Deepam row | Threatening judiciary in the name of pseudo secularism: Pawan Kalyan on Justice Swaminathan's impeachment

Hyderabad: Referring to the impeachment motion by Opposition against Madras High Court judge Justice Swaminathan, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan has opined that the sitting High Court Judge is being targeted just because he delivered a judgment upholding the right of believers to light a Deepam (lamp) and practice a long-standing ritual on property legally recognised as belonging to a religious institution. Pawan Kalyan has been vocal around Thiruprakundram controversy.

The Constitution of India is clear - a judge can only be impeached on grounds of "proven misbehaviour" or "incapacity," he said in a long social media post. Over 120 MPs from the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, led by the DMK, have weaponised the Constitution to call for the impeachment of a Judge. This is not judicial accountability; this is blatant political intimidation, Pawan Kalyan said.

Calling it as threatening judiciary in the name of pseudo secularism Pawan Kalyan recalled that when a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court delivered the Sabarimala judgment overturning a centuries-old, deeply cherished custom regarding entry into one of the most sacred Hindu sites and triggering massive social unrest and protests - no judge was impeached. Their ruling, which fundamentally altered a core religious practice, was met only with legal review petitions, not political motions for removal, he said.

“Recently, when a former Chief Justice of India publicly made the scornful comment, 'Go and ask the deity itself to do something now. You say you are a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. So go and pray now', he faced zero accountability."

"The former CJI was neither asked to apologise nor was he put through an impeachment motion. In fact, when an advocate dared to abuse the former CJI, all political parties rushed to condemn the act, strongly defending the sanctity of the judge. Yet today, the political establishment has set a dramatically different standard,” he said

He asked why are certain political parties going to such extreme lengths to impeach a judge for a judgment that simply upholds the right to practice the Hindu faith.

“Is this not a cynical attempt to strong-arm and silence the broader judiciary? Is this motion not a signal to all judges that they must be 'careful' when ruling in cases about Hindu traditional practices and faith? The selective outrage and weaponisation of the impeachment process in this case expose a disturbing bias."

"This incident only solidifies the urgent need for a unified institutional voice. The need of the hour in Bharat is the establishment of the Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board, where devotees actively manage their temples and religious affairs without fear of political interference or judicial overreach spurred by political vendettas," Kalyan said.

He also said, "Last but not least, let me reiterate to all the so-called intellectuals, especially the pseudo seculars of the country – Practicing the Hindu faith and its rituals is also a fundamental right as per the Constitution of India to the Hindu community,” and added that practicing Sanatana Dharma does not equate to being against any other religion or faiths. Secularism is a two-way street, and every religion has to be respected and treated equally and fairly; that includes Hindus as well.