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The decision of the special bench of the Karnataka High Court to quash a trial court order convicting AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and three others in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case is nothing short of dramatic. The court’s assumption that having 10 per cent disproportionate assets is not corruption will certainly be taken with a pinch of salt. The googly bowled by the special bench has stumped many and the varied pronouncements given by different courts have only put the judiciary under a cloud. However, the acquittal should come as a shot in the arm for the AIADMK chief. The acquittal will also mean that the fractured opposition in Tamil Nadu will have their task cut out in challenging the AIADMK in the Assembly elections which are likely to be called soon.
NJ Ravi Chander
Bengaluru
The alacrity shown by superior courts in giving stay or suspension or bail orders to the rich and resourceful is baffling and may be unique to our judicial system. Don’t they undermine and demoralise subordinate court judges? And when the same judges get elevated to higher courts, are they considered to have acquired superior judicial knowledge, especially when judges do not seem to undergo any refresher course?
SG Prasad
Hyderabad
Take a tough line
This refers to your edit, ‘In the wrong spirit’. What’s going on in United Spirits is a case in point to bring in tough corporate governance laws in this country. That the majority shareholder has a pact with the chairman does not in any way give immunity to the findings of the forensic audit done by the new promoter. The stock exchanges should go ahead and delist the shares as the findings of the forensic audit for three financial years are not made public by the new promoters of United Spirits. SEBI should take action against the auditors after an investigation.
Institutional investors should oust Vijay Mallya from the board by following the due process. They are the ones who should take the lead in this issue. Shareholders’ money has been swindled and yet they have no right to know what’s in the forensic audit report. Diageo cannot act in this manner either in Europe or the US because they all have very tough laws on corporate governance, and we don’t. Enough is enough.
CR Arun
It is high time the registrar of companies initiated an inspection and inquiry into the affairs of the company under Section 207 of the Companies Act. The Centre can also initiate an investigation under Section 210 in the public interest. As there are huge dues to the public sector banks from Kingfisher Airlines, a complete investigation is required into all the connected parties.
S Kalyanasundaram
Not fragile
This is with reference to ‘The rupee remains fragile’ by CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh (May 12). The narrow trade deficit may be because even though imports are reducing, exports are not increasing due to the rupee retaining its tough posture. As more and more countries go through QE, major currencies are depreciating; even China has cut down interest rates to devalue the yuan.
The RBI is not willing to lower interest rates to make equities attractive. At this juncture the RBI is holding up interest rates to absorb debt foreign exchange. As foreign investors have waited for long and not seen any morale booster from India, (no change in the debt market, and a status quo on equities purchase), there is no point holding dead assets whose return is uncertain.
Foreign investors are watching to see if there will be a sudden shift in the financial landscape and are indicating that once the US and China pull back their economies, more assets like oil and commodities can be added in their portfolio. It is better to let exports be pushed with a further slide in the rupee; there is no panic in the purchase of gold which is threatening a drain on foreign exchange, because gold and the dollar are inversely related. Therefore, the rupee in the given environment may not be treated as fragile.
RK Arya
Faridabad, Haryana
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