56 Former Judges Denounce Impeachment of Justice GR Swaminathan as Assault on Judicial Independence

Fifty-six former judges of the Supreme Court docket and varied Excessive Courts have issued a robust assertion expressing “critical exception” to the move by opposition Members of Parliament to provoke impeachment proceedings in opposition to Madras Excessive Court docket choose Justice G.R. Swaminathan. The previous judges have termed the try a “brazen effort to browbeat judges who don’t fall according to the ideological and political expectations of a specific part of society.”

The assertion, launched on December 12, warns that allowing such a movement to proceed would “minimize on the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary.”

The previous judges stress that even when the explanations cited by the MPs are taken at face worth, they’re “wholly insufficient” to justify invoking the extraordinary constitutional mechanism of impeachment. They reiterate that impeachment is supposed to safeguard judicial integrity, to not be misused as a political weapon.

The impeachment movement was moved within the backdrop of Justice GR Swaminathan passing an order allowing temple devotees to gentle a lamp at a stone pillar atop the Thirupparankundram hill close to a dargah, and later reprimanding the State Authorities for obstructing the implementation of the order.

The previous judges, of their assertion, mentioned that the impeachment transfer was not “an remoted aberration.” They recalled the 2018 try and impeach then Chief Justice Dipak Misra and public campaigns concentrating on Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, and presently CJI Surya Kant.

The previous judges additionally draw parallels to historic makes an attempt to strain the judiciary, together with supersessions after the Kesavananda Bharati ruling and the sidelining of Justice H.R. Khanna after his well-known dissent in ADM Jabalpur. These, they are saying, stand as reminders that political interference can severely harm an impartial judiciary.

The signatories warn in opposition to changing impeachment right into a device of intimidation, stating that wielding the specter of elimination to compel judicial conformity is “anti-democratic, anti-constitutional, and an anathema to the rule of legislation.” They name the try and impeach a sitting Excessive Court docket choose for performing judicial features a part of a seamless assault on judicial dignity and independence.

Urging Members of Parliament throughout political strains, the Bar, civil society and the general public to “denounce this transfer,” the assertion asserts that judges are accountable solely to their oath and the Structure. Dissatisfaction with judicial choices, they state, have to be addressed by way of appeals and authorized reasoning, not through the use of impeachment as political retaliation.

Additionally learn – Impeachment Movement And Judicial Independence

Listing of Signatories

1. Justice Adarsh Goel, Former Supreme Court docket Choose
2. Justice Hemant Gupta, Former Supreme Court docket Choose
3. Justice Anil Deo Singh, Former Chief Justice, Rajasthan Excessive Court docket
4. Justice Narsimha Reddy, Former Chief Justice, Patna Excessive Court docket
5. Justice P. B. Bajanthri, Former Chief Justice, Patna Excessive Court docket
6. Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, Former Chief Justice, Karnataka Excessive Court docket
7. Justice Permod Kohli, Former Chief Justice, Sikkim Excessive Court docket and Chairman, CAT
8. Justice S. M. Soni, Former Choose, Gujarat Excessive Court docket and Lokayukt, Gujarat
9. Justice Vishnu S. Kokje, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Excessive Court docket
10. Justice Ambadas Joshi, Former Choose, Bombay Excessive Court docket and Lokayukt, Goa
11. Justice R. Subramanian, Former Choose, Madras Excessive Court docket
12. Justice Sivagnanam, Former Choose, Madras Excessive Court docket
13. Justice T. Sudanthiram, Former Choose, Madras Excessive Court docket
14. Justice S. N. Dhingra, Former Choose, Delhi Excessive Court docket
15. Justice R. Okay. Gauba, Former Choose, Delhi Excessive Court docket
16. Justice Vinod Goel, Former Choose, Delhi Excessive Court docket
17. Justice J. R. C. Chopra, Former Choose, Delhi Excessive Court docket
18. Justice Vidya Bhushan Gupta, Former Choose, Delhi Excessive Court docket
19. Justice Ramesh Kumar Merathia, Former Choose, Jharkhand Excessive Court docket
20. Justice Nawal Kishore Agarwal, Former Choose, Jharkhand Excessive Court docket
21. Justice Karam Chand Puri, Former Choose, Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket
22. Justice Jasbir Singh, Former Choose, Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket
23. Justice H. S. Bhalla, Former Choose, Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket
24. Justice S. N. Agarwal, Former Choose, Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket
25. Justice Darshan Singh, Former Choose, Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket
26. Justice R. S. Rathore, Former Choose, Rajasthan Excessive Court docket and Member, NGT
27. Justice Prashant Kr. Agarwal, Former Choose, Rajasthan Excessive Court docket
28. Justice Rakesh Saksena, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh Excessive Court docket
29. Justice Okay. Okay. Trivedi, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh Excessive Court docket
30. Justice H. P. Singh, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh Excessive Court docket
31. Justice D. Okay. Paliwal, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh Excessive Court docket
32. Justice Sushil Kr. Gupta, Former Choose, Madhya Pradesh Excessive Court docket
33. Justice Dr. Siva Sankara Rao, Former Choose, Telangana Excessive Court docket
34. Justice Kamleshwar Nath, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
35. Justice D. Okay. Seth, Former Choose, Allahabad and Calcutta Excessive Courts
36. Justice Rajes Kumar, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
37. Justice Surendra Vikram Singh Rathore, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
38. Justice Vijay Laxmi, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
39. Justice S. Okay. Tripathi, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
40. Justice D. Okay. Arora, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket
41. Justice Rajendra Badamiker, Former Choose, Karnataka Excessive Court docket
42. Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar, Former Choose, Karnataka Excessive Court docket
43. Justice A. V. Chandra Shekhar, Former Choose, Karnataka Excessive Court docket
44. Justice P. Krishna Bhat, Former Choose, Karnataka Excessive Court docket
45. Justice Vineet Kothari, Former Choose, Gujarat Excessive Court docket
46. Justice Ravikumar Rameshwardayal Tripathi, Former Choose, Gujarat Excessive Court docket
47. Justice Okay. A. Puj, Former Choose, Gujarat Excessive Court docket
48. Justice P. N. Ravindran, Former Choose, Kerala Excessive Court docket
49. Justice M. R. Hariharan Nair, Former Choose, Kerala Excessive Court docket
50. Justice V. Chitambaresh, Former Choose, Kerala Excessive Court docket
51. Justice A. V. Ramakrishna, Former Choose, Kerala Excessive Court docket
52. Justice N. Okay. Balakrishnan, Former Choose, Kerala Excessive Court docket
53. Justice Subhash Chand, Former Choose, Allahabad and Uttarakhand Excessive Courts
54. Justice Lokpal Singh, Former Choose, Uttarakhand Excessive Court docket
55. Justice Vivek Sharma, Former Choose, Uttarakhand Excessive Court docket
56. Justice Rajiv Lochan, Former Choose, Allahabad Excessive Court docket