 "Coalgate: Courts need to act faster, says Mohandas Pai")
Indian law and investigative agencies take their own sweet time when it comes to investigations and that in turn will harm investment in India because it creates uncertainty, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, Mohandas Pai, said during a debate on CNN-IBN.
His remarks comes in the backdrop of an FIR in the coalgate scam that has been filed against Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of India’s largest corporate conglomerates.
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“There is no doubt corporate India has misbehaved. But the problem is that there is no rule of law in the country. Courts take too long, investigative agencies take their own sweet time. Suddenly if there is some fast action against someone it is going to affect business and will affect investor confidence,” Pai said during the debate.
His comments came in retort to lawyer Prashant Bhushan who said that the government was being run by corporate houses.
“Radia tapes give you stark picture of how the ruling establishment of the county is being dictated by the big businesses in the country. They even dictated what the parliament discussions should be. Both the BJP and Congress have become puppets,” Bhushan said.
He questioned India Inc’s unhappiness over the FIR against Birla saying, “Everything has been looted and plundered in the country. Those involved in the loot did not say anything before, now they are crying hoarse about someone being held accountable.”
Senior Supreme Court lawyer CA Sundaram too went against Bhushan’s argument, saying one can’t be held guilty until it is proven. “Until a conviction comes up Birla is not guilty. The way it is tom-tommed is not right. Bhushan is trying to say every one of the businessmen are black, they are guilty… lets throw the law to the world. If filing of an FIR get such severe repercussions then we should be careful. It is very easy to be trigger happy,” Sundaram said.
BJP’s Subramanian Swamy and Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala got into the usual blame game. While Surjewala argued that it was one of those rare occasions when the Prime Minister has spoken out on a matter that is sub-judice, Swamy said, “Bland statements of the Congress that state of law should prevail should be told to their ministers. Time has come to realise investment to a clean political environment.”
Retorting to Swamy, Bhushan Surjewala said, “It is classical BJP double speak just to vilify someone. What Bhushan said is the problem of the country. They paint every one with the same brush, demolish the edifice of the institution and make people lose faith.”
“In this country there is a systematic atmosphere being built to muddy the political landscape,” Surjewala argued.
Meanwhile, Pai concluded the discussion saying things were hopeless in India when it came to the rule of law. “The cases will take forever. Nothing will happen. There is no certainty in this country. This is the history. I am not hopeful.”