It is welcome that the Supreme Court of India has agreed to take up the case of use of Pegasus Military grade spyware in the country. It is a matter of great concern and the ramifications of the snooping are enormous in terms of several fundamental rights of Indian citizens.
When we view the series of changes taking place in the country, it appears that the country is at a crossroads. At this moment either we succeed in safeguarding democracy or fall in this bottomless pit of lawlessness, authoritarianism and anarchy. The rule of law and fundamental rights of citizens are at stake. Freedom is in peril. It is time our judiciary, especially the apex court, took cognisance of the dangerous trends and adopted a pro-active attitude.
Meanwhile, the logjam in the Parliament continues, endangering the very basis of the democratic process. It is worrying that 80 per cent of working hours of Parliament was wasted because of the protests and disruptions in the house in the first two weeks of the session. It caused in financial terms a loss of more than `133 crore. The ruling party is adamant in denying the Opposition’s demand for a thorough discussion on the use of Pegasus by the government in the country.
Meanwhile, lynching and targeted murders, which were mainly used against the members of a particular community and Dalits, are being extended to judges also. It can be seen in the case of Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand who was crushed to death by an autorickshaw. It appears to be a case of deliberate act of crushing him to death. Yet another incident of murderous attack on a judge has come to light. Fatehpur Additional District Judge (Pocso Court) has lodged a complaint that his car was hit by a speeding SUV near Chakwan crossing. He alleged that recently a litigant had threatened him of dire consequences after he had denied bail to an arrested accused. These cases remind us of Justice Loya’s unnatural death, a few years back, while he was trying the BJP leader Amit Shah in Sohrabuddin murder case. It is satisfying that the Supreme Court has taken suo moto cognisance of Dhanbad case and it is being transferred to CBI.
Human rights activists and concerned citizens are seriously worried on the attempts of lives of judges. They fear that if action is not taken on these attacks on judges, the irresponsible and fascist elements will succeed in intimidating the entire judiciary. If the third pillar of democracy is weakened, the democracy will not survive for long.
Already the basic institutions of India like CBI, ED, etc. are compromised. Even fingers are being raised on the judges and their controversial judgements. The free press is shrinking and subservient media has its field day. Dissent is being termed as treason. In these dangerous terms the entire nation looks towards the Supreme Court and the High Courts. This is the most critical hour. We hope that the higher judiciary will act with full force to uphold the rule of law and not allow the powers-that-be to weaken democracy and snatch the rights of citizens.