Among Clouds

I spent this weekend(week with holi) in the Coorg District in Karnataka. I thought that some of you might be interested in hearing my experiences there and decided to write this down . Me along with some of my friends started this Friday night from Majestic Bus Stand(Bangalore) after a heavy dinner at “The Rice Bowl”(emphasis on the word heavy).We reached Virajpet Bus Stand at 5.30 in the morning. The place looked like a broken down ghost house (not the best omen to start off with.) It was continuously raining and the climate was chilly. Most of us expected pleasant climate but freak rains turned the table around. Locals told me that we were very unlucky to face this. Most of us had no warm clothes. Within a few minutes a jeep was there to take us to the Honey Valley estate. Up the mountainous tract, devastating rains and truly fabulous scenery…  Waterfalls or rather small rapids could be seen almost every passing moment. And how can one forget about the forestation around. Honey Valley is one of the few places, on which no pesticide has ever been used. The huge expanse of land holds in itself exquisite natural beauty unique to the place. It is virtually inaccessible and has absolutely no pollution. Had reaching the place been comfortable, loads of unruly crowd would have ruined the place by now. Believe me, it is worth taking all the pain necessary.

After quite a steep climb by the jeep, we reached the hotel. It was raining quite hard . Still, loaded with alacrity,we grabbed our boots and decided to explore the near by areas. After a 1 km. uphill walk from the hotel through dense woods took us to a place called “The Dry Pond”.The path reminded me of a poem by Rudyard Kipling “The Way Through The Woods”. The most beautiful flowers and plants, coffee plantation at a distance, tall hills still further away,looking old and wise with mist all around them. Mesmerizing scenery. 8 distinct paths could be seen spiraling away from :”The Dry Pond” tagged A-H. We decided to follow E which led to the bottom of a waterfall. The climb got tougher as we went up. A look to the left. My first reaction was graceful appreciation of God’s work and nature’s glory. My second reaction(which followed almost immediately) was my heart skipping a beat. The track was very narrow and the slope was very steep towards the left. The only reconciliation was that there were plenty of plants towards the left. So even if I slipped I would not die(but break quite a many bones for sure). The path was very slippery(because of the rain) so slipping was not very improbable also . After following the treacherous path for about one and a half hours(because of the numerous photo clicking sessions in between) we reached the bottom of the waterfalls. Amazing…white foamy water washing the stones. I had never been so close to a water fall. Suddenly one of my friends complained of some itching in the foot. It had earlier been dismissed as kiddish whining ,but now it seemed as if everybody except me had the complaint . One of my friends opened his shoes and Arggggghhh!!! leeches all over. Horrible slimy blood sucking worms. They were all around the place, standing and waiting for their prey. I tried to convince the people that leeches were not very dangerous but apparently nobody was in the mood to stay. As if zombified(I know thats not a word), they walked along the narrow path back to “The Dry Pond” at an unbelievably dangerous pace. Luckily everyone survived, only never to come back again. We were 8 people and all except me all had been bitten by leeches (mind the plural)at all sorts of places. I was at the receiving end of many a curses for being so lucky. I later found out that, that particular tract was known as “The Palace of Leeches“!!!

Battered and broken 4 of our group decided never to go on such a ramble again. The next day morning 4 of us who were left, decided to go on another adventure. We reached “The Dry Pond” at 8 in the morning and started walking towards a place called “The Flat Ridge”. It was still raining. While passing the forested area, we noticed leeches standing vertically on fallen down leaves waiting for its prey(scarrryy). We crossed the forested area to reach a little steeper path. This track was a tougher climb than the earlier one and we were often on all fours. One side was vertically down and the other was somewhat steep. Because of the rain, the stones were very slippery and clay had become muddy. However the view seemed to get better exponentially. Soon we were at the ridge. Cool wind,misty weather, the surroundings gave a mysterious aura. A path could be seen going higher.However, nothing was mentioned about this in the guide book about it. We decided to go ahead.

