PJ Thomas nearly quit in Dec, but chose to hang on

NEW DELHI: PJ Thomas could have escaped the ignominy of being sacked by the Supreme Court and spared the government a huge political embarrassment if he had heeded advice to quit. 

Months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram rode roughshod over Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj's resistance to put Thomas in the lead role at the anti-corruption watchdog, Congress leadership recognised that the CVC had turned into a political liability. 

Unfortunately for the government, the mild-mannered CVC suddenly became unyielding after initial indications that he would put in his papers. Negotiations with Thomas had progressed to the extent that his well-wishers had even sought advice on how to draft his resignation letter. He was to announce his resignation in the first week of December when the heat on UPA over corruption was growing. 

But all that was rendered irrelevant by Thomas's sudden refusal to go. He conveyed his resolve to the negotiators on December 4. Soon followed a defiant declaration that he was not going to follow the script written for him. 

Two theories have been put forward for the turnaround. According to one, Thomas changed his mind after a senior minister egged him on to stay put. The minister was concerned about loss of face. 

According to another theory, the about-turn was at the instance of Thomas's family members and close friends who warned him that quitting would taint him forever. A close relative is learnt to have told him that it could not be just his call as the matter concerned the reputation of the entire family. 

The episode is seen as yet another instance of the failure of the top babus in the regime. The set was supposed to have a leverage with Thomas — one of the reasons why Congress managers thought that they would be able to shake off what had become an albatross. But the estimate was belied, adding to the growing sense of resentment against the babus.

Read more: PJ Thomas nearly quit in Dec, but chose to hang on - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PJ-Thomas-nearly-quit-in-Dec-but-chose-to-hang-on/articleshow/7631227.cms#ixzz1FhOPL1kH

CVC case: CJI Kapadia's court revives activism, rattles power elite

NEW DELHI: The unseating of central vigilance commissioner PJ Thomas is the latest breakthrough made by the Supreme Court in the course of a resurgent judicial activism under the leadership of Chief Justice SH Kapadia. 

The ouster of Thomas, who was earlier telecom secretary, comes close on the heels of resignation of his minister A Raja, again on the Supreme Court's prodding through a public interest litigation (PIL) related to the 2G scam. 

The vigorous manner in which the SC has pursued a range of PIL cases in recent months has marked a new phase and a sharp contrast to the earlier phase when KG Balakrishnan was the chief justice. Many government leaders consider the court now a thorn in their flesh, while to the common man, the judiciary is once again seen as a source of hope — the sole institution that has the gumption to stand up to the high and mighty. 

Legal experts say under Kapadia the court's credibility has been restored after the damage it had suffered during the three-year tenure of Balakrishnan, whose kin are now under the scanner for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. 

The renewed efforts to hold the influential to account have helped the institution put behind the unsavory controversies of the earlier regime — such as the reluctance to disclose the assets of judges and the abortive move to elevate a judge allegedly with disproportionate assets. 

The display of such extraordinary commitment to probity in public life was, in fact, consistent with a statement made by Kapadia at the time of his appointment as CJI in May 2010. "I come from a poor family. I started my career as a Class IV employee and the only asset I possess is integrity." 

But as regards the idea of PILs, Kapadia seems to have had a rethink while in office. For, on his very first day as CJI, Kapadia, far from extolling the virtues of PIL cases, struck a note of warning by declaring that those filing frivolous PILs would be charged huge penalties. He also said the procedures for PILs would be tightened. 

But as it has turned out, for PILs with merit, there hasn't been a more sympathetic court than the one headed by Kapadia. The petition against Balakrishnan, for instance, was entertained despite Kapadia's own acknowledgement that there were deficiencies in it. 

He made several administrative reforms to ensure that PILs received due attention. Among other things, he broke from the past practice of the CJI's bench monopolising PIL cases. Kapadia shared major PIL cases with other benches, including one headed by a judge who is 11th in the order of seniority, Justice G S Singhvi. It is the bench consisting of Singhvi and Justice A K Ganguly that has been relentlessly pushing the CBI to probe all the culprits in the 2G scam, from among politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists. 

Since the Radia tapes were connected with the 2G scam, Kapadia's administration ensured that Ratan Tata's petition raising concerns of privacy and other such related matters were all placed before the already charged-up Singhvi bench. In much the same spirit of optimizing judicial resources, Kapadia transferred to Singhvi's bench a long-pending petition of Amar Singh because of the phone tapping link. 

It is not just the freshly-filed PIL cases that have been taken up aggressively. The Kapadia bench, for instance, revived the police reforms case which had seen little action during the Balakrishnan years. In a bid to implement the radical verdict delivered five years ago by the then CJI Y K Sabharwal, the current bench for the first time fixed a time frame for states to report compliance of the reforms aimed at reducing political abuse of the police forces.

Read more: CVC case: CJI Kapadia's court revives activism, rattles power elite - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CVC-case-CJI-Kapadias-court-revives-activism-rattles-power-elite/articleshow/7623515.cms#ixzz1FbLolwM0