A group of former Supreme Court and High Court judges, along with senior lawyers, have issued a joint statement condemning Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “misinterpreting” the Supreme Court’s 2011 judgment in the Salwa Judum case, which was authored by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, who is the candidate supported by the INDIA bloc parties for the Vice Presidential election.
On the statement, the signatories described Shah’s public remarks as “unfortunate,” stressing that the Salwa Judum judgment does not, either expressly or by implication, lend support to Naxalism or its ideology.
“Prejudicial misinterpretation of a judgment of the Supreme Court by a high political functionary is likely to have a chilling effect on the judges of the Supreme Court, shaking the independence of the judiciary,” the statement read.
The former judges also emphasised that while political campaigns, including for the office of the Vice President of India, may involve ideological debates, they must be conducted “civilly and with dignity.” The statement advised against name-calling and cautioned against attacking the “so-called ideology” of candidates.
Among the signatories are former Supreme Court judges Justices A.K. Patnaik, Abhay Oka, Gopala Gowda, Vikramjit Sen, Kurien Joseph, Madan Lokur, and J. Chelameswar. Former Chief Justices of High Courts including Govind Mathur, S. Muralidhar, and Sanjib Banerjee, as well as several retired High Court judges such as Anjana Prakash, C. Praveen Kumar, A. Gopal Reddy, G. Raghuram, K. Kannan, K. Chandru, B. Chandrakumar, and Kailash Gambhir, have also endorsed the statement.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and Prof. Mohan Gopal are also among the signatories.
The Salwa Judum judgment, delivered by a bench led by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy in 2011, had declared unconstitutional the practice of arming tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) to fight Maoists in Chhattisgarh, holding it to be violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Sudarshan Reddy’s career as a judge was exemplary, his verdicts scrupulously adhering to the Constitution. His judgment in Nandini Sunder v. UOI striking down the State-sponsored vigilante force known as Salwa Judum has been assessed as one of the most noteworthy human rights judgments in the history of the constitutional court.
The entire text of the statement may be read here:
The statement of the Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah publicly misinterpreting the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Salwa Judum case is unfortunate.
The judgment nowhere supports, either expressly or by compelling implication of its text, Naxalism or its ideology.
While the campaign for the office of the Vice President of India may well be ideological, it can be conducted civilly and with dignity. Criticising the so-called ideology of either candidate should be eschewed.
Prejudicial misinterpretation of a judgment of the Supreme Court by a high political functionary is likely to have a chilling effect on the judges of the Supreme Court shaking the independence of the judiciary.
Out of respect for the office of the Vice President of India, it would be wise to refrain from name calling.
Signatories :
Former Judges of Supreme Court :
- A.K Patnaik
- Abhay Oka
- Gopala Gowda
- Vikramjit Sen
- Kurien Joseph
- Madan B. Lokur
- J. Chelameswar
Former Chief Justices of High Courts
- Govind Mathur
- S. Muralidhar
- Sanjib Bannerjee
Former Judges of High Courts
- Anjana Prakash
- C. Praveen Kumar
- A. Gopal Reddy
- G Raghuram
- K . Kannan
- K. Chandru
- B. Chandrakumar
- Kailash Gambhir
Others:
- Prof Mohan Gopal
- Sanjay Hegde Sr.Adv
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