For shooting his mouth off, Jethmalani loses his job

For shooting his mouth off, Jethmalani loses his job
PRAFULLA MARPAKWAR and SANJIV SINHA

MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, JULY 22: Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, who thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court yesterday, has resigned. Sources said that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, upset at his remarks against the Chief Justice and his differences with Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, asked him to put in his papers today.

Jethmalani complied, faxing his resignation to the Prime Minister's Office this evening. The Minister, who went to Pune from Mumbai, was unavailable for comment but when The Indian Express contacted his office in New Delhi, a spokesman confirmed the resignation.

Jethmalani, a Rajya Sabha MP elected as an Independent backed by the BJP-Shiv Sena, has been claiming -- echoing his party's stand -- that the Centre can intervene and prevent Bal Thackeray's arrest.

This provoked the Supreme Court yesterday to severely pull up the Government saying that the Vajpayee Cabinet had abandoned the principle of collective responsibility. In oral observations, the court said that while the Government had stated in an affidavit that it had no role to play in the implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report, its Ministers had been making contradictory statements. This was clearly a reference to Jethmalani.

Instead of being restrained, Jethmalani hit back issuing a statement that ``the learned Chief Justice should at least have realised that he was making comments about a Minister who knows his law as well as anyone else.''

Incidentally, Sorabjee had also said last evening that Ministers, when they are speaking for the Government, should speak in one voice.

But the resignation happened rather suddenly. For most part of today, Jethmalani was with Thackeray and top Sena and BJP leaders in Mumbai to work a way out of the latter's impending arrest. Along with another expert of constitutional law, V R Manohar, Jethmalani came up with a new suggestion for Central intervention under Article 256 and had told the meeting that he would take up the issue with the Prime Minister.

The meeting broke up at around 6.30 pm and Jethmalani's resignation was with the Prime Minister minutes after that. Vajpayee forwarded the same to the President to be accepted. Jethmalani then drove to Pune and went in communicado.

It is also learnt that the Prime Minister has turned down the Sena plan for a Thackeray bail-out arrived after hours of legal brainstorming at Matoshree spread over Friday and Saturday.

While one formula worked out involves the Centre using its influence with the State, another involves the Centre invoking its powers to restrain the latter.

As part of the first formula, the Sena is telling the Centre to convince the State to apply the Ayodhya case parallel. Following the Babri masjid demolition, charge-sheets were filed against 42 top political leaders including L K Advani and Thackeray. The Sena claims that although the charge-sheets were filed well within the legal deadline -- unlike in the present case involving Thackeray -- nobody was arrested. In this case, too, the Sena thinks there is no need for an arrest. The State could file charges in the court and let the Sena leader defend himself. Not arresting Thackeray takes nothing away from the case. This, of course, depends on whether the State is willing to buy the argument.

If the State does not agree, then, the Sena feels the Centre can use its powers -- not under Article 356 to dismiss as earlier demanded -- but under Article 256 which empowers the Centre to ensure States comply with laws made by Parliament or Central laws.

Says Article 256: The executive power of any state shall be so exercised as to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and any existing laws which apply in that state. Executive power of the Union shall extend to giving of such directions to a State as may appear to Government of India to be necessary for the purpose.''

The argument here is that the though the case has been barred by limitation under the Section 468 of CrPC, a central law, it was being reopened to settle personal political battles at a grave risk to public good.

Under the circumstances, the Sena feels, the Centre can make a case of misuse of the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code and send directions to the State under Article 256.