Soon both sides beside us were vertically down and the path was strewn with thorny plants resulting in numerous scratches and bruises all over. The path had become very steep. Often mist was all that we could see. Finally we reached a flat top. Beautiful…  Drops of water seemed to cling to the end of my eye lashes and my skin seemed sticky because of the water in the air. The mist seemed to be in a childish mood playing a truant every now and then.  It would move to give us a glimpse of the grand hills and the scenery around, covering it as soon as we were ready with our cameras. My friends called it heaven on earth. I did not call it so, because I had never imagined a place as beautiful as this on earth. It seemed as if I had broken the shackles of mankind and reached the abode of the gods…Suddenly one of my friends received a SMS saying that Kerela welcomes us …(the usual we receive when we cross a state border) We did a little exploration around. There we found a big white skull(nobody could figure out what animal it was and how it had reached this place). Also we noticed that numerous plants there did not have green leaves. After spending some half an hour at this place we went down back to “The Dry Pond”. There we opened our shoes and found a host of leeches inside. We were ready this time. A pinch of salt and within seconds ,the tiny monsters were dead. This time around too, I was the only one not bitten. Nice nice…

After returning back to the hotel, we checked out within an hour bidding our hosts a warm goodbye and thanking them for their great hospitality and food. Loaded with coffee and honey,we made our way to The Abby Falls. Apparently the rain stopped as soon as we left the Honey Valley. It is difficult to say whether these freak rains were a blessing or a curse. It did make our rambles much more adventurous and our experience unique. But we missed bird watching and other things because of it…

Reaching the falls was a nice experience, with a lot twists and turns. It attracted quite a large crowd. A bridge covered the brook below. However the water was not fenced appropriately, so a lot of people reached the bottom without any problem. I found out later that every year people die doing so. The authorities should be more vigilant. The falls were beautiful with white foamy water covering black shining stones. The contrast was stunning.

After spending an hour there we left for the Buddhist Monastery, the largest Tibetan settlement in India. On the way we saw an overturned bus. The Buddhist monastery is unique to the region and this was my first visit to such a place. The whole construction was very beautiful and all inhabitants seemed to have the look of wisdom, kindness and peace. The walls of the temples had quaint drawings depicting their gods and representing their religion. The decorative designs had a nice intermingling of shade and light which gave quite a many illusions. The most eye catching was the huge 60 foot golden statues of their deities. That ended my Journey in Koorg.

It was sad saying goodbye to such a beautiful place. But then I had to head back to my drab of a life in Bangalore. There is a lot to explore provided you have the time…

P.s. The photographs are due to my friends(I don’t have a camera)

Also I am horrible at rattling of events and describing it. I don’t think I have done justice to the place… Its much better than the impression you might be getting. Also sorry for being so late in posting this(I was down with bronchitis)

A Righteous Indian

I expect nobody to go ahead and read this. But I shall post it owing to the great reverence this particular Hindu article has brought out of me for Justice Hans Raj Khanna. These are the people who allow us to walk on the streets without any fear, who make us feel that there is always someone who cares of our well being, our liberty, our basic human rights… I must also thank the author of this article(posted in The Hindu,7th March,2007) Hopefully most of you must have already come across this. This post is for those who haven’t.

P.S.One suggestion try to read more about it…

A profile in judicial courage

Anil Divan

H.R. Khanna’s courage and independence must continue to inspire and remind generations of lawyers and judges of the sacrifice he made in upholding human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

H.R. Khanna’s lone dissent in the habeas corpus case does the Indian judiciary and legal profession proud.

On February 25, 2008, Justice Hans Raj Khanna passed away at the age of 95. He stood for all that is respected and admired in a great judge — patience, courtesy, wisdom, but above all courage. A courage unsurpassed by any other judge of the Supreme Court since Independence.

Khanna was born in 1912, joined the Bar in 1934, was appointed a District and Sessions Judge in 1952 and was elevated to the Punjab High Court in 1962 and finally to the Supreme Court in 1971.

He has become immortal in the collective memory of the legal profession because of his judgment in 1973 in the fundamental rights case (Kesavananda Bharati). This judgment tilted the balance seven to six against the government, and curtailed the unrestricted power of Parliament to amend the Constitution on the doctrine of an un-amendable basic structure. Outspoken critics of the judgment like H.M. Seervai, a great constitutional lawyer, changed their view after seeing the excesses of the Emergency.

Habeas corpus case But Justice Khanna’s finest hour came on April 28, 1976 when he delivered his lone dissent in the habeas corpus case.

Indira Gandhi lost her election case on June 12, 1975 and on her appeal in the Supreme Court she was only granted a conditional stay. As a result, she could neither vote nor speak in the Lok Sabha. She became a dysfunctional Prime Minister. Immediately thereafter, on June 25, 1975, she proclaimed a state of internal Emergency. In a midnight swoop, most of the prominent Opposition leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K Advani, were detained without charges and trial. The fundamental right to life and liberty (Article 21) and equality (Article 14) were suspended. The Press was gagged and censored and orders were passed not to report unfavourable court judgments. Many persons were detained and habeas corpus petitions were presented for their release on the ground that such orders were ultra vires and beyond the statute, or were mala fide.

