Thread by @barandbench

Vidhi Maharashtra’s Book Launch and Panel Discussion on Legal Reforms for Modern Maharashtra to begin shortly.

@Vidhi_India

Former Finance Secretary and Chairman, Thirteenth Finance Commission, Dr. Vijay Kelkar will launch the Briefing Book.

#VidhiMaharashtra

The panel discussion will be graced by Justice GS Patel, Judge, Bombay High Court;
Ajoy Mehta, Former Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra;
Dr. Anand Bang, Joint Director, SEARCH, Gadchiroli and
Dr. Rahela Khorakiwala, Lead, Vidhi Maharashtra.

@rkhorakiwala

The discussion will be moderated by TV Anchor and Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.

@sardesairajdeep

Session begins.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Dr Vijay Kelkar begins his keynote address.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Kelkar: I used to tell my grandchildren that if you want to see how to write, then read the economist. But now I will tell them to read this briefing book by @Vidhi_India
It is an elegantly written delightful book.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Kelkar: The third general reforms now have to be pertaining to the institutional reforms - legislature, judiciary and executive.
This now seems to be the consistent view.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Kelkar: The three or four areas I want to invite attention to is:
1. Litigation policy at central and state due to piling of cases.
Almost 50% cases the state is a litigant - either one side or both sides.
There has to be a policy on this.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Kelkar: 2. Every new law will have to work out the benefits costs analyses of the laws.
3. Build a sunset clause in our economic laws.

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Kelkar: Acts which were revolutionary at one point have become a constraint. So there has to be periodical reviews.
For instance rent laws.

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Kelkar: When President Cinton became president - he set up committee under the VP for removal of the obsolete laws.
This was Centre and the State level.
The number of laws which were removed was astounding.

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Dr Kelkar concludes his address.

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The Briefing book is launched.

#VidhiMaharashtra

@Vidhi_India

The panel discussion begins.

Rajdeep Sardesai gives his opening remarks on the Briefing Book.

@sardesairajdeep

Sardesai: there is a mother of a friend 85 yr old, she is immobile. I called #BMC for vaccinating her.
I was told there is no policy as of now for #doortodoor vaccination.

#VidhiMaharashtra

@mybmc

Sardesai: There is a PIL in the high court and I am told it will be held tomorrow.
But this shows there are lapses in the policy.

#VidhiMaharashtra

Sardesai: What you believe needs to be done for public health law in times of health emergency and what are the gaps that need to be addressed?

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Justice Gautam Patel responds: The door to door vaccination shouldn’t be in the court in the first place. It comes to court when the court asks #BMC why can it not be done.

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Justice Patel: There is nothing that stops them from having a #doortodoor vaccination. There is no need to wait for a court order.

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Justice Patel: BMC has been applauded for managing the public health crisis in a densely populated city like Mumbai.
It is possible because they pivoted the situation by innovating in a short time.

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Justice Patel: It is true that laws could have sunset clause. But what is important is for the administration to have room to innovate and maneuver in the the existing laws. Let us not over regulate.

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Sardesai: You are saying we need minimum regulation and more room to take decisions for execution.

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Justice Patel: The administration need to be unconstrained to take decisions without having to go to court to answer the Court’s question.

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Justice Patel: Who stopped the BMC from going door to door? What has stopped them? You have a target audience. You know whom you want to vaccinate. Come up with a policy.

@mybmc

Ajoy Mehta: Let me think of it this way - instead of saying why should this be taken to court, let me ask why does court have to intervene in this?
My submission is the solution to every problem is not in law.

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Mehta: We must ensure, see and realise that problems of larger public interest cannot be solved by filing affidavits.

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Mehta: Let us work towards reducing laws by saying this is best left to administration to deal with.

Sardesai: You are seeking autonomy, and courts are meddlesome.

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Mehta: I won’t say meddlesome. Each institution has an instrument and they have to do that job. It will be a sad day if the institutions start doing jobs of the other institution.

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Mehta: One are straight regulatory issues and then there are social issues.
Social issues will be best dealt with negotiations according to me.

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Justice Patel: I just want to say that if Mr Mehta wants to call judiciary meddlesome then my presence should not bother.
Judiciary needs to hear it sometimes. If that is the sentiment then that should come out.

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Mehta: I am not saying meddlesome. I am saying over a saw, I am choosing a hammer.

Justice Patel: The point of discord is failure to govern will bring in judiciary. But constantly seeking the executive to up its game is bring best against good.

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Mehta: We need to define what is failure?
In a hospital whose roof is leaking, is it failure? Yes it is. But that village has no water, isn’t that not failure? Yes it is. We have to choose which is the failure to respond to.

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Sardesai: At the grassroots do we need a legal framework?

Dr Anand Bang: It is also said sometimes that lawyers have done more medical reforms than the medical officers themselves.

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Dr Bang: I do not believe that if a law cannot be implemented then there need not be created. The rationale should be to follow the principles for laws.

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Dr Bang: There are 5 criteria for applying any law.

1. Whether science or law has a solution to something?
2. What is the burden of that problem?
3. What is severity of the problem?
4. Do people consider it a critical problem?
5. What is the cost effective solution?

#VIdhi

Sardesai: Are you calling for streamlining of laws? So that there is fewer laws and more ad hoc decisions?

Dr Rahela Khorakhiwala: Having more laws is not necessarily a good thing. What we are saying that come to the community levels. Especially for public health laws.

#VIdhi

Khorakhiwala: There has to be law, but there has to be freedom to the local authority to take a decision.

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Sardesai asks Justice Patel to share his thoughts on the digitisation of judiciary for quicker legal services.

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Justice Patel: For many of us who have to do this, it is frustrating that we cannot resume the normal functioning.
When you have courts have for whatever reason, sitting only for limited hours, for limited class, there is something tragic happening.

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Justice Patel: There is a requirement of justice in a testamentary cases.
We have to find a mechanism to work around it.
Are we going to get to zero cases anywhere?

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Justice Patel: How long do I keep saying that your matter is not important, so I will have to keep on hold.

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Dr Khorakiwala: It is a problem for over a year. There was a system required to be set up and it has been over a year and yet it is not set up.

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Dr Khorakiwala: Also this is a view of the high court, we still do not know what is happening at the district courts. There is issue of electrification, internet, etc.

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Justice Patel: No I am saying this is a problem which seeps to the lowest denominator courts.
There are serious infrastructure problems. And why should this be considered as two separate sides - executive and judiciary?

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Justice Patel: Both sides have to come together and find a solution.

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Mehta: Digitization is the answer no doubt. But that is the only solution.
Because it is not just doing something physically to convert into digital format.
Because there will be cloud space issues, people to feed in data, electricity, etc.
The entire system needs relook.

Dr Bang: What we are experiencing in Gadchiroli is vaccination hesitancy and diagnosis hesitancy.
There is a govt car which roams around looking for people to be tested and vaccinated.

#VIdhiMaharashtra

Dr Bang: There was an incident of Palghar which had caused deaths of some people. There had been three different figures of death.
What I am trying to say is if you are not on the radar, you can come and go, there will be no blip.

#VIdhiMaharashtra

There is some internet connectivity issue from Dr Bang’s end who is connected from Gadchiroli where there is internet connectivity issue.

Sardesai asks the panel to share their thoughts on Dr Bang’s submission on death audit.

#VIdhiMaharashtra

Justice Patel: There need not be a straight jacket formula of law.

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Justice Patel: The #SupremeCourt e-courts committee is looking at simplifying digital usage.
But as Mr Mehta said, if we do not discard the redundant details, it will not be effective.

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Justice Patel: But public health system is different. One, I believe we do not spend enough. Two, we do not pay attention.

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Justice Patel: What is the limited extent which requires attention and change? Public and Private are divided. One is considered like a dark side of the moon. Why? It is part of public health system.

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Justice Patel: And this also needs to consider the mental health law. The language that is used in some of the orders...
Calling it mental defect. It is a task and it needs to be looked at.

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Sardesai: So there is a need to have a simplified public health law?

Khorakiwala: Yes and it needs to be till the third tier of administration.

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Sardesai: I am going to take a question here for Justice Patel. Why does #BombayHighCourt not have audio video recording like the Supreme Court and other courts?

Justice Patel: Ok I think what he means is live streaming.

#VIdhiMaharashtra

Justice Patel: what cases need to be live streamed and what not is a different discussion.
But I am going to ask why do you want it? It is not evidence. It cannot be used anywhere. What can be used is the court orders and transcripts. So why increase the digital junk.

#VIdhi

Mehta adds that along with digitisation and laws, what is needed is sensitisation within the institutions.

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Sardesai: This was a very fruitful, interesting discussion possible because of Zoom. Over TV, of course most of the discussions become noise. I hope #Vidhi comes up with some media laws. (Laughs)

#VIdhiMaharashtra

Alok Prasanna Kumar gives the vote of thanks. He thanks the panelists. He also Retd Justice B N Srikrishna who also attended the event.

Kumar: I hope I could say please join us for dinner, but all I can say is hope you have a good evening.

#VIdhiMaharashtra

Event ends.

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Link to the briefing book by @Vidhi_India on fifteen suggested legal reforms for Maharashtra
vidhilegalpolicy.in/research/brief…