Bridge the gap

Sir — The Chief Justice of India has admonished a litigant for saying, “Ya, ya”, adding that such expressions cannot be used in court. While this casual approach to language may seem out of place in court, is it not equally true that the language used by the judiciary is full of jargon and incomprehensible to most of the populace? In fact, researchers recently found that sections of the judiciary intentionally use jargon-heavy language to appear authoritative. The judiciary’s reluctance to speak in common parlance and the common man’s inability to understand legalese end up making justice seem more elusive than it is. Judges in Zimbabwe appear to be aware of this chasm for they have instructed court interpreters to learn street lingo and Gen Z slang to better communicate with litigants.

Asmita Sanyal, Calcutta

Polls for peace

Sir — It is encouraging to see the people of Jammu and Kashmir line up to vote in their first assembly election in a decade. This reflects the people’s resolve to take part in the democratic process (“Diplomatic election brigade nettles Valley”, Sept 26). The election results will reveal their response to the Narendra Modi government’s unilateral decision to scrap Article 370 and strip the region of its special semi-autonomous status. The people’s will must be respected by the Modi government. The Centre should let the state government run its full term.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — Amidst the ongoing assembly polls in J&K, its former chief minister, Omar Abdullah, has said that inviting foreign dignitaries to observe the elections is a part of the Narendra Modi government’s effort to convince the international community that all is well in Kashmir (“Poll ‘tourism’ from abroad nettles Kashmir”, Sept 26). But the relatively peaceful elections with good voter turnouts indicate that peace has returned to Kashmir. What is the problem if foreign dignitaries observe what is clearly true?

Mihir Kanungo, Calcutta

Duly dismissed

Sir — In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by the Gujarat government seeking a review of the court’s earlier verdict quashing the remission granted to the 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots (“SC snubs Gujarat on Bilkis convicts”, Sept 27). The review petition by the state government sought the expunction of certain scathing observations in the January 8 judgment about its conduct in remitting the sentences and releasing the convicts. This is heartening.

C.K. Subramani, Kozhikode

Sir — The Gujarat government, which is often upheld for its model governance, allowed the sentences of 11 men convicted of rape and murder to be remitted. This is shameful. The Supreme Court had not only reversed this decision but also made strong comments against the Gujarat government that the latter sought to get reviewed. It is good that the apex court has thrown out this petition. Ironically, the same Bharatiya Janata Party which rules Gujarat went on a dharna to demand justice for the rape and murder victim in Calcutta.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Muddied waters

Sir — It is shocking that the Karnataka government has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate cases in the state amidst the ongoing probe into the Mysore Urban Development Authority land allotment row (“Karnataka CBI bar”, Sept 27). The government’s decision is based on the allegation that the CBI is biased. It is true that Central investigative agencies like the CBI are used by the ruling party to attack the Opposition. But since the agencies usually cannot prove these charges and eventually close the cases, it is unclear why the Karnataka government is hesitant to allow the CBI free rein in the state.

N. Mahadevan, Chennai

Sir — Retaliating against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s demand for his resignation in relation to the MUDA scam, the chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, has questioned the propriety of the Union minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, holding office while being out on bail. A seasoned politician like Siddaramaiah is expected to feel the pulse of public opinion and step down. Since the investigation is being conducted by the Lokayukta Police drawn from the state police force, which is under his command, his continuance as chief minister is untenable. Further, the state has ill-advisedly announced an immediate withdrawal of the general permission to the CBI to investigate cases in Karnataka. This is bound to give the impression that the chief minister wants to avoid being probed by the Central agency.

S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru

Sir — The right to information activist, Snehamayi Krishna, deserves accolades for exposing Siddaramaiah in the MUDA land scam. This has given the BJP an opportunity to point fingers at the Congress. Siddaramaiah must prove his innocence. Simply blaming the Opposition for engaging in petty politics will not help.

Janga Bahadur Sunuwar, Jalpaiguri

Right stance

Sir — The Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jhumpa Lahiri, should be applauded for declining a prestigious award from the Noguchi Museum in protest against its ban on the keffiyeh after three of its employees sported it to show solidarity with Palestinians (“Jhumpa declines award over kaffiyeh ban”, Sept 27). A person’s democratic right to choose his or her own attire cannot be infringed on. Through her refusal, Lahiri has asserted that while all things can be sacrificed for the sake of humanity, humanity cannot be sacrificed for the sake of anything.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta