Page 10 - EW April 2025

Editorial

JUDGES: PUBLIC MUST HAVE SOME VOICE provoked by Justice Varma’s cash
mountain and an absurd Allahabad
high court judgement in the case of
he accidental discovery on march preme and high courts judges needs attempted rape of a minor, it is clear
14 of a huge cash stash variously to be urgently reviewed. In 2014 the that the Collegium system is flawed. It
Testimated as Rs.5-50 crore in newly-elected BJP/NDA government is esoteric and opaque with the public
the outhouse of a government-allotted at the Centre introduced the 99th and its representatives in Parliament
bungalow of Justice Yashwant Varma, Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 unaware of antecedents and track re-
an incumbent judge of the Delhi high to constitute a National Judicial Ap- cords of legal luminaries inducted into
court, has resurrected the question pointments Committee (NJAC) to ap- the highest judiciary. In retrospect
of judicial accountability. Also the point judges of the upper judiciary. and with the benefit of hindsight, the
hastily-buried issue of how judges of Under the NJAC Act, judges were proposed NJAC offered the advantage
the Supreme and high courts obliged to be appointed by a six-member com- of being a broad-based selection and
to interpret the Constitution and safe- mittee chaired by the Chief Justice of appointment consortium, as against a
guard the rule of law, are appointed. India (CJI), two senior-most judges of cosy club of Supreme Court justices.
Prima facie, unearthing a large the apex court, the Union law minister In this connection please note that
stash of cash within the residential and two ‘eminent persons’ nominated judges of the US Supreme and federal
premises of a judge indicates bribery by a committee (comprising the Prime courts are appointed by a popularly-
and judicial corruption. But one can’t Minister, CJI, and Leader of Opposi- elected President, after which they are
rule out that the cash hoard was plant- tion in the Lok Sabha). However this subject to open cross-examination by
ed by enemies of the judge to frame well-balanced proposal was rejected a Senate Judiciary Committee and
him. That’s why a thorough enquiry by the Supreme Court on grounds that final approval by a majority of the
with the involvement of the Supreme it compromised independence of the popularly elected Senate. Perhaps this
Court and best sleuths of the Central judiciary and was violative of the basic process is not suitable for India with
Bureau of Investigation is necessary. structure of the Constitution. The sta- our large number of uneducated and
Meanwhile with senior lawyers tus quo ante under which a collegium under-educated citizens. But citizens
making alarming charges of pervasive chaired by the CJI comprising senior representatives must have some voice
corruption within the upper judiciary judges of the apex court appoints up- in the selection of judges who dispense
in television chat shows, the process per judiciary judges, was reinstated. justice and interpret the freedom and
of selection and appointment of Su- In light of the national outrage rights charter of citizens.

WHR 2025: UNWARRANTED CYNICISM tablishment to note that according
to some recent research (podcaster
R.N. Bhasker), 90 percent of India’s
he recently published world have ideated eight parameters of hap- citizens subsist on a per capita income
Happiness Report (WHR) 2025 piness, viz, GDP per capita, social sup- lower than of Sub-Saharan Africa, suf-
Tin which India is ranked #118 port, healthy life expectancy, freedom fering deprivations unimaginable to
below countries like Pakistan (#109), to make life choices, generosity, per- the top 10 percent.
Iran (99), Saudi Arabia (32),Turkiye ception of corruption and ‘dystopia’. Almost a century ago, Prof. Arnold
(94), Nepal (92), Gabon, Kenya, Mo- Invoking these innovative parameters Toynbee in his seminal eight-volume
zambique and even war-devastated the authors explain how societies/ A Study of History posited that great
Palestine (108) and Ukraine (111), is a countries that have cultures of caring civilisations evolved and flourished
resounding slap on the establishment. and compassion; sharing meals, hap- because their “creative minorities”
Unsurprisingly, politicos and the piness and social connection; living (elites) provided good governance and
media have reacted indignantly to with others (household size and fam- inventive goods and services for the
WHR 2025 questioning the report’s ily bonds); wide social connections; benefit of the majority “proletariat” at
intent, methodology and conclusions. supporting others through prosocial the bottom of the social pyramid. But
However it’s important to note that behaviour; trusting strangers and when due to excessive self-indulgence
the authors of the report are respected discharging acts of benevolence and and effete epicureanism creative elites
dons of globally top-ranked universi- charity are happy. Finland, Denmark, transformed into oppressive minori-
ties and include Jeffrey Sachs of Co- Iceland, Sweden despite their gloomy ties, the proletariat ‘seceded’ from
lumbia University (USA), and WHR climates, top WHR 2025. USA, the the implicit social contract and great
2025 is published by Oxford Univer- world’s richest, most inventive and civilisations disintegrated into chaos
sity’s Wellbeing Research Centre in most militarily powerful country, is and fell.
partnership with Gallup (the globally ranked #24 and UK #23. Most Indian historians haven’t
respected market research company) WHR 2025 has been greeted with studied Toynbee’s monumental mas-
and the United Nations Sustainable wry cynicism in the Indian media. terpiece. If they had, they would have
Development Solutions Development Especially because neighbouring predicted that post-independence In-
Network. That’s an impressive part- Pakistan is ranked higher. Yet in- dia’s ‘civilisation’ built on an inorganic
nership by any reckoning. stead of making light of this insights public sector and pervasive neta-babu
To assess the happiness/wellbeing rich study, it would be advisable for corruption is on the brink of collapse.
of nations, the authors of WHR 2025 apologists of India’s self-serving es- WHR 2025 is an obituary.

10 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2025