SC collegium agrees in principle to reiterate Justice Joseph's name for elevation to top court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium in principle on Friday agreed to reiterate Uttarakhand high court chief justice KM Joseph's name for elevation to the top court, but decided to send it back along with some other names for appointment as SC judges.
The other names will be decided on a meeting on May 16. Until then, Justice Joseph's name will not be sent back to the Centre.
The collegium, which is a group of five senior-most judges, earlier today, concluded a crucial meeting to discuss the elevation of Justice Joseph to the apex court. The court's recommendation was returned by the Centre last month, asking the SC to reconsider its decision.
The collegium constitutes CJI Dipak Misra, Justice Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice M B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph. It had previously met on May 2 but deferred its decision on the matter.
The meeting today took place after the Union government, on April 26, returned the its recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph asking the top court judges to reconsider the proposal. The Centre said the recommendation wasn’t in accordance with the top court's parameters and there was already adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where Justice Joseph hails. It also questioned his seniority for elevation as a judge of the apex court.
The Centre had the following objections -- it said Justice Joseph stood at number 42 in the seniority of high court judges and there were 11 chief justices of different high courts who would senior to him -- a clear suggestion that his elevation to the Supreme Court would be at their expense. The Centre also raised the principle of proportionality contending that Kerala high court was a "comparatively small high court" with a sanctioned strength of 42 judges and was a parent high court for top court judge Justice Kurian Joseph and the chief justices of three high courts -- Justice K.M. Joseph himself (Uttarakhand), Justice T B Radhakrishnan (Chhattisgarh) and Justice Antony Dominic (Kerala). The Central government also flagged the absence of SC/ST judges in the top judiciary.
On May 9, Justice J Chelameswar, the second senior-most judge of the apex court, had written a letter to CJI Dipak Misra asking him to convene the collegium's meeting to discuss the issue. Justice Chelameswar reiterated the decision to elevate Justice Joseph as a judge of the SC, saying there was no change in the circumstances that led the collegium to recommend his name to the government in January this year. Justice Chelameswar in the letter also outlined why the Centre's objections were not valid. The timing of the collegium is important due to Justice Chelameswar’s imminent retirement. The justice is retiring on June 22 but the top court is left with just six working days before it breaks for a six-week summer vacation next weekend.NEW DELHI: Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Friday the Modi government has created a conducive atmosphere for promoting the talent of the youth from minority communities and cited their success in the 2017 civil services examination.
The Minority Affairs Minister said the government's policy of "development with dignity and without any discrimination" ensured that "for the first time after Independence", a record 131 candidates from minority communities, including 51 Muslims, have been selected in the civil services.
Naqvi today felicitated nine successful candidates from minority communities who cleared the civil services examinations held last year with the help of free-coaching programmes facilitated by the Minority Affairs Ministry. The results of the exam were declared last month.
As he felicitated the nine successful candidates here, Naqvi said the ministry has been putting in effective efforts to "promote and ensure progress" of meritorious youth from the minority communities.
There are six minority communities -- Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Jain and Parsi.
"Earlier, efforts were not made to create such an environment which would give minority community youth confidence," Naqvi was quoted as saying by a statement.
"Prime Minister Modi's government has given an atmosphere to protect and promote talent of the youth from the communities which has resulted in such a large number of them being selected in the top administrative services," he said.
In the 2016 examination, 126 youths from minority communities, including 52 Muslims, had been selected for the prestigious civil services.
Naqvi said that in the 2016 exam, 1,099 people were selected in the civil services. These included 52 Muslim youths, which was 4.5 per cent of the total selected.
In the 2017 exam, 5.15 per cent of the total 990 successful candidates are Muslims. Also, six Muslims, including three women, have found a place in the top 100.
The Jal Mahal is a historic building that was built by Shah Quli Khan, who was an officer for Akbar. Jal Mahal was built in the year 1591 using a combination of both Indian and Persian styles of architecture, in the form of a large water tank, which is located in the centre of the mahal. The water tank that was completed in the year 1593. The water tank is now under the supervision of the Government of Haryana, who have repaired and refilled it. It is after the repairing of the water tank, that visitors have increased gradually.
The main building of the mahal is surrounded by four tall minarets that contain staircases leading to the top of the mahal. The interior of the mahal is largely decorated with golden colours on the ceiling as well as on the walls in the form of paintings, designs and geometric patterns. With time, the lower chambers of the Jal Mahal have disintegrated, which is why, there are no remains to be seen.
Jal Mahal in Narnaul city of Mahendragarh district is illustrious for its historical milieu and extraordinary architecture. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has planned to develop it as an Adarsh Samarak. It has recently identified 75 more monuments across the nation under its second phase of the Adarsh Samarak programme to upgrade the existing facilities at these tourist spots. In Haryana, besides Jal Mahal, Sheikh Chilli’s Tomb at Kurukshetra has been selected under the programme to be developed as a tourist place.
