Letters before us: Most DEsirable, DEsirable and Least DEsirable by Puneet Rajhans

Letters before us: Most DEsirable, DEsirable and Least DEsirable



Last week a newspaper had this report on a letter received by judges hearing the 2G case. The letter stating that judges hearing the sensitive now and sensitive then 2G case have been managed leaves much to be desired. Apart from not putting his name and the place from where he has posted the letter, the letter-writing exercise doesn't come up to expected standards. In the elaborate days we live in, the elaborate sleep and meals we have, this piece of document dismissed as anonymous effort is not elaborate by any standards. It just states that A Raja has put in all efforts to put his case before the relations of judges hearing the 2G case. The letter tries to imply that speedy justice is the need of the hour and any contact whatsoever with the relatives who are in touch with A Raja would be detrimental.
How to deal with the antics of an unnamed player who has repeatedly refused to reform himself/herself to secure sound mental health need not be debated here. What essentially comes out is his view of seeking speedy justice is in fact a direct attempt to derail justice.

The options before judiciary in dealing with such matters are not much. Bunch of letters come to judges each day. They could begin by classifying letters in three categories: Most Desirable, Desirable and Least Desirable. Some are requests/applications from their juniors and peers that they need to put in a word for them as far as moving up the professional ladder is concerned. Some may be from old acquaintances and friends on the need to catch up. And some suggesting clear cut instructions to be followed as far as hearing of cases were concerned. The third lot being the least desirable,they would be in the best frame of mind if they skip them and take comfort in letters that seek association with old pals.

This habit of letter writing to judges has its roots from the letters written to editors and publishers since ages. These letters which never find mention in the letters to editors column try to enlighten the editors/publishers on their continuous nature of employees working in their offices to come home late at night and create ruckus when the Big Colony Gates have been closed. Or take a walk in the park beyond permissible limit and permissible hours with a dog over which no force on earth has control.
The letters are essentially requests to editors and employers to give such employees a break with pay so that they could disappear to far off places providing the much-needed reprieve to compatriots at work and neighbours at place of residence. To clear the air that could creep in from such form of suggestions, the letter sender would even suggest to work for that extra hours when the employee was given a break and if this isn't acceptable the colony residents would put their heart and soul in the NGOs supported by the company. This would be a durable arrangement with long-lasting desirable consequences.
Given the snooping times we live in and the phone conversations open to all forms of intrusion and debates again open to threats and destruction, the letter writing is the best way to pen your thoughts on who all you adore and abhor and even going as far as suggesting the way to break the impasse in Parliament and Parking lots. Both places seem to suggest a similarity in pattern with the same network of people creating mayhem with one seeking ticket for entry and exit and one ensuring the never ending run of ticker on the collaboration and coexistence the members seek by disrupting House. When Mulayam Singh staged a protest outside the House and in the Parliament building demanding JPC or a large opposition workforce walked to Rashtrapati Bhawan to talk to President, the parking lots in the vicinity were in the clear and present danger of being overtaken by these very forces. Probably a sit-in at a big unoccupied parking lot would be the next thing on their agenda to get the desirable eyeballs. And to save the parking lots from their intrusion and to save Parliament from undesired disruption, a spate of letters from aam janata would be handy. Neither intimidating nor invasion into someone's privacy this letter-writing exercise would clear the cobwebs that no debates and no phone conversations can break.