NEW DELHI: Pro-active legislative action since 2015 has brought fair play and social justice in the Indian economy and the returns surpass the economic reforms of 1991, says Vivek Sood, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, whose new book, 'Progress Of The Indian Economy' was released by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday evening.
"I came into the legal profession in 1992 and have seen the significance of the 1991 economic reforms that globalised the Indian economy. After 25 years in the profession, from 2015 onwards, I have seen the progress of the Indian economy in terms of fairness, equality of opportunity for every citizen to build unicorns and other successful enterprises, and economic justice for the common man through legislative pro-activism," Sood told IANS in an interview of his sixth book in 22 years on socio-legal issues, which has been published by Thomson Reuters.
Legislation such as RERA, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, Commercial Courts Act, Arbitration Amendments, Fugitive Offenders Act, Amendments in the Prevention of Corruption Act thereby giving public servants to take bold decisions without the fear of prosecution "is game-changing and has led to real progress of the Indian economy beyond statistics, thereby surpassing the economic reforms of 1991", he said.
"This theme caught my attention and motivated me to write this book. Today, there is economic justice in the Indian economy. The Modi era since 2015 will be remembered as the era of economic justice," he added.
To this extent, the book is based more on the social and economic impact of legislative pro activism since 2015 than on theoretical research.
"It's based on the significant impact of post-2015 legislative action that has brought economic justice in India; how pro-active legislative action since 2015 has brought fair play and justice in the Indian economy. The Indian economy was a debtors' paradise and creditors' hell before the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2015. Home buyers had weak legal rights prior to RERA. However, these legislations have ushered economic justice to creditors and home buyers," Sood explained.
Noting that the Indian economy has always been judged by statistics, he said: "GDP growth and inflation numbers has been an obsession with economists. I have questioned this over-emphasis on numbers. Why don't we judge our economy in terms of equality of opportunity for all, fairness, and economic justice?"
After culling out the parameters of economic justice from a series of Supreme Court judgments, Sood, in the book, writes that the "stage is set for testing the various government schemes on the anvil of economic progress and justice for the common man as laid down in the Constitution".
Among these are the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, National Skill Development Mission, Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan, and Sart-up India.
The book also cites the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in a chapter titled "Integrating Kashmir with Indian Economy" as an example of economic justice for the people of the union territory.
"The political integration of J&K with India through Constitutional amendments as well as promising elections is nourishing the roots of democracy and making participatory democracy a reality for the people of J&K. Making J&K a part of the Indian economy ushers economic justice in the lives of the people. With the political and economic merger of J&K with mainstream India social justice is achieved as We The People Of India (as the Preamble to the Constitution states) are finally One Nation, One Economy. Is this not progress and socio-political-economic justice," Sood writes.
What next? What's his next book on?
"My next book is a hard-hitting critique on the criminal justice system in India which is likely to be released in August 2022. The book speaks of criminal injustice in the criminal justice system and cries for reforms. The Supreme Court has time and again said that judges rely on God and luck to administer criminal justice!
"I am also writing a book on Hindutva in the voice of the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister. The book is on how the Apex Court views Hindutva. Also, while our Prime Minister is a devout Hindu, he is most secular when it comes to state policy. His 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' state policy doesn't discriminate on grounds of religion or caste. As the Prime Minister, he believes in equality of opportunity and justice for every citizen of India. He is the true restorer of Hinduism in India while being a secular Prime Minister. This is the theme of the book in progress," Sood concluded the interview.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
'Legislation in Modi era has brought economic & social justice' (IANS Interview)