Jal Mahal was built by Shah Quli Khan, the then Governor of Narnaul, over 10 acres during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar in 1591. It stands in the centre of a large tank called Khan Sarovar. The entrance to the palace is in the north through a gatehouse, with rooms for guards constructed over a bridge resting on 16 arched-spans. The palace consists of a square central chamber with four small chambers on four corners.
Four staircases, two each on the northern and southern faces, give access to the upper storeys. The roof of the central chamber is crowned by an octagonal cupola surrounded by a hemispherical dome balanced on four smaller cupolas placed over the corner chambers. The walls of Jal Mahal were constructed with lime in those days but even today one can see the brightness of the walls. The layout of Jal Mahal shows a finely developed system of filling the huge water tank with rainwater with a provision for controlled discharge so as to prevent water from stagnating.
“The motive behind declaring Jal Mahal as an Adarsh samarak is to improve available facilities as well as promote tourism because it is not only a place of historical significance but also an architectural marvel of the Mughal era. Modern poles with LED lights will be installed to illuminate the monument. Other amenities such as parking for vehicles, a cafeteria, signboards, a library, modern toilets, especially for disabled persons, RO drinking water, souvenir and free Wi-Fi for visitors will be made available,” says Praveen Kumar, sub-divisional in charge of the ASI at Narnaul.
The work for Wi-Fi facility, toilets and RO water is in progress and is expected to be completed next month. Around 200 people visit Jal Mahal every day while the number of visitors increases manifold on Sundays when besides city residents, people from surrounding villages and other districts come here. On other days, college and school students usually visit Jal Mahal. Private schools bring their students here to educate them about the historical importance and magnificent design of the monument.
Jal Mahal has been in a state of neglect for long, as no sincere efforts have been made to develop it as a tourist destination. Even its tank had remained dry for a century, as a number of residential colonies have come up in its catchment area. Nearby roads obstruct water inflow from the Dohan river. Moreover, the Rajasthan Government has constructed a check dam on the Dohan at the border of Mahendragarh district.
The monument drew the attention of previous Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda when he visited Narnaul in 2010. He directed the district authorities to fill the tank with water up to the brim. He also told the authorities to prepare a project for its upkeep and further development to attract more visitors.
It was no less than a wonder to fill water in the mammoth tank of Jal Mahal located in the most dry and sandy area of Narnaul that has been declared a dark zone owing to a steep decline in the groundwater level. The tank was filled with water in 2010 but it got dried after some months. Thereafter, no one paid attention to it for seven years. The district authorities in 2017 again filled the tank with water up to 11 feet during the rainy season.
At present, around 2 feet of water is available in the tank. It is for the first time that the tank has been filled with water during these days on the demand of locals who believe it has been instrumental in recharging of groundwater and improving the water table, says Satyavir, Executive Engineer (Irrigation), Narnaul. The availability of water in the tank is also essential from tourism point of view, as there is no logic to visit Jal Mahal without ‘jal’ around the 'mahal' (palace). Hence, he got it filled with water so that tourists could spend ample time here.
Rajesh Sanwle, who along with friends has come from Mumbai to see the monuments in Narnaul, says he learnt about Jal Mahal from his friend, who lives in Delhi, when they arrived in Delhi some days ago. “The architecture of Jal Mahal is incredible. But we are disappointed that there is no guide here to make us understand its historical background. Also, there is no cafeteria and library and no proper arrangements for sitting, potable water, toilet, parking, security etc. It has the potential to be developed as one of the biggest tourist attractions in the region. Even surrounding roads are not in a good shape,” Sanwle says.
Rattan Lal Saini, an advocate in Narnaul, says Jal Mahal can be developed into a major tourist destination by ensuring availability of water in the tank throughout the year and improving all surrounding roads. Road connectivity to nearby places should be provided so that people from other places could easily reach here.
“The authorities should also set up kiosks on the premises of Jal Mahal where its literature and that regarding other monuments of Narnaul could be made available for tourists,” says Saini.
Anil Kaushik, a social activist, says after Jaipur, Narnaul is the only place in north India where such a magnificent Jal Mahal is situated. “People come here from Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and other states to visit Jal Mahal but they feel disappointed due to lack of basic facilities,”says Kaushik. The business in Narnaul can also grow if Jal Mahal is developed as a tourist destination by making all basic facilities available for tourists.
Modern amenities
The work for Wi-Fi facility, toilets and RO water at Jal Mahal is in progress and is expected to be completed next month. The Archaeological Survey of India has planned to develop it as an Adarsh Samarak. Modern poles with LED lights will be installed to illuminate the monument. Other amenities such as parking for vehicles, a cafeteria, signboards, a library, modern toilets, especially for disabled persons, RO drinking water, souvenir and free Wi-Fi facility for visitors will be made available.