The Nanda Storm

It turns out to be pretty amusing when one notices the lackadaisical attitude that the judiciary is taking towards the Sunil Nanda case. For those who are not aware, the accused Sunil Nanda (happens to be the son of Admiral BL Nanda) is charged with rash driving leading to the death of 4 people in 1999. In a new twist in the case, one of the witnesses, Sunil Kulkarni was involved in a sting operation the tapes of which showed the lawyers for both sides bribing the witness to change his testimony. RK Anand is the counsel for the accused who’s now in the limelight with this incident.

Most of the people I know who have worked with RK Anand are convinced that he would easily get away with the act. If this were to be believed then it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has allowed him to practice in the Supreme Court. The same however is not in the Delhi High Court. He is temporarily barred from practicing and the case is proceeding before the vacation bench by Justice Muralidhar. But then, what can the Court do? Can it withdraw his license to practice? I don’t think the Court can or will do that. So ultimately a lawyer would get away with a heinous act for the very fact that he is a big guy and has is contacts to get him off the hook.

How then can one ensure that the judicial process in this country comes clean in delivering justice? Lawyers and judges don’t need some sort of protection but must be made accountable for their actions that violate due process. In fact I read the other day that some lawyers feel this would become a very strong case for the admissibility of illegal evidence in Court. The present position on the law is that such evidence is admissible where as after the Katz case it is inadmissible in the USA. You never know, sometimes to hide an illegality people fight to amend a law to their advantage.

While the case is still in progress, I just hope the Court considers justice and due process in giving its decision. The lawyers may go free today, but the verdict sure would give a free hand for the ambitious to practice such acts tomorrow.