to recognize Pahari (Himachali) as an official language of the state. The petition also sought effective steps on the part of the government to preserve and promote the Pahari language in the State as its culture and language give it a distinct identity.
The Public Interest Litigation was filed by Arsh Dhanotia with a prayer that the state be directed to declare Pahari (Himachali) as one of the official languages in the State of Himachal Pradesh in any script and also promote further research towards a long-term formal Pahari (Himachali) nuclear language structure and nuclear Tankri script.
Bhawani Pratap Singh Kutlahria, the advocate for the petitioner, argued in the court that the State Government be directed to promote Pahari (Himachali) and other local languages as the medium of instruction in primary and middle-level schools as per the New Education Policy, 2020. On behalf of the petitioner, he also prayed the court to direct the state government to include Pahari (Himachali) language as a separate category for the 2021 Census and simultaneously undertake an awareness campaign to create awareness amongst the masses, especially the youth of the State who speak Pahari (Himachali), to get it marked as their mother tongue in the upcoming Census.
A bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Sabina while disposing off the PIL stated,
“The direction as has been prayed for, cannot be issued to the State Government until and unless it is established on record that the Pahari (Himachali) language has its own script and that a common Pahari dialect is spoken throughout the State of Himachal Pradesh. We, however, set the petitioner at liberty to approach the Department of Language Art & Culture to the Government of Himachal Pradesh with his demand for undertaking research to promote a common Pahari (Himachali) nuclear language structure and nuclear Tankri script. If the petitioner approaches the respondents-State through its Additional Chief Secretary (Language Art & Culture) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh) for the prayer made in the Civil Writ Public Interest Litigation, it would be for the said authority to consider the same in accordance with the law.”
Additionally, the petition had emphasised that Sanskrit, which is the second official language of the state, had only 936 speakers according to the 2011 census and Pahari (Himachali) dialect chain which is spoken by more than 40 lakh people was being neglected and has not been made an official language even after having so many speakers.
The petition also highlighted works of Former Chief Minister Late YS Parmar and Former Education Minister Late Narain Chand Parashar towards the promotion of the Pahari (Himachali) language.
What’s Pahari (Himachali) Language, How Many Districts It Covers
It is to be noted that according to the petitioner, Pahari (Himachali) is a combined term used for the Western Pahari dialect chain spoken in Himachal Pradesh and majorly includes Kangri, Mandeali, Chambeali, Kulvi, Mahasu Pahari and Sirmauri. According to him ever since the creation of Himachal Pradesh, there has been a demand for recognition of Pahari (Himachali) under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and it is also officially listed with 37 more languages as a language which is in significant demand to be included in the scheduled languages category.
In his plea, he also stated that the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in 1970 and 2010 have also passed resolutions concerning the promotion and development of Pahari (Himachali).
Environment
Himachal’s Snow Covered Area Has Decreased, Poses Big Threat to State Economy’s Lifelines: Report
Shimla-The area under snow cover in Himachal Pradesh has declined by 18.5% according to a recent report published by State Centre on Climate Change (SCCC) and Space Application Center (ISRO) Ahmedabad. The report revealed this decreasing trend for the five major river basins in the State.
As the report points out, the high altitude regions of Himachal Pradesh receive precipitation mainly in the form of snow during the winter season. One-third of the geographical area of the state is covered by a thick blanket of snow during the winter season. Rivers like Chenab, Beas, Parvati, Baspa, Spiti, Ravi, Sutlej and its tributaries flowing through Himachal are dependent on snowfall in winter. These rivers mainly feed into the Indus water system and a decline at this rate rings a death knell for water and also food security for millions of people from Himachal to Kashmir, the plains of Punjab, the food bowl of the country.
Using images and data received from satellites, the report states, that the winter precipitation was mapped in all the basins from October 2020 to May 2021 (a period of two years). The findings indicate that there has been an average decrease of 8.92 percent in Chenab basin, 18.54 percent in Beas basin, 23.16 percent in Ravi basin, 23.49 percent in Sutlej basin compared to last year. The ice covered area of Chenab basin was 7154.11 sq km in 2019-20, which has come down to 6515.91 sq km in 2020-21. Similarly, Beas basin was reduced from 2457.68 to 2002.03 square kilometer, Ravi basin from 2108.13 square kilometer to 1619.82 square kilometer and Sutlej from 11823.1 square kilometer to 9045 square kilometers. Overall, the snow covered area was reduced from 23542 square kilometer to 19183 square kilometer in the entire Himachal.
