• Consensus on the part of the Supreme Court judiciary about the declaration of their assets is welcome. Of course, high court judges will follow the Supreme Court’s lead in this matter. It is just as well, because the controversy about judges’ assets was becoming unmanageable and tainting the image of the judiciary. While the absence of a law yet in this regard may seem to undermine Indian democracy, the fact that the judiciary has decided to voluntarily declare its assets shows just how vibrant and robust our democratic ethos is.

— Syed Khaja

New Delhi

Observe & learn

• Javed Anand deserves praise for exposing the doublespeak of the Law Commission. He has rightly pointed out that the commission’s observation that the “traditional understanding of Muslim Law on bigamy is faulty and is in conflict with true Islamic Law” is a step in the right direction. But instead of recommending changes in Muslim Personal Law to abolish bigamy, the commission proposes a new clause in the Hindu family law “to abort sham conversions purely for bigamy’s sake”. The fact that many Muslim nations have widely reformed their law with regard to marriages and women’s rights should be an eye-opener for India.

— V.V.S. Mani

Bangalore

Uneven action

• This refers to the news of the seizure of Rs 10 crore from a VHP leader in Jaipur and the PM’s address to CBI officers, asking them to not allow the “big fish” to escape punishment. What’s heartening is that we still have the police seeking out black money. However, what’s disconcerting is that most such cases don’t reach their investigative conclusion. That’s why crooks don’t disappear and the system doesn’t change.

... contd.