AALA says commissioners make a new chapter in law

Spshots
(1)    Commissioners to record evidences and statements of witnesses and submit them to the court.
(2)    Of 70 commissioners to be appointed, ten got appointment and 47 have been selected. The rest will be selected soon.
(3)    Assam is next only to Bangaluru to have put this system to practice.
(4)    Probe should be conducted through the High Court against those who have direct allegations on APSC anomalies.
(5)    Since this is a crimil conspiracy, there should be a CBI probe on APSC chairman Rakesh Paul and political pressure on him.
(6)    What prevents Assam Government, which rolls out the red carpet for militants returning to mainstream of society, to give battalion sepoy status to the SPOs?  

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 16: Justice delivery system in Assam is set for a paradigm shift with the latest steps taken up by the Gauhati High Court. The steps, those in the judiciary firmly believe, will go a long way in disposal of civil cases that are infamous for remaining pending for decades.

Addressing the press in the city today, All Assam Lawyers’ Association (AALA) general secretary Dipak Kumar Das said: “The steps taken up by the High Court will go a long way towards speedy disposal of the over 4,000 civil cases, some of which have been pending for 10 to 15 years, in the State.”

  Advocate Das said: “Through the amendment of Civil Procedure Case (CPC) the High Court has paved the way for appointment of 70 Law Commissioners who can conduct evidence recording and taking statements of witnesses of civil cases that have evidences. The Commissioners will submit their reports to the court, and that will help dispose such cases early.”

According to Advocate Das, this will make a new chapter in law. “The system is in practice in Bangaluru, and Assam is the second state to have put this system to practice,” the advocate said.

“As many as ten Commissioners have already been appointed in May on an experimental basis. Each of them has been asked to record evidences and statements of witnesses of ten cases,” Das said, and added: “Of the 195 applications received for the posts of Commissioner, as many as 47 candidates have been selected after conducting the interview on May 13 and 14. Rest of the posts of Commissioner will also be selected soon.”

The selection board, according to Advocate Das, comprises senior advocates Niloy Dutta and Hari Deka, a session judge and the AALA executive president.          

On the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) anomalies that hit headlines these days, advocate Das said: “The executives are appointed by the APSC. If the process of appointment of executives in a country or a state is not transparent, it will have its cascading effects on society. Since there has been a debate on anomalies in the APSC, its Chairman Rakesh Paul is very much involved on the issue.”

The AALA general secretary further said: “A probe should be conducted through the Gauhati High Court against whom there are direct allegations. The involvement of some people and the ones RTI activist Dulal Bora med come under this category. Since this is a crimil conspiracy, there should be a CBI inquiry into the possible involvement of Rakesh Paul in the anomalies and the kind of political pressure on him.”

Das said: “We don’t say that all in the APSC list, 2013 are incompetent. However, the images of the competent candidates in the list have been distorted by the incompetent ones in the list.”

On the fincial health of the State, the advocate said that the 90:10 special funding pattern to Assam should be kept intact. “If this funding pattern to Assam is done away with, the State will have to incur huge loss. The AALA also wants Dispur to submit utilization certificates of central funds regularly.”

On the issue of special police officials (SPOs) in the State, Das, on behalf of the AALA, said: “SPOs have records of fighting militants in the State risking their lives. They have been rendering services to bring about peace in the State. What prevents the State government, which rolls out the red carpet for militants returning to mainstream of society, to give battalion sepoy status to the SPOs?”