Figure Source: Hindustan Times
Sutlej Basin covers 45 per cent of the total geographical area of Himachal and it is the longest river of the state. It flows for around 320 kms here, passing through Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Solan and Bilaspur districts, along its course. The above study shows that the maximum reduction in snow cover has occurred in the Sutlej basin. An area of 4359 square kilometers under snow cover has decreased for the whole state, of which more than half of the Sutlej Basin.
Just two years ago another study had indicated that more than half of glaciers in Sutlej Basin are set to vanish by 2050. Yet another study also showed that the Sutlej basin has the highest 562 number of glacial lakes. These lakes stand the risk of sudden outbursts, which then causes flash floods downstream as the valley has already experienced. So, while the crisis that is unfolding, be it deglaciation, lake formation or reduction in area under snow cover, it seems that the Sutlej river basin is more vulnerable to these changes.
Prakash Bhandari, an environmental researcher and activist and member of Himdhara Collective expressing his concern states that the situation in the Sutlej river basin is certainly indicative of a serious climate emergency and it is critical to look into the drivers of this both local and global.
“The Sutlej basin catchment is the largest and so the changes visible here are more significant. Many factors have worked together to create this crisis which should be studied closely. There is no doubt that global warming is contributing to these changes. But the local conditions also play a role in reducing or increasing its impact”, he says.
The upper reaches of the Sutlej Valley, especially areas like Kinnaur are geologically fragile, with sharp gradients and loose soil strata. Vegetation is in a very small area so the proneness to erosion. We have seen the catastrophic impacts of flashfloods and landslides over the last decade and a half, where crores worth of property has been damaged. This year saw a spate of landslides where lives were lost. “In such a sensitive and also strategically important area, changes in the landscape will have far reaching and irreversible impacts. More construction activities will lead to more deforestation, more erosion”.
Construction of dams has been rampant in the Sutlej valley, a phenomena that started post independence and continues today. If all of the planned dams are built the Sutlej will be cho-a-cloc with more then 150, large and small projects. At the bottom of the valley in Bilaspur is the Bhakra Dam, built almost 6 decades ago, which has a size of 168 sq km and a storage capacity of 9.340 cubic km. Is. This is followed by the Kol Dam which extends for 42 km up to Sunni, which has a total storage capacity of 90 million cubic metres. Nathpa Jhakri Project which is 27.394 kms. is long. When a dam is built, a huge amount of water is stored. The debris of many villages, trees etc. also gets absorbed inside the dam. When water is stagnant, it receives heat from the Sun to form mist in the surrounding area by evaporation and simultaneously generates methane gas. The experience of the lake formed by the Kol dam at Tattapani in Mandi district shows that the area is experiencing heavy haze which was not there earlier.
“In the 30s and 40s, Shikari Devi and Kamrunag used to have snow on the peaks for about 6 months, which now could barely stop for only 2 months. The air route distance of Shikari Devi and Kamrunag is only 26 to 30 kms from Tattapani lake. At the same time, their distance is not much from the cement factories of Darlaghat, Sundernagar”, the elders in the area say. “Today, fog is prevalent and this has also made the area warmer”.
Due to the warming of the weather due to the clouds formed from the mist, the snow has started melting quickly. Apart from this the local crop patterns are affected. Post the 1990s, the Sutlej became a site for run of the river hydroelectric projects using extensive underground tunneling. This involves massive use of explosives for blasting through the mountains. Of the 23,000 MW worth of projects to be constructed in Himachal more than 10,000, a third are from this valley alone. Kinnaur continues to be a hydel powerhouse with 10 run of the river projects in progress and 30 more to be set up including two mega projects of 1500 MW and 1000 MW each. This paints a scary picture.
Interactive Sutlej River-Basin Map indicate Hydropower Station location
It is not just the hydro-electric dams but unplanned tourism and other development activities like mining, cement plants, road expansion and mindless construction across the high Himalayan regions have also add to the shift in local weather patterns, land use changes and thus the ecological crisis. But the reason why we should put the limelight on hydropower is that this is being pushed as “Green Energy”, in the name of climate change mitigation. As opposed to other forms of generating power, hydropower projects are said to cause lesser carbon emissions, which is why there has been a global push to shift to renewable resources. But the climate emergency in the Himalayas has put a question mark on ‘water’ as a renewable resource.
The question then arises that with all this data indicating a steady decline in river discharge and snow cover have our planners and policy makers not considered what will happen to these projects? Will they be able to generate the power they propose to? The people of Himalaya have to wake up to this wastage of public resources. Scarce funds should be diverted to better planning for securing local livelihoods by protecting the forest ecosystems and water sources for the future.
