• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Jethmalani: `Court'ing controversies

Rasheeda Bhagat

THE exit from the Union Cabinet of Mr. Ram Jethmalani should come as no surprise to his friends. That he lasted this long is itself surprising. According to them, he was too outspoken, and such people cannot become successful in politics.

True, outspokenness is a virtue. But the ability to keep one's mouth shut when the occasion demands it, is perhaps a greater virtue, as Mr. Jethmalani must have learnt to his chagrin in the recent drama leading to his resignation.

Anyway, the courage to speak out one's mind is a quality one has to leave at one's doorstep while entering the world of politics. Mr. Jethmalani's views on politicians and their corrupt ways have been nothing short of scathing. He has gone on record to s ay that only discards and rejects from other professions turn to politics, and when they do manage to get in, it is often to make a quick buck.

He had also made it known that making money through politics was the last thing on his mind, as his career as an outstanding criminal lawyer had fetched him enough of that.

Taking into account all this, Mr. Jethmalani was as different from other politicians as cheese from chalk. But for all the virtues he claimed to possess, the last position he should have sought was that of a minister. Over the years, he has never made an y bones about his closeness to the BJP and the Shiv Sena, and was once upon a time a part of the erstwhile Jan Sangh. He has fought elections with support from the Shiv Sena and, naturally, owes allegiance to its chief, Mr. Bal Thackeray. He is also the Sena chief's legal counsel.

So, to that extent he could hardly be called an `Independent' MP in the Rajya Sabha, which is indeed what he is, officially. Though Mr. Thackeray might have been the reason for the jurist's presence in the Rajya Sabha and, thence, in the Union Council of Ministers, it certainly did not justify Mr. Jethmalani's public statements that legally the case against the Sena chief had lapsed as it was time-barred. A contrary view was expressed by leading advocates.

As though this was not bad enough -- the Law Minister openly saying that Mr. Thackeray should not be arrested when the Supreme Court was seized of the matter pertaining to the Sri Krishna Commission of inquiry -- Mr. Jethmalani put his foot into t he mouth by opining that the Centre could, indeed, intervene to stop the Sena chief's arrest. Of course, subsequent developments and the dismissal of the case against Mr. Thackeray by a lower court in Mumbai has proved that Mr. Jethmalani indeed kn ows his law.

But before that, his public utterances not only embarrassed the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but also gave affront to the Supreme Court. Perhaps taking a cue from his senior Cabinet colleague, another Union Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, too st arted saying that Mr. Thackeray's arrest would not be legal as the case had become time-barred.

The result was that the Supreme Court Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice A. S. Anand, rapped the Attorney-General, Mr. Soli Sorabjee, and asked him to explain what view the court should accept -- the Centre's submission that this was indeed a State subject or the various Ministers' public utterances. After all, there was something called collective responsibility.

Then came the messy part of the Jethmalani saga. In a characteristic diatribe against the Supreme Court, and worse still, the Chief Justice, Mr. Jethmalani issued a homily on how he knows his law, as well, if not better, than the best of the legal brains in the country. And, if the Supreme Court was in doubt, it should have summoned him, as the best of judicial brains can benefit by illumination.

The inference, of course, was that he knew his law much better than the Chief Justice of India who, the statement suggested, could have brushed up his knowledge of the law by summoning the great criminal lawyer!

Before the slanging match could turn into a brawl, the Prime Minister moved in and through the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, sought Mr. Jethmalani's resignation.

While taking on Mr. Justice Anand, Mr. Jethmalani used the opportunity to take on Mr. Sorabjee, with whom he had differences vis-a-vis issues as prickly as his decision in the M. S. Shoes case, dating back to his stint in the previous Vajpayee Ministry a s the Minister for Urban Development.

Mr. Jethmalani had in those days got into a battle with senior bureaucrats of his Ministry over giving the company more time to pay up a Hudco loan instalment. With a public interest litigation filed on this case, the Prime Minister had recently sought t he Attorney-General's view; Mr. Sorabjee is supposed to have said that Mr. Jethmalani's conduct was not above board.

For Mr. Jethmalani, the present imbroglio in the Supreme Court came in handy to attack Mr. Sorabjee for what he called his failure to ``adequately defend'' the Law Minister in the Supreme Court. But, obviously, the real reason for the acrimony lies elsew here. Mr. Jethmalani ended up accusing Mr. Sorabjee of ``betraying my friendship by plotting my ouster from the Cabinet''.

Mr. Jethmalani may be a brilliant lawyer and his style of questioning his witnesses might have paid him rich dividends in the past. But it is time he mellowed down into a mature politician, if indeed he wants to stay on in politics. If he wants to call it a day and go back to what he does best -- thundering in the courts and making the witnesses cower -- the prerogative is his.

But, on the other hand, if he chooses to remain in public life, there are indeed many significant uses to which a man of his versatility and talent can be put to, as has been pointed out by his successor in the Law Ministry, Mr. Arun Jaitley. As Mr. Vajp ayee's style of functioning is more conciliatory than confrontationary, he can be expected to mend his fences with the former Law Minister.

Also, now that the drama on Mr. Thackeray's arrest and prosecution is over and the Sena chief is off the hook for now, he is certainly not going to take lightly the sacking of the man who had publicly defended him and predicted the outcome of the case. T he Prime Minister, whose NDA enjoys the support of the Sena MPs -- the Sena Ministers have now decided to withdraw their resignation from the Union Cabinet -- has certainly not heard the last from the Sena chief on this issue.

It remains to be seen what new role Mr. Jethmalani might be given. At the moment, it is his turn to roar like a wounded tiger. But if his brashness and quick temper can get the better of his competence and brilliance, a compromise can yet be worked out.

If Mr. Jethmalani really does not want to add another thorn to the crown which, he said, the Prime Minister is already wearing, he should meet Mr. Vajpayee at least half way in any rapproachment that is bound to be attempted.

Meanwhile, it does not suit a man of Mr. Jethmalani's calibre to stand up for the likes of Mr. Thackeray. If from a post-Partition refugee, Mr. Jethmalani became one of the best-known and successful lawyers, it was by the dint of his own hard work and br illiance rather than due to patronage from the likes of Mr. Thackeray. So, he would do well to match his behaviour to the status and admiration he enjoys in the legal community, and more among his students.

He would do well to remember that the truly learned and the great are also humble.

(Feedback may be sent to the author at rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)