I

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU GOPAL?

Gopal Subramanium is known to be one of the finest legal brains in this country. No doubt, he
has argued and won several sensational and high profile cases which won him accolades galore.
But at the height of his career, when he thought he is just going to enter the upper most
echelons of Indian Judiciary, he encountered the proverbial slip between the cup and the lip. A
sensitive and emotional Gopal opted out of the real judiciary and, as always happens with most
of the celebrities, landed up in front of the 9PM channel judges to argue his lost case. What a
fall my countrymen!
Just two months back he became the darling of the media with the leaked portions of his
amicus curiae report on the Padmanabha Swamy Temple case. It was literally a bomb shell on
the defenseless Royal Family of Travancore. All sorts of allegations and insinuations were raised
by Gopal Subramanium in that report. Many were mere, arguably, gossips or rumors which
were in circulation in Thiruvananthapuram ever since the temple became a matter of
controversy.
That is not the subject here. But the acts, at least few of them, which were committed and
specifically admitted by Gopal in his amicus curiae report, must be of serious concern to anyone
who does not want to be economical with truth. Can anybody imagine an amicus curiae
interfering with a sexual harassment case which is under investigation by the State Police?
Gopal precisely did that. Now, read it in his own words:
. One guard commander called KrishanKutty Kurup had attempted to sexually harass her. She
was treated i nsensi ti vel y in the annadanam and there was total inaction on the part of the
Administrative Officer. Becauseshe raisedthe issue, she was dismissed from service on 12th September,
2009 following which she filed an FIR. (Vol 2 page 450)
And he continues -
.it was ascertained that Jeyasekaran Nair, whose name was unfortunately mentioned in
the FIR, could be only accused of inaction but he could not be said to be directly a party to
sexual harassment. Under those circumstances, she agreed to withdraw all pending cases and
allegations of sexual harassment against Jeyasekaran Nair and she agreed to file an
affidavit to that extent before the Court. On the request of the Amicus Curiae, the Executive
Officer has agreed to offer her an appointment which she last held as a computer
operator (Vol 2 page 451)
.. However, she may not be given any back wages. Smt. . personally
apologised to
I
Shri Jeyasekaran Nair and Shri Jeyasekaran Nair undertook
to get her reinstated. However the Amicus Curiae is not aware of the present
position (Vol 2 page 452)
There is an FIR registered with the police. However Gopal Subramanium
summons both victim and accomplice and successfully works out a
compromise. He even makes the victim apologize to her oppressor! Can
anything be more outrageous than this? This type of act is described as
screening the offender in IPC, falling under Sections 213 & 214.
Look at another allegation by Gopal Subramanium which reveals his
detective vigor and legal acumen:
. The case of Shri Padmanabhadasa is even more horrific.
Padmanabhadasa attempted to resist the taking away of some of the lamps
and jewelry belongingto the Temple. Padmanabhadasa saw that some lamps
were being taken out and when he went out he was told firmly that these
are being taken to the Palace. When he resisted and ultimately because he
threatened to call people, the lamps were taken back. That evening acid
was thrown on his body which acid was the same acid which was used in
the Temple for the p u r p o s e of gol d pl at i ng. These miscreants were
at play within 5 minutes from the west Nadaentrance. In fact, the manner
which these acts are done leaves one wondering as to whose hands are
behind them. The Trustee cannot absolve himself completely and credibly
without putting for proof to the contrary . (Vol 2 page 452, 453)
Read the above paragraph carefully. It is reported that lamps etc were taken
out. By whom? No answer. It was told that the materials are being taken to
Palace. Who told? Again, no answer. For a moment, Gopal is wondering as to
who could be behind this act. But the very next moment, without a blink he
fixes the culprit the Trustee, meaning the late Raja, H H Marthanda Varma.
How could he be the culprit? On what evidence? Again, no answer. And then
comes the final salvo: Gopal Subramanium declares that the Trustee cannot
be absolved unless he proves his innocence!
Till now the people of India are under the belief that someone is innocent
until proven guilty by the prosecution. The burden of proving guilt is on the
shoulders of the prosecution. But with one stroke of his pen Gopal
Subramanium reverses this position. He holds the Trustee shall remain guilty
until proven innocent!
Gopal was at his eloquent best before channel anchors while justifying his
spiritual nature. Let us see what exactly he said about this in his report. Once
again, in his own words:
.. It ma y be a d d e d t h a t t h e Amicus takes nocredit for discovering any of this. It was his
morning ritual of [shutting] his mind and seeking guidance, which resulted in discoveries in this
direction. Strangely, the Amicus notices that some of these were touched upon in his First
Report, but there was nodirect knowledge at that time (Vol 1 page 8, 9)
Anyone who is broadly aware of spirituality knows that being spiritual and seeking or getting
divine directives in an investigation are two entirely different matters. The latter is the path of
people who grope in darkness without knowing what to do. Certainly such inadequacies cannot
be qualifications to become a Judge in the Supreme Court of India.
Gopal Subramanium in his self-righteous manner asserts that he needs no certificate from
anyone. But surely the public will be within their right to demand explanations for his above
mentioned bizarre acts and funny legal positions. After all, what happened to you Gopal?
T. G. Mohandas
Kochi
T. G. Mohandas (ph 094977 24654)
General Manager
Kerala Law Journal
M C Bldngs, Valavi Road
Kochi 682 018