Author: Gagandeep Singh-From Himdhara (Environment Research and Action Collective)
Feature Images: unsplash/@raimondklavins
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Himachal: Warnings of Delta Plus Virulence Fall on Deaf Ears, No Restriction on Visitors from Affected States
Shimla-Yesterday, the Centre government directed the state governments to take immediate measure in wake of the spread of more infectious Delta Plus variant. As the Delta Plus variant is posing a threat of the third wave, the states were told to take steps like preventing crowds, increase testing, more focus on surveillance, contact tracing and put boosting vaccine coverage on a priority basis. Following it, Himachal Pradesh Government might have announced an alert over Delta plus variant, but there wasn’t any follow up on instructions passed by scientists and health experts to take strict restrictive measures ahead of the impending third wave.
To make it worse, high rank officials and political leaders were seen flouting Covid-19 SOPs on several occasion, which sent wrong messages to the masses. The pictures and videos showing flouting of Covid appropriate behavior by Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and Directorial General of Police, Sanjay Kundu, alongwith other staff for Anupam Kher is the most recent to mention. A group photograph and video of the same were widely circulated on social media and invited huge criticism from the people.
So far, the state has not reported any case of the Delta Plus variant. But the neighboring states – Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir – reported their first cases yesterday. This puts the boarding areas, like in Una district, at a higher risk. Chief Secretary to HP Government, Anil Khachi, yesterday said samples have been sent for genome sequencing.
Despite repeated warnings of Delta plus variant (B.1.617.2.1.), Himachal Pradesh has thrown its borders open to all and lifted all restrictions for inter-state travel in just one go. From June 23 onwards, the state government removed the condition for registering on the e-pass portal for visitors intending to enter the state. In the Cabinet meeting held on June 22, 201, the government first decided that e-pass restrictions would be removed from July 1, but later it changed the decision and instead implemented it immediately.
This haphazard decision is said to have come under huge pressure from the hospitality industry – the worst-hit sector, leading to financial crisis and mass unemployment among its stakeholders. Related associations had been approaching Chief Minister Jairam Thakur with their pleas to provide relief, but mostly faced disappointment. The stakeholders say the state government didn’t provide any significant relief, which is making the survival of the industry difficult.
Also Read: Read Eight Reliefs That Himachal’s Devastated Tourism Industry Seeks from HP Govt
Also, stakeholder of the industry, especially hoteliers, had been demanding the removal of restrictions and conditions on the entry of tourists to Himachal so that they could fetch the remaining peak tourist season.
With its inability to offer relief, the HP Government took the chance to waive off restrictions in a haste.
At the same time, the state government has decided to conduct offline examinations for the undergraduate classes starting from July. A section of the students had been condemning the HP government for scheduling exams without vaccinating students. Some student bodies had been asking the government as to why online classes were possible but not online exams.
The state government also waived off restrictions on timings for the opening of markets/shops.
As scientists and health experts warn of the virulence of the new variant and with neighboring states already on alert after reporting cases of the new variant, the HP government hasn’t even mentioned any intention to at least put a check on the visitor from the states where cases of Delta Plus are being reported. Carrying an RT-PCR negative report for visitors from such states/cities would have been a wiser step.
Officially, the state is on alert, but no measures have been announced to check the entry and spread of the variant into the state. The state government does speak of preparing for the anticipated third wave, but there is hardly any long-term preventive strategy. The Covid appropriate behavior is hard to adopt when markets and tourist places are crowded with visitors.
Why Delta Plus is a Big Concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) has labelled the Delta variant as ‘Variant of Concern’.
The Centre and scientific/medical institutes in India also agree with that Delta Plus as a variant of concern and could be the cause of impending third wave. Last Tuesday, based on the findings of INSACOG, the Union Health Ministry had alerted and advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh regarding the Delta Plus variant of COVID19.
INSACOG had warned that the Delta Plus variant has increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
“Delta variant is more resistant to medication, treatment and vaccination. Therefore, people who have been vaccinated can still be affected by this variant and can go on to get a clinical illness, Archana Dhawan Bajaj, director, Nurture IVF, told a national English Daily.
“Neutralising antibodies against this variant post-vaccination seem to be nearly five times lower in people who have already been vaccinated than the other variants,” she said.
Further, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, ex-Head Scientist of Epidemiology and communicable diseases, ICMR, has also expressed concern over the reports that Delta Plus has reported pathophysiologic change and affecting different organs. Dr Raman says that it could transfer from cell to cell and would more likely produce neurological symptoms as a common manifestation.
So far India has reported 51 cases of the Delta Plus variant.
Delta Plus variant is a variant of Delta with an additional mutation -B.1.617.2.1.
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