Let those who entered politics defend themselves: 56 ex-judges on 18 ex-judges' statement defending Sudershan Reddy

New Delhi: A group of 56 ex-judges, including two former Chief Justices of India P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, on Tuesday slammed a few former judges over criticism of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for remarks on opposition candidate to Vice President post, Justice B Sudarshan Reddy.

"These statements are determined to cloak their political partisanship under the language of judicial independence," they said.

Recording their strong disagreement with the recent statement issued by a group of retired judges and activists, they claimed, it has become a predictable pattern, wherein every major political development is met with statements from the same quarters.

"This practice does a great disservice to the institution we once served, as it projects judges as political actors," the statement said.

They were reacting to the statement of 18 retired judges who had termed as “unfortunate” Shah’s attack on Reddy over his judgment disbanding Salwa Judum, an armed organisation of tribal youths who fought alongside police against Naxals in Chhattisgarh, as part of a two-judge Supreme Court bench in 2011.

Maintaining that this erodes the prosperity, dignity and neutrality that the office of a judicial officer demands, they said, a fellow retired judge has chosen, of his own volition, to contest the election for the office of the Vice President of India.

"By doing so, he has stepped into the political arena as a candidate supported by the opposition. Having made that choice, he must defend his candidacy like any other contestant, in the realm of political debate," they said.

"To suggest otherwise is to stifle democratic discourse and to misuse the cover of judicial independence for political convenience." Judicial independence is not threatened by the criticism of a political candidate, they added.

"What truly tarnishes the reputation of the judiciary is when former judges repeatedly issue partisan statements, giving the impression that the institution itself is aligned with political battles. As a result of these tactics, because of the fault of a few, the larger body of judges ends up being painted as partisan coterie," they said.

The former judges said, this is neither fair nor healthy for India’s judiciary or democracy.

"We therefore strongly call upon our brother judges to desist from lending their names to politically motivated statements. Let those who have chosen the path of politics defend themselves in that realm. The institution of the judiciary must be kept above and distinct from such entanglements," they said.

Among those who issued the statement are, Justice A K Sikri and Justice M R Shah, former Judges, Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of MP HC Justice Suresh Kait, ex-CJ of J&K HC Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Navniti P Singh, former CJ of Rajasthan HC Justice SK Mittal, former CJ of Patna High Court Justice L Narsimha Reddy.