Criticism of govt not unpatriotic and anti-India, say lawyers to Kiren Rijiju

Over 300 lawyers across the country have deprecated the "unwarranted attack" launched against retired judges of the Supreme Court by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, at a media programme recently, saying 'the naked threat of reprisals against them, marked a new low in the public discourse" against those who dedicated their lives for the Rule of Law.

In a response to the Minister's March 18 speech, they said, "Such hectoring and bullying are unbecoming of the high office held by the Minister. We may remind the Minister that criticism of the government is neither against the nation, nor unpatriotic, nor “anti-India”."

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The Minister had reportedly claimed a “few retired judges” were part of an “anti-India gang” and they wanted to “make the judiciary play the role of the opposition.”

"By threatening retired judges, the Law Minister is clearly sending a message to every citizen, that no voice of dissent will be spared," they said.

"The right of every citizen to dissent, criticise and peacefully oppose any government and its policies or functioning is an inherent basic human right, which is also Constitutionally protected. Criticism of the government does not authorize a high state functionary to besmirch any individual’s patriotism," they added.

The signatories to the response included senior advocates Iqbal Chagla, Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi, Arvind Datar, Raju Ramachandran, R S Cheema, Dushyant Dave, Indira Jaising, Anand Grover, Rebecca John, Sanjay Hegde.

They asked the Minister to withdraw his remark and refrain from making such a statement in future.