Justice Abhay Sreeniwas Oka Has A Record Of Enforcing State Accountability & Protecting Citizens’ Rights

By Mudit Mohan Sharma

Those frequenting the long-lasting Bombay high court building would definitely recall the commotion outside one specific room even before the clock affected 11 am, once court proceedings started. This comparatively massive courtroom would usually not have enough area to cater to the perpetual ingress of litigants and lawyers. One had to manoeuvre through the swelling crowds or plenty of papers to settle in.

The Division Bench gracing the room was then headed by Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, this magistrate of the province state supreme court who has currently been suggested for elevation to the Supreme Court. During 2013-16, once the author coated the Bombay state supreme court, cases listed in Justice Oka’s court-involved many problems as well as public interest, setting, administration and preservation of the city’s infrastructure. Justice Oka’s room continually featured high on the priority list from a legal reporter’s perspective for having outstanding news prices.

He prodded the state to require a policy call on paying compensation of Rs 5 lakh to families of farmers who committed suicide unable to pay debts obtained from personal cash lenders. Till then, the govt was paying compensation only just in case of loans obtained from banks. He additionally took up the matter of interim compensation to victims of the Chamarajanagar oxygen tragedy. This apart, his 1 major judgments embrace manual scavenging, protection of kid rights, one per cent reservation for transgenders in government jobs.

Many judgments authored by Justice Oka were instrumental in transferral regarding social change and protective administrative accountability. Seldom did the bench not assemble on the dot while sitting on the far side of the court’s usual operating hours to listen to and adjudicate cases. The morning crowds spread by evening, however, the nuanced, meticulous approach with that every case was always continually remained. Notable verdicts and observations from Justice Oka’s Court Maharashtra Beef Ban, 2016 The verdict within the Maharashtra beef ban case remain one in every of the landmark judgments from the Bombay high court in recent times.

whereas upholding the validity of the meat ban law handling transport, export, sale and get and also the penalty for violation of those provisions, Justice Oka’s bench affected down the supply prohibiting possession of beef from an animal slaughtered outside Maharashtra. The Victorias Ban, 2015 The issue of plying of the long-lasting horse-pulled “Victorias” on Mumbai streets came before Justice’s Oka bench in 2015.

The decision within the case underscored that such carriages weren’t being employed for the needs of plying for rent for the conveyance of persons and product and, therefore, did not be the definition of “public conveyance” at intervals the that means of provisions of the Bombay Public Conveyance Act, 1920. so as to rehabilitate those affected by the ban on Victorias, the government was directed to come back up with such measures in six months. The State was additionally directed to additionally formulate a theme for rehabilitation of the horses used for plying Victorias in Mumbai.

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