The apex court in additiol role

By Bhaskar Phukan

The Supreme Court of India of late has been taking up on itself matters that actually fall under executive criteria and apparently not legal in ture. Being the supreme legal body the highest court no doubt has in its power and jurisdiction to take up any matter judicial, legislative or executive on itself. But the fact of Supreme Court having to step into the affairs of the government and at times organizations like Board of Control of Cricket in India on its own accord is clearly indicative of the lapse on the part of the executive functioning of the government.

In a recent move the Supreme Court stepped into the affairs of the BCCI and put the president of the Cricket body N Srinivasan on the dock. BCCI supposedly the richest body of the world cricket had always been shying away from being transparent in dealings mainly fincial. Due to the massively big money involvement in the affairs of the body the office bearers try to stick to the body at times despite court orders that dissuade them to do so. This exactly is the case with the estranged president   N Srinivasan who has been at his best playing all the smart games on the court floor to regain the job of the BCCI president. The BCCI is a body that not only control affairs of cricket administration .It has in it’s ambit of jurisdiction dealings running into billions of rupees..Gate money, advertisement tariff, telecasting money et al make it a lucrative proposition to hold on to any office of the body.

About five years since a new money spinning phenomenon has come into the BCCI ambit. Indian Premier League–IPL in short –where big money gets involved with teams belonging to super rich individuals buy players in auction paying sky rocketing prices and money involved in this game runs into billions. Interestingly many a office bearers of the BCCI directly or indirectly has stakes in the IPL .The estranged president of the BCCI N Srinivasan owned India Cements owns the team med Cheni Super Kings and his son in law Guruth Meiyappan is alleged to have been involved in spot fixing and match fixing

According to the Supreme Court, this is where conflict of issues occurs. A person owning a business organization that owns a cricket team and the team owner being at the helm of cricket affairs and son in law of that person being an alleged match fixer, the situation no doubt is rather slippery. An enquiry report was submitted to the Supreme Court by an ex president of BCCI Mukul Mudgal and the report although does not find Srinivasan’s involvement in the scandal it has indicated that there were cover ups done by Srinivasan.

It should be borne in mind that Srinivasan is not as easy nut to crack and has behind him powerful lobbies. The battle is going on and is likely to be a long drawn one. Supreme Court’s concern in cleansing of the gentleman’s game of persons of vested interest is no doubt a very much welcome move.

The Supreme Court’s concern in the matter of fincial scams is clearly noticeable in the matter of Saradha Chit Fund case. The amount involved in the scam is still under speculation and runs between Rs 2460 to 4000 crore. It was in May 2014 that the apex court citing ramifications of possible intertiol money laundering, serious irregularities, failure and alleged political nexus transferred investigation into the Saradha scam and other ponzi schemes to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The CBI enquiry has found alleged involvement of a number of political bigwigs and even arrested Trimool Congress persons that include an MP and two ministers. Besides that a retired DGP too have been taken into custody.

However, much Mamata Banerjee makes noise shrill enough to pierce the ears of a common man and whatever much she points her finger at the BJP of playing vendetta politics it should be clear to her that playing politics is one side of the coin and ground reality is another. It was the Supreme Court that engaged the CBI fearing political bickering and Mamata Banerjee cannot make good the shortcomings by loudness of her voice or by dhar outside the Parliament and shouting against BJP all over the place.

Saradha net was wide enough to be spread over not only West Bengal but to Assam and Odissa too. The fact that a singer cum power broker has been behind the bars and his connection with Saradha top notch persons are well established goes to prove that there must have been some political safeguarding. The fact that thousand of daily wage earners have lost their heard earned money and the government is mum about the matter goes to lead one to smell a rat somewhere.

The Supreme Court has with its strict observation has taken strong exception to the casualness in which the vexed question of illegal migrant or the foreigners issue has been handled by the state and the central governments till date. Through an order passed to the state and the central government on December 17 as a judgment passed by a bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali riman, the Court had directed the governments to prepare and complete the tiol Register of Citizens by January 2016. Along with this it is advised that the Article 6A of the Citizenship Act be discussed by a constitution bench of group of five judges to be selected by Justice Gogoi and Justice riman. The court has ordered the state and the central governments to go into the provisions of the Assam Accord signed 29 years ago and start implementing the provisions that are not controversial. The court also has taken strong exception to the infiltration of illegal migrants from Bangladesh and has held the fear to be justified that the ethnic populations have been put to a position of jeopardy by huge infiltration that is ubated.

This action of the Supreme Court has brought in a ray of hope to the genuine citizens of Assam and the north east. Supreme Court it appears is doing overtime to set troubled areas in order. The areas that the government machineries fail to address due to vexed and vested interest along with the tural tendency to politicize any or all issues and problems and areas they think to be better for them as they are.