Mumbai: Bandra resident on a hunger strike for faster court hearings

Anil Gidwani at the protest site at Azad Maidan. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Anil Gidwani, 63, has been camping out at the Azad Maidan protest site, opposite the Deutsche Bank, since January 26. The Bandra West resident's 20-day continuing hunger strike has one aim - to highlight repeated adjournments in the Indian judicial system, the ‘tareekh pe tareekh' as it is called in layman's lingo, and hopefully contribute to changing the pattern.

The genesis

Gidwani's strike stems from a personal place. "I have had a contempt case with reference to a property matter filed against me four years ago. Here there are just two parties, the court and I. Yet, in this instance too, there have been a number of adjournments, and the case is still going on. The idea of a hunger strike began from this point. Yet, I would like people to see the bigger picture. This phenomenon applies to most judicial matters where adjournments and postponements continue for years. At times, the litigant dies waiting for an order, or simply too many years have passed for it to remain relevant. There have been so many reports, research and analyses about our system calling for cases to be heard speedily. Certain cases are now being referred to fast-track courts. Yet, change must be all-encompassing," said Gidwani.

The process

Gidwani has a spot at Azad Maidan, diagonally opposite CST station at the regular protest site, where he arrives daily at 10 am. "We are not allowed to live here post 5 pm, which is very unfair, I think. We are ordered to leave. For the first three days of my hunger fast I slept on the footpath near the BMC, once I exited the Azad Maidan. There were a couple of other persons too, on the footpath. Then, I moved to a relative's home, then I found a dorm room nearby, where I stay for the night and arrive at the spot in the morning. Throughout, I ensure I have witnesses to see that I am sticking to my hunger fast. I admit I have had coconut water, water and nimbu paani [lemon water] through all these days but no food. I have lost 5 kgs through these days, dropping to 55 kg."

Gidwani claimed that the police have taken him to JJ Hospital twice during the fast for a check-up, and once, he was taken to Bombay Hospital, "on the police's insistence for a check-up," he explained. Gidwani added, "Few persons, like family and friends, have come here to see me. I do talk to the police here at the Maidan though, for whom I have the greatest respect. There are other protestors, some from the bus strike group, where they want their Corporation to merge with the state government. There are several individuals protesting like a man against a land-grabbing problem," said the IIT-Bombay alumnus.

Teachers protest

A group of teachers protesting for some pension issue resonated with Gidwani, "as I have taught Computer Science at an Ohio University," he said. When asked specifically about whether the hunger strike has lost teeth as a medium to press for change, Gidwani said, "I have used other means like writing letters to different levels of the judiciary, talking to judges personally, to filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2012 against delays in the judiciary, a general PIL for all citizens. When all these failed, I resorted to hunger fast." On the health front, Gidwani said, "I have been doing relatively well since I started fasting, in fact, my parameters even improved, proving that fasting can be good for the body for a while. Today [Tuesday] I did experience some weakness. I am determined not to give up though. I want a date and a timeline for my case to be heard. In a similar vein, other cases should be heard and disposed of expeditiously, too."

26
Day in January when Gidwani started his hunger strike