P Sathasivam, the chief justice of the Supreme Court will retire on April 26, after only nine months in the position. His tenure might seem short, but he has overseen several significant judgments and administrative decisions in this period.
Even before he assumed the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court in July, Sathasivam was known for his judgments: in 2010, he sent a notice to Delhi University over its controversial decision to withdraw AK Ramanujan’s essay 300 Ramayanas from its BA syllabus. In 2013, he was on a panel that upheld the conviction of four accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, noting that a case registered late was not rendered invalid.
With only two weeks left in office, here are four reasons people might remember him as chief justice.
1. He made the death penalty more humane
In January, Sathasivam headed the bench that commuted the death sentences of 11 convicts on the ground that delaying the review of their mercy petition for so many years after they had been sentenced amounted to torture. In February, the bench overturned the death penalty for Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins, citing his previous judgment and noting once again the inordinate delay in deciding the mercy petition. At the end of March, this bench again confirmed its initial ruling by commuting the death penalty of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar to life. Bhullar, a Khalistan Liberation Force member, was convicted for his role in a 1993 bomb blast in Delhi in 2001.
While these judgments only establish that delaying a decision on a mercy petition gives sufficient grounds for the penalty to be commuted, it is a significant step in a country hesitant to consider a moratorium on capital punishment.
2. He's influenced election reforms
Sathasivam is the reason Narendra Modi was forced to acknowledge a few days ago that he was indeed married. In response to a petition filed by a non-governmental organisation Resurgent India, the chief justice said that returning officers could reject nomination forms that were incomplete, as voters had a natural right to know everything relevant about candidates.
Answering concerns by the Bhartiya Janata Party’s Subramanian Swamy about possible tampering with electronic voting machines, Sathasivam in October asked the election commission to generate printed receipts to display to voters so that they would be able to confirm their vote. The roll of paper will be shown only for eight seconds and voters will not be able to take it away from them. Sathasivam noted that a paper trail in tandem with an electronic one would ensure the freedom of EVMs.
Among the most significant of the Supreme Court’s election reforms was its order to include an option for “None of the Above” in EVMs. The panel headed by Sathasivam pointed out that neutral voting was possible with paper ballots where an individual could place a blank ballot in the box. Overriding an argument that a negative vote was not a right, he said, “If introducing a NOTA button can increase the participation of democracy then, in our cogent view, nothing should stop the same. The voters’ participation in the election is indeed the participation in the democracy itself.”
However, he clarified a month later that an overwhelming number of NOTA votes would not result in a fresh election.
3. He's increased judicial efficiency
Sathasivam entered office with a declared agenda of clearing pending cases and streamlining the judicial system. In August, he set up a special bench to clear cases related to constitutional queries, and another for women and children. The phenomenal number of mercy petitions cleared in January was the result of a bench instituted in October.
In November, courts across the country created a record of sorts as they together cleared over 35 lakh pending cases in a single day. The National Lok Adalat was an idea of the National Legal Services Authority and was supported by Sathasivam. The Supreme Court settled 51 of the 107 cases it undertook to hear that day.
4. He's battled caste atrocities
Manual scavengers bear the brunt of what is among the most repressive caste practices in India. Considered untouchable even by other so-called untouchables, scavengers regularly clean human excreta from dry toilets. They are also the only caste to venture into sewage pipes without any protective gear. On March 28, Sathasivam headed a three-panel bench that granted Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the families of everyone who had died in sewers since 1993.
Before he became CJI, Sathasivam pointed out the need for basic reservations in the judiciary. While he did not say these reservations should be institutionalised, he said that the collegium ought to take these factors into account – something that a Tamil Nadu high court judge, CS Karnan, also said vehemently this January.
Even before he assumed the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court in July, Sathasivam was known for his judgments: in 2010, he sent a notice to Delhi University over its controversial decision to withdraw AK Ramanujan’s essay 300 Ramayanas from its BA syllabus. In 2013, he was on a panel that upheld the conviction of four accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, noting that a case registered late was not rendered invalid.
With only two weeks left in office, here are four reasons people might remember him as chief justice.
1. He made the death penalty more humane
In January, Sathasivam headed the bench that commuted the death sentences of 11 convicts on the ground that delaying the review of their mercy petition for so many years after they had been sentenced amounted to torture. In February, the bench overturned the death penalty for Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins, citing his previous judgment and noting once again the inordinate delay in deciding the mercy petition. At the end of March, this bench again confirmed its initial ruling by commuting the death penalty of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar to life. Bhullar, a Khalistan Liberation Force member, was convicted for his role in a 1993 bomb blast in Delhi in 2001.
While these judgments only establish that delaying a decision on a mercy petition gives sufficient grounds for the penalty to be commuted, it is a significant step in a country hesitant to consider a moratorium on capital punishment.
2. He's influenced election reforms
Sathasivam is the reason Narendra Modi was forced to acknowledge a few days ago that he was indeed married. In response to a petition filed by a non-governmental organisation Resurgent India, the chief justice said that returning officers could reject nomination forms that were incomplete, as voters had a natural right to know everything relevant about candidates.
Answering concerns by the Bhartiya Janata Party’s Subramanian Swamy about possible tampering with electronic voting machines, Sathasivam in October asked the election commission to generate printed receipts to display to voters so that they would be able to confirm their vote. The roll of paper will be shown only for eight seconds and voters will not be able to take it away from them. Sathasivam noted that a paper trail in tandem with an electronic one would ensure the freedom of EVMs.
Among the most significant of the Supreme Court’s election reforms was its order to include an option for “None of the Above” in EVMs. The panel headed by Sathasivam pointed out that neutral voting was possible with paper ballots where an individual could place a blank ballot in the box. Overriding an argument that a negative vote was not a right, he said, “If introducing a NOTA button can increase the participation of democracy then, in our cogent view, nothing should stop the same. The voters’ participation in the election is indeed the participation in the democracy itself.”
However, he clarified a month later that an overwhelming number of NOTA votes would not result in a fresh election.
3. He's increased judicial efficiency
Sathasivam entered office with a declared agenda of clearing pending cases and streamlining the judicial system. In August, he set up a special bench to clear cases related to constitutional queries, and another for women and children. The phenomenal number of mercy petitions cleared in January was the result of a bench instituted in October.
In November, courts across the country created a record of sorts as they together cleared over 35 lakh pending cases in a single day. The National Lok Adalat was an idea of the National Legal Services Authority and was supported by Sathasivam. The Supreme Court settled 51 of the 107 cases it undertook to hear that day.
4. He's battled caste atrocities
Manual scavengers bear the brunt of what is among the most repressive caste practices in India. Considered untouchable even by other so-called untouchables, scavengers regularly clean human excreta from dry toilets. They are also the only caste to venture into sewage pipes without any protective gear. On March 28, Sathasivam headed a three-panel bench that granted Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the families of everyone who had died in sewers since 1993.
Before he became CJI, Sathasivam pointed out the need for basic reservations in the judiciary. While he did not say these reservations should be institutionalised, he said that the collegium ought to take these factors into account – something that a Tamil Nadu high court judge, CS Karnan, also said vehemently this January.
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