JOIN USDetails of PMO note to apex court collegium adds fuel to fire
Hours after Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad disclosed in the Lok Sabha that a note had been sent from the prime minister’s office (PMO) to the Supreme Court (SC) collegium, details of the communication added more political heat.
As former SC judge Markandey Katju alleged that three former chief justices of India had allowed a judge under a cloud of corruption to continue in office, the note showed that the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had personally intervened in the issue, official sources said.
Singh, in the PMO note, wanted an explanation as to why the judge was not recommended.
The PMO intervention came even though the three most senior judges of the apex court made it clear they were against him.
The PMO wrote to the collegium seeking confirmation on the appointment of the judge to the Madras High Court. As the collegium did not yield, the then law minister H R Bhardwaj wrote again making it clear that the government backed the judge.
In response, the then chief justice of India (CJI) R C Lahoti cleared the extension, but did not confirm the appointment. In a note, the CJI attributed the decision to “the sensitivity of the government on the issue.”
Katju claimed in his blog a day ago that the judge had been found corrupt by an Intelligence Bureau investigation, and that the government prevented him from being axed because the DMK had threatened to quit the coalition if he was removed.
Katju, the then chief justice of the Madras High Court, held that the DMK was soft on the judge because he had granted bail to one of its top leaders. Singh refused to comment on the claims made by Katju.
When contacted for a reaction, Singh said: “The then law minister has spoken - said what he had to - I have nothing to add.”
The reaction from Singh came after the ruling BJP asked the Congress to clear its stand on the issue. Bhardwaj maintained that no “undue favours” were given to the judge because proper procedure was followed. “So far as political threats to a coalition government is concerned there were always pressure (from allies) on appointment of judges which I never yielded to,” he said.
BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress should come forward and answer the allegations of how different constitutional bodies, including the judiciary, were misused for political reasons. It is unfortunate and a matter of serious concern.”