Coomi Kapoor: Everyone who succumbs to authority is no less guilty
Most commemorate the
Emergency on June 26 as a reminder of the bleak 21 months when democracy was
derailed. Actually, the Emergency came into effect on June 25 at 11.45 pm when
then President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, signed the proclamation, even though he
was alerted by his secretary that it would be constitutionally untenable. The
president is expected to act only on the advice of the council of
ministers. Indira
Gandhi’s cabinet met the next day at 6 am as a formality.
President Ahmed was
the first in a chain of constitutional authorities and autonomous institutions
in our democracy that caved in, betraying their oath of office and abandoning
professional integrity. While holding Mrs Gandhi, Sanjay and his henchmen
guilty for the Emergency, we generally forget to apportion blame to the others
who succumbed when push came to shove. Mrs Gandhi’s cabinet fell in line
without a murmur. In Parliament, the entire Congress party, barring two
expelled dissidents, meekly raised hands to approve, not just the Emergency
proclamation, but several illegal laws. Mrs Gandhi demonstrated her contempt
for Parliament by doing away with Question Hour and Calling Attention Motions,
declaring that henceforth only important government business would be
transacted.
The record of the
courts, a major pillar of any democracy, was not quite as dismal. Nine high
courts had the courage to strike down the draconian Maintenance of Internal
Security Act (MISA), as being ultra vires the Constitution. (Thousands were
detained under MISA during the Emergency). Most of these brave judges were
later penalised. But when the habeas corpus writ came in appeal to the Supreme
Court (ADM Jabalpur vs S Shukla) the senior-most judges of the land let down
the country. Of the five-judge bench, four upheld the Attorney General’s
argument that a person has no legal rights, not even to be produced before the
court or be informed of the reasons for his detention, as long as an Emergency
is in force. The blemished four included two who projected themselves as
champions of human rights and civil liberties. The sole dissenter, Justice H R
Khanna, threw away his chance to be the next chief justice… read more:
