Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan

Trump has gone ballistic. His bellicose utterances are typically reflective of America First retinue. Would he stay the course? Or he has raised a feverish pitch, so that he can negotiate a sweet trade deal with China, just in time for Nov, 2020 elections.

While reluctantly acknowledging that the resort to Videoconferencing by Supreme Court and High Courts may be the need of the hour, at this moment of time, it ought not to stay beyond a minute of its need.

Just as the Covid-19 virus is not going anywhere until a Vaccine is discovered, this pendency Pandemic too is not going anywhere until a vaccine is found by superior Judiciary, to administer to itself, quite heavy doses of the same.

Instead of carping and complaining with the Centre and States for their ‘unplanned’ declaration of National Lockdowns, we would do well to explore solutions, to not repeat the same, if and when there is a second wave, as is threatened.

Justice Anand Venkatesh, who has by now put money worth Rs.10 crores and odd, in the hands of innocent accident victims, lending mite as more than a rescue and recovery package, they desperately needed.

No point or purpose will be served, in cacophonously clamouring that the rulers were doing this and that or not doing this and that, as neither they nor We The People know what needs to be done, until we have the VACCINE.

The times we live in are such that the right to privacy seems so esoteric though it may be too basic for a man in his ‘castle’, for the world and India are now in the midst of a war against a virus, to just live, in the first place.

It is true that our Art.19 fundamental right to freedom of speech is not on the same pedestal as First Amendment in the US. Our Constitution has carved out ‘reasonable restrictions’.

Judiciary may have done well for itself, to the eternal gratitude of the stakeholders and the litigant public, in particular, in the higher cause of justice.

The national or international briefing on 22nd April, 2020, of the Coronavirus White House Task Force with President Donald J Trump, in attendance, has reinforced the belief that Democracy is here to stay. It is not going anywhere. Covid-19 or not.