Unfortunate, prejudicial: Retired judges rebuke Shah's remarks on Oppn V-P pick
Hitting out at Shah, 18 former SC judges said misinterpretation of Salwa Judum verdict by a political leader is likely to have a chilling effect on the judiciary
A group of retired judges has termed Home Minister Amit Shah's attack on Opposition vice-presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy over the Salwa Judum judgement "unfortunate" and said it would be wise to refrain from "name-calling".
The group of 18 retired judges, including the likes of former Supreme Court justices Kurien Joseph, Madan B Lokur and J Chelameswar, also said that "prejudicial misinterpretation" of the top court's verdict by a high political functionary is likely to have a chilling effect on its judges.
Ex-judges slam Shah
Shah had accused Reddy, a former judge of the Supreme Court, of "supporting" Naxalism. He had claimed that Left Wing Extremism would have ended by 2020 in the absence of the Salwa Judum judgement.
"The statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, publicly misinterpreting the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Salwa Judum case, is unfortunate. The judgment nowhere supports, either expressly or by compelling implication of its text, Naxalism or its ideology," the statement signed by the 18 former judges said.
The former Supreme Court judges who signed the statement are A K Patnaik, Abhay Oka, Gopala Gowda, Vikramjit Sen, Kurien Joseph, Madan B Lokur, and J Chelameswar.
Misinterpretation, name-calling
"While the campaign for the office of the Vice-President of India may well be ideological, it can be conducted civilly and with dignity. Criticising the so-called ideology of either candidate should be eschewed," the retired judges said.
Also read: B Sudershan Reddy: A judge who always kept politics out of judiciary
"Prejudicial misinterpretation of a judgment of the Supreme Court by a high political functionary is likely to have a chilling effect on the judges of the Supreme Court, shaking the independence of the judiciary," they said.
Out of respect for the office of the vice-president of India, it would be wise to refrain from "name-calling", the retired judges said.
Besides the seven retired judges of the Supreme Court, three former chief justices of High Courts – Govind Mathur, S Muralidhar and Sanjib Bannerjee – also signed the statement.
The other signatories to the letter include former judges of high courts Anjana Prakash, C Praveen Kumar, A Gopal Reddy, G Raghuram, K Kannan, K Chandru, B Chandrakumar and Kailash Gambhir. Prof Mohan Gopal and senior advocate Sanjay Hegde also signed the statement.
Salwa Judum judgement
Speaking in Kerala on Friday (August 22), BJP leader Shah had said, "Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave Salwa Judum judgment. If the Salwa Judum judgment had not been given, the Naxal terrorism would have ended by 2020. He is the person who was inspired by the ideology that gave Salwa Judam judgment."
He was speaking after inaugurating the Manorama News conclave organised by Malayala Manorama group in Kochi. Also, criticising the Congress’s choice of candidate for the Vice-President post, Shah pointed out that the party’s chances of winning in Kerala have further diminished.
Also read: Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy: Who is the Opposition's V-P poll candidate?
Shah was referring to a 2011 SC judgement on Salwa Judum, during a question answer session as part of the conclave.
In December 2011, Justice Reddy of the Supreme Court ruled that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers, whether called 'Koya Commandos', Salwa Judum, or by any other name, in the fight against Maoist insurgents was illegal and unconstitutional. He also ordered that they be immediately disarmed.
Shah said Kerala has faced the brunt of Naxalism. "People of Kerala will certainly see that the Congress party, under the pressure of Left parties, is fielding a candidate who supported Naxalism and used a pious forum like the Supreme Court," the Home Minister said.
The ruling NDA has picked Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan, a seasoned BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with an RSS background, as its vice-presidential candidate.
Reddy responds
Meanwhile, Reddy, on Saturday, said he did not wish to join issues with the home minister, asserting that the verdict was not his but that of the Supreme Court. He also said that Shah would not have made the remarks had he read the complete judgment.
He, along with Justice S S Nijjar, was part of an apex court bench that had in July 2011 ordered the disbanding of Salwa Judum, ruling that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against Maoist insurgents was illegal and unconstitutional.
(With agency inputs)