जजों के चलते वक्त चुटकी बजाने की परंपरा बंद हो

सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता डॉ नूतन ठाकुर ने आज भारत के मुख्य न्यायाधीश को इलाहाबाद हाई कोर्ट और यूपी के विभिन्न ट्रिब्यूनल में चल रही दो व्यवस्थाओं के बारे में पत्र लिखा है. उन्होंने कहा है कि वर्तमान में जजों के कोर्ट में आने से पहले उनके अर्दली आते हैं और उनकी सीट को अत्यंत दास भाव से ठीक करते हैं जिसके बाद जज आते हैं जिनके लिए अर्दली झुक कर सीट पीछे करते हैं जिस पर जज बैठते हैं, जिस प्रक्रिया में सामंती व्यवस्था साफ़ दृष्टिगोचर होती है.

डॉ ठाकुर के अनुसार इसी प्रकार जब जज कोर्ट में एक स्थान से दूसरे तक जाते हैं तो वे अर्दली कमर झुकाए आगे-आगे चलते हैं और चुटकी बजाते रहते हैं ताकि सभी लोग रास्ता छोड़ते जाएँ. इन व्यवस्थाओं को मानवीय सम्मान के विपरीत, अनुचित और प्रतिगामी तथा संविधान की भावना, विभिन्न कानूनों और सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्णयों के विरुद्ध बताते हुए उन्होंने मुख्य न्यायाधीश से इन्हें तत्काल रोकवाने जाने का अनुरोध किया है.

Copy of Letter–

To,

The  Chief Justice of India,

Supreme Court of India,

New Delhi-110001

Subject-As regards certain improper and retrograde traditions being followed in the Allahabad High Court

Respected Sir,

I am Dr Nutan Thakur, a social activist, working primarily in the field of transparency and accountability in governance and Human Rights issues. I present before you two matters related with the Allahabad High Court and many other Tribunals in Uttar Pradesh which very apparently seem to be against the dignity of Human Beings and
hence as being definitely improper and retrograde in nature.

I present these matters on the basis of my personal experience in the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal because I have filed a large number of Public Interest Litigations and other Petitions in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court and have had many occasions to visit CAT where I have personally witnessed these traditions that come as being the relic of the past and as being not in tune with the present times. I have been told by many lawyers that the same is true for the Allahabad Bench of the High Court and many other Tribunals as well.

The first tradition being followed is that before the Judges come to the Court, one or more of their Ardali (personal staff) wearing a Chapras (a cross-sectional leather belt) and a headgear come to the Court and adjust their seats in an extremely subservient manner. This is followed by the Judges coming to the Court and here again these Ardali take the chair back in an equally servile manner on which the Judges sit down, giving a very apparent impression of some Lord from the feudal past.

Both these acts are definite retrograde and servile which do not go in tune with the present days of respect for human dignity and equality among the individuals. The Judges of the High Court are definitely extremely respectable persons, they occupy Constitutional posts and do an extremely important and respectful function in the society. But it would be agreed upon that there is a great difference between respect and servility. The way this entire exercise is conducted every day in the High Court has nothing to do with human respect but is an artificial and improper means of imposing a false persona to the office of the Judgeship which definitely goes against the present times because firstly the human dignity of the Orderly (personal assistant) is being compromised and degraded and secondly other persons are being imposed the authority of the Judge in an unwarranted and artificial manner, as if the Judge won’t even  taken back his seat and sit on that. All this happens in the open court with many spectators.

The second tradition being conducted is even more disgraceful and humiliating where when the Judges move from one place to another in the Court (for instance, from their Court to their Chamber or to their official car etc) the same Ardalis (personal assistants) move ahead of these Judges with their backs curved and bowed and filliping and tweaking with their fingers (चुटकी बजाना) all through so that everyone on the way immediately jumps to the sideways and give way to the Judge. This again comes as being a poor caricature of the regal times as if some Lord is moving and the Praja (his people) are making way for him.

Only recently the Hon’ble Supreme Court stated in a PIL filed by 75-year-old advocate Sri Shiv Sagar Tiwari that Judges should be addressed in courts in a respectful and dignified manner and it is not compulsory to call them "my lord", "your lordship" or "your honour”. A bench comprising Justice H L Dattu and Justice S A Bobde observed
that-“To address the court what do we want. Only a respectable way of addressing. You call (judges) sir, it is accepted. You call it your honour, it is accepted. You call lordship it is accepted. These are some of the appropriate way of expression which are accepted”.

These observations make it very apparent that the Supreme Court itself is not in favour of any deliberate and intentional colonial hangovers and has an extremely pragmatic and modernistic outlook in this regards. Sadly these observations and this outlook of the Supreme Court goes in direct contravention to the obsequious practices being presently adopted in the Allahabad High Court and many of the Tribunals in Uttar Pradesh.

It also goes completely against the spirit of human dignity and self-respect that the Constitution of India, the various laws promulgated in independent India, the large number of judgements and orders of the Supreme Court and the various High Courts, including the Allahabad High Court have so far been striving for.

Hence I request you to kindly look into this matter immediately and to kindly direct the concerned authorities in Allahabad High Court and any other place where these practices are in existence that these retrograde and undignified traditions going against the basic Human dignity are stopped with immediate effect. It is prayed that this matter is very important because it concerns the highest court of justice in the State of Uttar Pradesh and any symbolic or others acts in the High Court has its direct and massive effect on various agencies and aspects related with the rest of the State.

Lt No- NT/AHC/Tweak Yours,
Dated-09/01/2014
(Dr Nutan Thakur )
5/426, Viram Khand,
Gomti Nagar, Lucknow
[email protected]

Copy to-1. Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court, Allahabad for kind perusal and necessary action please