Three Cheers for Pondicherry Police!!!

Order dated 13.10.2014 passed at Hon’ble Supreme Court by Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Bobde directing the Pondicherry Police to arrest the five sisters has been executed. This bailable arrest warrant had been issued in spite of the Registrar of the Supreme Court as well as the Chief Justice of India and Justice Mukhopadhaya having received letter from us stating that we were unable to appear since we had no means to bear the expenses of travel and lodging and food. This order of bailable arrest was totally insensitive and in gross violation of principles of natural justice. It also clearly indicated the prejudice and inclination of the judges in favor of the Ashram trustees.

On 18.11.2014, between 1.00-2.00 p.m. the Pondicherry Police headed by Mr. Ravikumar, SP (North), came with this whole team to Ambabhikshu House, wherein we sisters are residing, to execute the arrest warrant issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in connection to an alleged contempt of court. He was accompanied by women police personnel who arrested us and took us to the ‘All Women Police Station’. There we were shown the order and explained its consequences. After due formalities were completed we were each issued a 'Memo of Arrest' and allowed to leave the police station on the surety of two well-wishers. Thank you both, we are deeply indebted and grateful for the risks you have taken on our behalf to protect us and safeguard our well-being and interests.

We also take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr. Ravikumar, SP (North), and his whole team of police personnel who treated us with extreme consideration and extended all possible help to facilitate the smooth execution of the procedure. This is the first time we have received such goodwill from the police and we are extremely grateful for the same. We have also assured Mr. Ravikumar that we shall make all possible efforts to present ourselves on 02.12.2014 before the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

Many Thanks to His Excellency, Sri Ravishankar Prasad-ji

Our case is a case in point where judges of Supreme Court of India – Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice R. Gogoi – have passed an inexecutable order on 29.04.2014. They have directed us to vacate “suit premises” in a case not pertaining to dispute of property and where no schedule of property has been mentioned. Moreover, to add insult to the injury, Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Bobde have now found us guilty of contempt in the contempt proceedings filed by trustees against us and have even issued arrest warrant against we five sisters for non-compliance. This warrant has as yet to reach the hands of the Pondicherry police for execution.

Assuming that the judges and the trustees of the Ashram feel that the accommodation wherein we are presently residing is the property we sisters ought to vacate, if we moved into any other Ashram property i.e. Ashram Main Building or Nanteuil or Golconde Guest House, etc. does it tantamount to obedience? Obviously not, because the trustees, with the help of these corrupt judges, are trying to throw us out of the Ashram and that includes all the properties belonging either to the Ashram or its various trusts within trusts.

Thankfully for us, we had also marked copies of our letter dated 10.06.2014 and reminder dated 17.07.2014 to the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice, Sri Ravishankar Prasad-ji. And to our greatest surprise, close on the heels of the directions issued by the Home Ministry, on 30.10.2014 we have received a letter from the Ministry of Justice which speaks volumes for itself without saying anything. I hope the Supreme Court, headed by and consisting of the three musketeer bench – Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya, Justice R. Gogoi and Justice Bobde – comes up with suitable answers.

This letter is reproduced hereunder.

Blatant Miscarriage of Justice by Some Corrupt Supreme Court Judges

Together with the active help, support and willful wrong intervention of some judges of the Supreme Court of India, the trustees have legally harassed us using the backdoor entry under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Justice Sudhanshu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S.A. Bobde. A gist of their misuse of discretionary power of supervision is cited below.

We filed S.L.P. No.27620/2012 against the illegal order of eviction dated 03.08.2012 passed by Justice S. Manikumar. Our SLP was part-heard by Justice Gokhale and Justice Nijjar, who granted a stay over the High Court Order. Suddenly our SLP was preponed, under mysterious circumstances, by 1 ½ months from 15.07.2014 to 29.09.2014. 

1. The transfer of our S.L.P. No.27620/2012 from a bench which had part-heard the case to a bench comprising of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sudhanshu Jyoti Mukhopadhya, which had never heard the case, is totally against all legal norms, especially in view of the fact that neither party had made any written submission praying for transfer. Justice R. Gogoi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhya should not have entertained S.L.P. No.27620/2012 under this circumstance.
2. Justice Gogoi and Justice Mukhopadhya failed to give a fair opportunity to us to hear our case but showed open hostility to our lawyers, to the extent of even threatening our lawyers.
3. In fact Justice S. J. Mukhopadhya had even visited Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the Grace Office of the trustees, as he himself claimed in the open court. Therefore on professional grounds he should not have heard S.L.P. No.27620/2012, much less pass perverse orders in his first ever hearing.
4. Justice Gogoi and Justice Mukhopadhya did not give any reason to arrive at the conclusion that they came to. After threatening our lawyers, they simply passed an order under two minutes, without realizing the civil implications involved and the grievous consequences resulting in human rights violation.
5. Justice Gogoi and Justice Mukhopadhya ought to have abstained from passing any order of this nature, especially in view of the fact that the suit in O.S. No.409/2005 has been undergoing trial since the past 4 years. They ought to have waited for the result of the trial before passing their order of illegal eviction on an interim petition granting us food, shelter, medical, clothing and other basics.
6. Justice Gogoi and Justice Mukhopadhya violated our fundamental rights as citizens of India with regard to our food, shelter, clothing and a right to live with dignity, especially in view of the fact that as inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram we receive no money. They directed us to be thrown head-first into a world where we cannot survive and are more likely to be further harassed by the henchmen of the trustees, with possibility of even molestation, rape and murder.
7. Justice R. Gogoi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya have passed order dated 29.04.2014 directing us to vacate “suit premises” in a case in which we have challenged the impugned report regarding sexual harassment fabricated by the trustees. The suit contains no description of suit premises, therefore their order dated 29.04.2014 is null and void and non-executable.

