K. Jayachandra Reddy ORDER
S.R. Pandian, J.
1. Leave granted.
The king is under no man, but under God and the law"-was the reply of the Chief Justice of England, Sir Edward Coke when James-I once declared "Then I am to be under the law. It is treason to affirm it"-so wrote Henry Bracton who was a Judge of the King's Bench.
2. The words of Bracton in his treatise in Latin "good Rex non debet esse sub homine, sed sub Deo et Legu" (That the king should not be under man, but under God and the law) were quoted time and time again when the Stuart Kings claimed to rule by divine right. We would like to quote and requote those words of Sir Edward Coke even at the threshold.
3. In our democratic polity under the Constitution based on the concept of 'Rule of Law' which we have adopted and given to ourselves and which serves as an aorta in the anatomy of our democratic system, THE LAW IS SUPREME.
4. Everyone whether individually or collectively is unquestionably under the supremacy of law. Whoever he may be, however high he is, he is under the law. No matter how powerful he is and how rich he may be.
5. The heated and lengthy argument advanced in general by all the learned Counsel on the magnitude and the multi-dimensional causes of corruption and also about the positive and constructive remedial measures and steps to be taken for its eradication has necessitated us to give a brief exordium about its perniciousness, though strictly speaking, we would be otherwise not constrained to express any opinion on this.
6. At the outset we may say that we are not inclined to make an exhaustive survey and analysis about the anatomy, dimensions and causes of corruption. It cannot be gainsaid that the ubiquity of corruption is always associated with a motivation of private gain at public expense.
7. Though the historical background and targets of corruption are reviewed time after time; the definitional and conceptual problems are explored and the voluminous causes and consequences of corruption are constantly debated through out the globe, yet the evils of corruption and their auto narcotic effect pose a great threat to the welfare of society and continue to grow in menacing proportion. therefore, the canker of the venality, if not fought against on all fronts and at all levels, checked and eradicated, will destabilize and debilitate the very foundations of democracy; wear away the rule of law through moral decay and make the entire administration ineffective and dysfunctional.
8. Mere rhetorical preaching of apostolic sermons listing out the evils of corruption and raising slogans with catch-words are of no use in the absence of practical and effective steps to eradicate them; because 'evil tolerated is evil propagated'.
9. At the same time, one should also be alive to cases where false and frivolous accusations of corruption are maliciously made against an adversary exposing him to social ridicule and oblique with an ulterior motive of wreaking vengeance due to past animosity or personal pique or merely out of spite regardless of the fact whether the proceedings will ultimately culminate into conviction or not.
10. We would like to make it clear that the above exordial note is given without casting any aspersion against any of the parties to the present proceedings or touching the individual merit of the case.
11. The relevant facts giving rise to this appeal, though have been set out i........