Is BJP in support of terrorists?

"I can't speak on the point of view of BJP. But one question I would like to ask them. Are they in support of terrorists? That is the question they will have to answer to the nation," Moily told reporters while responding to a query on the issue outside Parliament today.

The Madhya Pradesh government had ruled out the possibility of handing over the investigations to the NIA without mentioning any reason for the refusal.

"There is no question of handing over the probe into Joshi's murder to the NIA," state Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta had said.

The Law Minister said, "Are they in favour of terrorists or do they advocate the case of terrorists... terrorist issue is a terrorist issue. The question is how can BJP afford to support the terrorists. This is a very simple question. They owe this explanation to the nation."

Joshi, a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case, was shot dead in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on December 29,2007.

Fifty-nine people were killed when bombs went off in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 km north of Delhi.

According to the state police chargesheet, Joshi was killed in 2007 by fellow Hindu hardliners including Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for his "high-handedness and the fear" that his arrest would unmask right-wing plotters of explosions in several parts of the country.

How can we have standards and accountability for the judges and not for the lawyers?

How can we have standards and accountability for the judges and not for the lawyers? If we have strict accountability norms for judges but not for lawyers, it will create an imbalance in the judicial system.
"We are not doing anything surreptitiously. We have put the Bill in the public domain and have sought the views and reactions of public at large. The Bar Council of India may discuss the matter with the government. We value their suggestions," he told TOI.

A new law will be promulgated to stop land grabbing and misappropriation, particularly the declaration land.

“A new law will be promulgated to stop land grabbing and misappropriation, particularly the declaration land. The draft law has been cleared by the Cabinet and will be presented in the Budget session of the Parliament,” Moily said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Mangalore Management Association, where he was conferred with the ‘Manager of the year’ award, Moily said: “We cannot allow concentration of land resources in any group or individual; we have to conserve certain extent of the land in the country for agriculture and farming purposes. This needs a special law. There are already so many laws to prevent land misuse. The proposed bill will not only augment the effects of earlier legislations but also have more teeth to prevent circumvention of laws.”

Centre to spend Rs 15,000 cr for infrastructure in courts

"The Cabinet note on the issue is ready. The programme upon approval would be implemented over a period of four years," Moily said at a conference of advocates and human rights delegates on the theme "Law as an instrument of Economic and Social Change" here


Government was contemplating setting up five regional consultative centres to prepare faculty and improve curriculum in legal education in Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Goa, he said, adding, it was also working on a plan with the Chief Justice of India to ensure that the delay in disposal of cases does not exceed beyond three years. 

Fourteen National Law School of Universities would be added to as many existing in the country in the coming years, he said. 

In the wake of increase in the number of honour killings in parts of the country, Moily said a bill to prevent such crimes was in the offing and being drafted.

The time has now come to revisit the whole process of the judiciary, whole process of investigation, whole process of laws

'There shouldn't only be reactions and talking, but a consistent system of law, justice and also preventive methods,' Moily said to NDTV channel. 

'I would say that the time has now come to revisit the whole process of the judiciary, whole process of investigation, whole process of laws,' asserted Moily. 

The law minister said there was 'no fear of law, no fear of wrongdoing, sometimes deliberately or by their own omissions'. 

'Culprits should be punished and victims should be compensated properly...Comprehensive stand-alone law is needed for this,' he said.

Moily said the verdict on Bhopal gas tragedy was a 'case of justice not being delayed but being buried'.

'The anguish among people is natural, we need to take this further and bring this to a logical end,' he said.  

'This reflects the integrity of the investigating officer. The Investigating officer has his own powers. He shouldn't worry about interference with other bodies. I hold him responsible and culpable. The officers should discharge their duties properly,' Moily said hitting back at the retired official's statement. 

Honour killings can't be justified

Issuing a strong warning against "honour killings", Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said these killings could not be justified but said the government is ready to listen to the demands of khap panchayats (caste councils).
"Each one has got his own opinion. We recognise personal laws in this country. I can definitely look at it, if someone petitions me from the khaps. But that doesn't justify honour killings," Moily told CNN-IBN news channel.

