Let me take oath, I will speak in detail about accepting RS nomination: Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday defended his nomination to the Rajya Sabha saying that his presence in the Upper House would enable him put the perspective of the judiciary before the legislature and vice-versa.

A Guwahati-based news channel quoted Gogoi as saying that he accepted the nomination because of a strong conviction that the legislature and the judiciary must at some point of time work together for Nation-building. Gogoi, however, refused to speak before the camera but had given his brief statement in his official residence here.

In another statement to a Delhi-based news channel, Gogoi said that he would make his stand clear on why he accepted the nomination for the Rajya Sabha after taking the oath. Gogoi is scheduled to visit New Delhi on Wednesday.

His residence staffs, however, did not allow other media persons here to meet him for his reaction to the criticism that followed his nomination to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Congress leader Kapil Sibbal slammed justice Gogoi's nomination saying it not only "destroyed" him but also raised questions about the integrity of the sitting judges of the Supreme Court.

Criticising justice Gogoi's nomination, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi told a national news agency that it raised a question mark about the integrity of the judiciary.

Son of Keshab Chandra Gogoi, late Congress leader and former Assam Chief Minister, justice Gogoi, 65, retired as CJI on November 17 last year. Justice Gogoi's nomination comes in place of senior lawyer KTS Tulsi, who retired on February 20 and is now contesting for the Rajya Sabha in Congress ticket from Chattisgarh.

Justice Gogoi is set to be the second retired CJI to enter the Upper House after Justice Ranganath Mishra, who contested and won Rajya Sabha election as a Congress candidate in 1988.