'Real' freedom to police still elusive

Though politicians of the ruling clan both at the Central as well as State levels assert day in and day out that the police and other security agencies are granted total freedom to deal with any law and order problem, the fact remains that in many sensitive cases, particularly those involving ruling party members, the law enforcing agencies are not only prevented from doing their duty honestly and independently but quite often coerced them into bowing down to the political pressure.

To prove this point, we have not to go far away in history. If media reports are to be believed, tremendous pressure was exerted on police to save the criminals involved or delay their arrest in cases of lynching, killings by the cow vigilantes and even in rape and murder by the powers that be.

Similarly, in Hyderabad, in several cases of rioting, arson, etc, the important functionaries and an MLA of AIMIM party, the ally of ruling TRS were seen threatening the police personnel of dire consequences if they proceeded against their workers and supporters.

In this exercise, they had also the audacity of getting a FIR filed against an IPS officer holding the high office of the Joint Commissioner of Hyderabad police. Obviously, such practices demoralise the police force. True. there are umpteen cases of corruption, use of brutal force on the innocent people and dereliction of duty by some black sheep in police and other security forces and they need to be attended with all seriousness, but in doing so, let the Constitutional authorities not lose sight of maintaining the balance and impartiality.

Unfortunately, judiciary which wields lots of power to prevent the abuse of legal process by the people in power, be they public representatives or public servants, often tend to be quite slow in exercising its powers suo motu.

In fact, the million dollar question is: When there is rampant corruption, gross abuse of power and meticulously planned action to create a civil war like situation by open defiance of the lawfully established government, who will ensure the rule of law and protect the life, property and human dignity of the people? Certainly, the people are not asking too much in expecting from the Constitutional wings due discharge of their Constitutional obligations to which they have solemnly or in the name of God have sworn in.

SC on adverse possession

Mere continuous possession of the property is not enough to prove adverse possession of a property, but it is also necessary to prove the hostile possession to its true owner, thus held a division bench of the Supreme Court on January 15.

In Shri Uttamchand (D) through Lrs vs Nathu Ram (D) through Lrs and Ors, a division bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta, after quoting a catena of judgements dealt with the import of Article 65 of the Limitation Act.

To bring home the point, the court also relied upon its recent judgement in Ayodhya case, M Siddiqui (D) through Lrs vs Mahant Suresh Das & Others.

Sweeping changes in Russian Constitution

Post resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed sweeping changes in the Constitution. According to Putin, the changes empower more to the Parliament without changing the basic structure of the Constitution.

The changes though generally welcomed are also looked down as a ploy of the President to retain power for a longer period. The new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is considered as a trusted lieutenant of Putin.

Jolt to telecom companies

In a major jolt to the telecom companies, the Supreme Court on January 10 dismissed the review petition filed by these companies against its order passed in July last year.

As a result of this, the telecom companies, including Bharati Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, Reliance Communication and State-owned MTNL and BSNL will have to pay altogether a whoping sum of about Rs 96,500 crore towards the share in the licence fee to the government.

Man seeks `1.5 crore from cruel mother

Fit to be a film plot, a 40-year-old man, Shrikant has filed a plea before the Bombay High Court to award damages to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore from his biological mother Arti Mhaskar, who had left him on the Pune Railway platform when he was just two-and-a-half-year-old kid.

The petitioner in his affidavit filed in the court has narrated his pathetic story of 'dreadful' life after his own mother abandoned him in a cruel manner and eloped with her paramour.

Though a woman has right to give birth, she has also an obligation to bring up the baby in a responsible manner, the petitioner has contended and added that in order to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the society, he was seeking the exemplary damages of Rs 1.5 crore.

Hyderabad encounters

The apex court has finalised the terms of reference in the alleged encounter killings of four accused persons by police in Disha rape and murder case in the wee hours of December 6 last year.

On December 12, while hearing a PIL, the bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, while virtually staying inquiries into the incident by any other court or forum had constituted a three-member Inquiry Commission.

The Commission will be headed by the former Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice V S Sirpurkar while former Judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice Rekha Baldolta and former CBI Director Karthikeyan will be its members. The court has granted six months period to complete the enquiry.