We filed contempt proceedings against the trustees because they stopped our  facilities of food, medical and all other basic needs, necessities and amenities. We sent this contempt petition through RPAD to Justice R. Gogoi and Justice S.L. Mukhopadhaya. These judges have also received our petition on 05.08.2014 but have failed to take it up and give us relief.

Instead on 13.09.2014 Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya visited the Ashram at Pondicherry and enjoyed trustees’ hospitality. Thereafter on 15.09.2014, just two days later, he initiated contempt proceedings in the contempt petition filed by the trustees and obliged the trustees. We sent our letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court intimating that we have no means to appear before the court. This letter was received by the Registrar and is clearly mentioned in his office report dated 10.10.2014. The contempt petition filed by the trustees against us was posted on 13.10.2014.

1. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice S. Bobde ought not to have entertained the contempt petition filed by the trustees since the Order dated 29.04.2014 directs vacating of “suit premises” in a case which contains no description of the alleged “suit premises”.
2. In spite of having office order dated 10.10.2014 placed before Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice S. Bobde, they refused to accept our plea of no means to appear, without even verifying from independent sources its truth.
3. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice S. Bobde issued bailable arrest warrant without going into the merits of the case and the executability of the Order dated 29.04.2014 passed in S.L.P. No.27620/2012.
4. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice S. Bobde have misused their powers of discretion and superintendence under Article 227 on an interim petition, while the suit is undergoing trial and directed arrest without going into the facts and ascertaining the truth.

Trustees Have a Bad Habit of Initiating False Contempt Proceedings

These are the contempt proceedings initiated by the trustees against the five sisters:

1. Contempt No.718/2002 filed in O.S. No.253/2001 September 2002. No contempt was recorded against my four elder sisters. (See posting dated 24.01.2003)
2. Contempt No.1483/2010 filed in M.P. No.2/2008 in C.R.P. No.3314/2007 dated 21.06.2010. No contempt was recorded. Justice Manikumar took exception to our use of word ‘illegal’ when mentioning about Justice Venkataraman’s order. Justice Manikumar said that how can an order passed by a court of law be illegal, knowing fully well that illegal was an appropriate description. We apologized unconditionally for our use of this word illegal vis-à-vis high court order. But no contempt was recorded against we five sisters. The trustees’ claim to the contrary can be clearly seen by a simply perusal of the order.
3. Contempt No.395/2014 filed in S.L.P. No.27620/2012 dated 29.04.2014. Arrest warrant has been wrongly ordered by Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya on 13.10.2014 since

• Order dated 29.04.2014 was passed by Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Ranjan Gogoi without following principles of natural justice and by misusing the discretionary powers under Article 227 of the Constitution in an interim petition, especially when trial had already began in the suit for the past 4 years.
• Order dated 29.04.2014 is non-executable. It directs the five sisters to vacate ‘suit premises’ in a case of sexual harassment where there is no description of ‘suit premises’.
• Office order dated 10.10.2014 states that we have received a letter from five sisters where the sisters have mentioned their inability to appear since they have no means. In spite of going through our letter and office order, Justice Mukhopadhaya has failed to take our plea into account.

We have to wait and watch whether this time round the trustees will manage to get us punished for an act of contempt we did not commit !!!

Justice - Blind or Blindfolded?

At last yesterday the Order passed by Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya has been put up on the Supreme Court website. The Order goes thus

“In spite of service of notice respondents have not filed affidavit nor appeared in the Court. In the circumstances, we issue bailable warrant against alleged contemnor…”

The beginning of the Order indicates

“(With office report)”

Now if you remember the Office Order mentioned that they have received our letter wherein we have expressed our inability to appear since we have no means and that our plight ought to be considered. (For details see posting of 14.10.2014)

Now isn’t it surprising that even when this letter has been put up before Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice S.A. Bobde (a fresh Judge), they fail to pay attention to it and mention that we have failed to appear and hence to issue bailable warrant. I can understand Justice Mukhopadhaya’s stance but what happened to Justice Bobde? Or is Justice Bobde too scared to stand up for the truth and correct the wrongdoing of his senior? 

I am speechlessly stupefied at the blatant injustice and miscarriage of justice happening at the Supreme Court. Has justice become blind or blindfolded to cater to selfish interests?

Also pertinent to point out is when we have no resources to pay for appearing before the Supreme Court, how are we supposed to pay for the bailable warrant? Can someone, any person in authority please tell me how we are supposed to achieve this feat? And what happens when we fail to pay the bail after we are arrested? Do we rot in jail or are we supposed to be die of hunger-strike which we shall take recourse to if we are detained?

It seems the arrest warrant has not yet reached the SP of Pondicherry. We have to take one step at a time and see what unfolds and how it unfolds. The Order directing for our arrest is produced below.