Former judges on Saturday found fault with Justice Arun Mishra's praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the international judges conference, organised by the Supreme Court.
Ex-SC judge, Justice (retd) P B Sawant, said, “It is most inappropriate for a sitting judge to praise the Prime Minister in this manner.”
Former Delhi HC Chief Justice A P Shah told a news website it was "wholly unnecessary" and was "unbecoming of a sitting judge".
"Such comments also creates doubt about the independence of the judiciary, how independent it is from the Executive. These comments should have been avoided by the judge," Shah said.
Justice (rtd) R S Sodhi, for his part, said since the government is a litigant and as a litigant it is equal with other citizens vis-a-vis the rule of law, it is best never to start patting the Prime Minister on the back or anything of the sort.
"It sends the wrong message that the learned judge is not objective in his outlook when dealing with cases,” he said.