(The series Names and Surnames is skipped this week.)
Supreme Court has held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly as unconstitutional and yet has not ordered the restoration of the Assembly. It should have ordered the restoration. Even now it can do so. Election process for Bihar Assembly is going on but no polling has taken place. Supreme Court should have held daily hearing and announced the judgement soon. Justice delayed is justice denied.
To avoid hung assemblies Lok Sabhas we should switch over to Presidential System.
Ban on smoking on screen should have come to effect on 2/10/2005. Smoking is injurious to health of persons who smoke and do not smoke. If a man is sitting next to his pregnant wife and smoke even the foetus get affected. Smoking pollutes the atmosphere. The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of life and liberty. Smoking is against this right and against environment. Freedom of speech and expression cannot override freedom of life and liberty. PIL against ban on smoking on screen should be thrown out with costs and the petitioners should be fined heavily.
Supreme Court has held that life imprisonment is for life. All those who were released after 20 years, 14 years or even a period less than 14 years must be rearrested and made to undergo rigorous imprisonment till death.
Supreme Court has relaxed ban on noise after 10.00 p.m. Midnight masses for Christmas, New Year and Easter should be allowed. Ban is effective only in big cities. In small cities and villages it has no meaning.
I liked Shekhar Gupta‘s article in Indian Express on 9/10/2005. Subsidies many times do not benefit poor and lead to corruption, black marketing etc. However privatisation of Delhi‘s power supply was a mess. Only distribution was privatised. Generation and transmission were not. Competition was not allowed. If full privatisation was allowed then consumers would have benefitted.