The government will bring a new law on honour killings, he said.

"The bill is now with the home ministry. Five clauses will be added to Section 300 (of the Indian Penal Code). The Indian Evidence Act will be amended to shift burden of proof to the accused and we will amend the Special Marriage Act to take away the 30 days notice period to get married," Moily said.

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No one has any right to take another’s life. Supporting “honour killing” is like supporting the action of Taliban. These are heinous acts and the perpetrators must be strongly punished to stop such killings. Unfortunately in India the punishment is not as strong as USA. Our judiciary still orders two thousand rupees fine for causing rioting, burning houses in the name of religion. It is the duty of the government to ensure the safety of any individual whose life is in peril from such Talibans in India.

Equality before law cannot become a living reality if ordinary citizens do not have access to justice at affordable cost.

“Equality before law cannot become a living reality if ordinary citizens do not have access to justice at affordable cost.” Recalling the saying “Justice delayed is justice denied,” Dr. Singh emphasised that “the plight of the large number of undertrial prisoners in our jails should move the machinery of justice to speedy corrective measures as part of the process of reforming and improving the quality of governance.”

Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said it was planned to have one e-court in every High Court and an e-court in one district court in every State within a year.

Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan extolled the judiciary for playing a part in bringing in landmark legislation such as the Right to Information Act and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

Justice no longer delayed

In an interview to a national daily this week, Moily said his ministry is planning to set up 5,000 new courts in the next three years, each working in three shifts to clear a backlog of  27.4 million cases pending in trial courts.

The Moily ministry’s roadmap for judicial reforms sees court cases resolved in just a year. At present, some cases drag on for 15 years or more.
Also in the pipeline are time limits for delivering verdicts, laptops for trial court judges and retired judges pitching in with their time.

Law must be dynamic to fight terror: Moily

“It is a scenario of worrying future because terrorism attacks democratic institutions, human rights and innocent people. Vigilance by jurists and dynamism by lawmakers should be wedded in the process of law-making to deal with the menace.”

“Unless the criminal justice system is totally overhauled, which we would like to do in the future, it is necessary to build not only capacity of law enforcers, but also the judiciary. There has to be an all-out war on the root, trunk and branches of terrorism.”

Terrorist acts were aimed at destabilising nations and citizens. “It is an attack on our institutions of democracy, symbols of national pride, security and strategic infrastructure and on civilians. Terrorism is a reminder for the global community to stop the rhetoric and perform to effectively fight the menace.”

The Minister said terrorism posed a new challenge to law enforcers and lawmakers alike, and new approaches, techniques, weapons, expertise and laws were required to fight it. “The lawmakers and enforcers need to change their mindset and will have to attune themselves to these new challenges posed by terror.”

The next five years would be an era of judicial and legal reforms.

New Law Minister Veerappa Moily, meanwhile, gave notice: "The next five years would be an era of judicial and legal reforms." He spoke of measures to radically trim the huge pendency of cases - new civil and criminal courts to fast-track a notoriously sluggish process, to deliver "affordable and accessible justice to the last man in the queue". He promised a systematic attempt to fight the creeping evil of corruption in higher judiciary - making it mandatory for judges to disclose assets, taking a more serious look at an impeachment law that has never ever been used.

Also on the anvil were laws to strengthen witness protection, a less severe attitude to allowing in foreign law firms. In the midst of gay pride rallies in three big cities, he even made a bold promise to reevaluate a law that still criminalizes homosexuality in India.

On Thursday, in a historic judgment, the Delhi High Court went ahead and struck down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalizing homosexuality. This judgment is particularly surprising, given the revisionist thinking that followed the groundbreaking nature of some of such controversial pronouncements.

After Islamic and Christian groups expressed loud reservations, the law minister had to famously renege on his own casually offered pledge to amend Article 377, the law authored during Lord Macaulay's time that makes "unnatural sex" a punishable offence. It was hardly, if ever, used punitively on consensual homosexual activity, but gay rights activists have long wanted the "criminal" tag to go.