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HomeJudiciaryModi govt red-flags J&K lawyer who converted to Islam but SC ignores...

Modi govt red-flags J&K lawyer who converted to Islam but SC ignores & picks her as judge

Moksha Kazmi-Khajuria, a Jammu Hindu who converted to Islam to marry a Kashmiri Muslim businessman, was recommended for J&K High Court judgeship on 15 October.

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New Delhi: When the Supreme Court collegium cleared the appointment of lawyer Moksha Kazmi-Khajuria as a judge of the J&K High Court, it decided to overlook the Narendra Modi government’s reference to the fact that she had converted to Islam to marry a Kashmiri Muslim man.

The collegium, at its 15 October meeting, had approved the names of two lawyers recommended by the J&K High Court collegium while refusing to clear two other names.

The Central government had also raised red-flags about the “sudden rise” in Kazmi-Khajuria’s income, her competence as a lawyer, as well as the perceived closeness of her husband’s family to the Peoples Democratic Party led by Mehbooba Mufti.

“It seems the government, without saying it categorically, hoped that the collegium would reject her name. But since when is a marriage like hers a crime?” said a Supreme Court source familiar with the matter.

Kazmi-Khajuria, a Hindu from Jammu, had converted to Islam to marry Yasir Sayeed Kazmi, a businessman living in Barzulla, Srinagar.

“The reference to her income also seemed part of the same game-plan,” the source said. “But, the collegium decided to ignore it and recommended her name a few days ago.”

Kazmi-Khajuria had been appointed Additional Advocate General in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government in J&K, but was removed from her post over differences between then-law minister Abdul Haq Khan and Advocate General Jehangir Iqbal Ganai.


Also read: Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questions SC for retaining collegium system


The income question

The Centre’s note pointed out that while Kazmi-Khajuria’s average annual income between 2012 and 2016 — three financial years — was between Rs 2.50 lakh and 3.25 lakh, it jumped to Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh in the fiscals 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.

But the Supreme Court source added: “There was nothing on record to suggest that this so-called sudden rise was due to some illegal activities or manipulation in the candidate’s real income. Like several others, it was a clear example of the Centre trying to build a case just because it didn’t like a candidate. That is why the collegium didn’t buy the Centre’s contention.”


Also read: Supreme Court collegium’s 2 recent decisions have left the door wide open for tough questions


 

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9 COMMENTS

  1. We must ask Modi g, what problems he has with Muslims, when his economy depends completely on Investment of Muslim Countries, especially GCC. Once for all we must finish this problems so that let’s Muslims rest in peace or otherwise. Recently he is allergic to Indonesia & Malaysia, where lot of Indians reside…!

  2. Judicial system is India is full of disease. How 5 lakh KP r refugees. Crores of cases r pending for decades.
    Shame to humanity Indian judicial system. Good students go for medicine, engineering n management. Shah Bank case.

  3. The anti-Muslim bias of BJP is reaching new levels everyday. The idea of India as a secular nation has been torn to shreds by the Modi-Shah-Doval government. Will they also kick out Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shanawaz Hussain for Love Jihad since they have Hindu wives. Hypocrisy at the worst. The sad thing is that there is no one to counter the BJP lies. Almost the whole of Indian media is subservient to Modi-Shah-Doval government.

    • Why not kazmi converted to Hinduism? This Islamist agenda won’t workhere. This is Inda not Arabia. Kazmi should leave Arabi cult.

      • You are Challenging a person’s choice and individual freedom with your hatred and prejudice towards, that you may keep with you rather than discharging it in public. How come you are dictating your terms to others who also have their own freedom of choice.

  4. The supreme court expects the illegal activities of a person to be on record? I think, the supreme court is the biggest security threat to India.

  5. Hopeless heading and insinuations. Any Govt has to give feedback to Collegium. Or are you saying Govt should not have shared the observations.

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