A Bench of five judges of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice A.N. Ray; Justices Khanna, M.H. Beg, Y.V. Chandrachud and P.N. Bhagwati) heard what has come to be known as the habeas corpus case (A.D.M. Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla). The only question before the court was whether a petition for habeas corpus and other similar petitions under Article 226 were maintainable (notwithstanding the suspension of the fundamental rights) on the ground that the orders were beyond the statute or were issued with mala fide or were not in accordance with law.

Shanti Bhushan led the argument. Ram Jethmalani, Soli Sorabjee and I came from Bombay to argue for various detenus. We thought our case was unanswerable, with nine High Courts in our favour. We were hopelessly wrong.

On April 28, 1976, four judges decided in favour of the government, holding that the petitions were not maintainable. Justice Khanna was the lone dissenter. The government’s argument was accepted by the majority. The Supreme Court by a majority closed its door to the citizen and there was no remedy against illegal detentions, unauthorised demolitions, official tyranny, torture, murder, and mayhem. The Supreme Court sanctioned “the rule of lawlessness.”

H.M. Seervai later commented: “The four judgments were delivered in the darkest hour of India’s history after independence, and they made the darkness complete… ordinary men and women would understand Satan saying ‘Evil be thou my good,’ but they were bewildered and perplexed to be told by four learned judges of the Supreme Court, that in substance, the founding fathers had written into the Emergency provisions of our Constitution ‘Lawlessness be thou our law.’”

Justice Khanna in his autobiography writes about the habeas corpus case graphically. He says: “In view of his (Attorney-General’s) submissions would there be any remedy if a police officer because of personal enmity killed another man?” The answer of Mr. De (Attorney-General) was unequivocal: “Consistently with my argument,” he said, “there would be no judicial remedy in such a case as long as the Emergency lasts”.”

Heartening reaction Khanna’s dissent rejecting the Attorney-General’s argument held the petitions maintainable. It was the only light in an atmosphere of total gloom.

But the reaction in other democratic countries was heartening. The New York Times on April 30, 1976, came out with an editorial which has become a classic and is cherished by many of us who lived through those dark days.

It said: “If India ever finds its way back to the freedom and democracy that were proud hallmarks of its first eighteen years as an independent nation, someone will surely erect a monument to Justice H.R. Khanna of the Supreme Court. It was Justice Khanna who spoke out fearlessly and eloquently for freedom this week in dissenting from the Court’s decision upholding the right of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Government to imprison political opponents at will and without court hearings… The submission of an independent judiciary to absolutist government is virtually the last step in the destruction of a democratic society; and the Indian Supreme Court’s decision appears close to utter surrender.”

Justice Khanna did not surrender. But it cost him his appointment as Chief Justice of India. He was superseded in January 1977 and Justice Beg who was next in seniority, appointed Chief Justice of India. Khanna promptly resigned. In his autobiography he writes of what he had told his sister, “I have prepared my judgment, which is going to cost me the Chief Justice-ship of India” — but he did not flinch or waver and remained true to his oath.

Justice Jackson of the U.S. Supreme Court said: “Judges are more often bribed by their ambition and loyalty than by money.” Unlike his four colleagues, Justice Khanna did not succumb to ambition or loyalty. His judgment was reminiscent of Lord Atkin’s celebrated dissent in Liversidge v. Anderson during the dark days of the Second World War when he invalidated an order of detention without trial and observed: “I view with apprehension the attitude of judges who on a mere question of construction when face to face with claims involving the liberty of the subject show themselves more executive-minded than the executive… In this country, amid the clash of arms the laws are not silent.”

Justice Khanna in his dissent stated: “What is at stake is the rule of law… the question is whether the law speaking through the authority of the Court shall be absolutely silenced and rendered mute…”

His dissent does the Indian judiciary and the legal profession proud. The doctrine of basic structure which is now firmly rooted in our constitutional jurisprudence is his great gift to posterity. To adapt Winston Churchill’s felicitous phrase, never did so many owe so much to a single judge.

He was enticed into becoming Law Minister in the Charan Singh government supported by Indira Gandhi in July 1979 but he suffered pangs of conscience and resigned in three days. Again, a principled sacrifice and the courage to recognise his error publicly.

His portrait adorns Court No. 2 in the Supreme Court. His courage and independence must continue to inspire and remind generations of lawyers and judges of the sacrifice he made in upholding human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

It is essential for each generation to share with successive generations the experiences and struggles of the past for preserving a constitutional democracy and the rule of law. It is an ever-greening process and Justice Khanna’s role must encourage each one of us — judge, lawyer and citizen — to play our little part in this never-ending battle. This is my small tribute to a great son of India.

(The writer is a Senior Advocate. e-mail: abdsad@airtelmail.in)