Lawyers Condemn Justice Arun Mishra’s Praise for PM Modi
The Supreme Court Bar Association said it has taken note with deep sense of anguish and concern the statement made by Justice Mishra to praise PM Modi.
By Rakesh Raman
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday (February 26) issued a resolution to denounce Justice Arun Mishra’s praise for Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at an event in Delhi.
Speaking at the International Judicial Conference on February 22-23, Mishra, the third most senior judge in the Supreme Court, had described Modi as an “internationally acclaimed visionary”, and praised his “versatile genius to think globally and act locally.”
In its statement, the SCBA said it has taken note with deep sense of anguish and concern the statement made by Mishra to praise Modi.
It is largely believed that India’s judiciary is not working independently and tightly controlled by the government. The judges who do not give judgments in favor of Modi government are either transferred or they face fatal consequences like Judge Loya.
For example, Justice Muralidhar of Delhi High Court was abruptly transferred by the Modi government on Wednesday (February 26) just a few hours after he decreed to file FIR (police complaint) against BJP (Modi’s political party) leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma.
Justice Muralidhar was hearing a petition regarding the registration of FIR against these BJP leaders who have been giving hate speeches that led to murderous riots in Delhi in which more than 30 people have been killed by the violent mobs.
In order to protect the independence of the judiciary, the SCBA has condemned Mishra’s sycophancy toward Modi. “The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the aforesaid statement and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit,” SCBA said in its statement.
It added that SCBA believes that any such statement reflects poorly on the independence of the judiciary and so calls upon the judges not to make statements in future nor show any proximity or closeness to the Executive including higher functionaries.
The SCBA, according to the statement, also believes that such proximity and familiarity may impact the decision making process by the judges and may give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants about the outcome.
Moreover, the SCBA reaffirms its faith in the Constitution of India and independence of the judiciary and calls upon all concerned in the Administration of Justice to work for the same in letter and spirit.
DISCLOSURE: I am an independent journalist and do not belong to any political party. My editorial objectivity and aversion to the flawed political system in India can be assessed from the fact that I have not voted in any Indian election during the past more than 2 decades. I strongly believe that all political parties in India are full of dishonest politicians who are hell-bent to further destroy the country which exists merely as an underdeveloped piece of land on the face of the earth.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects.
