New Delhi: Criticism of the government is not tantamount to criticism against the country, over 300 lawyers of the Supreme Court and various high courts have said in a strongly-worded statement condemning Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju’s remarks at the India Today conclave last month.
The statement, whose 323 signatories include 62 senior lawyers, has taken exception to Rijiju’s remarks that “a few retired judges” were “part of the anti-India” gang.
“We condemn these remarks in unambiguous terms. Such hectoring and bullying are unbecoming of the high office held by the Minister,” said the statement, which has been signed by the likes of Kapil Sibal, Rebecca John, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and Arvind Datar.
The statement also took note of the minister’s remark that people criticising the government would “pay a price”. By “threatening retired judges”, the government is “clearly sending out the message to every citizen that no voice of dissent will be spared”, the letter said.
The statement is referring to Rijiju’s remarks at the India Today Conclave on 18 March. In his speech, the minister had said: “It is a few of the retired judges, few — maybe three or four — (a) few of those activists, part of that anti-India gang, these people are trying to make Indian judiciary play role of the opposition party.”
He added that law enforcement agencies were working under the law to take action against those who work against the government.
“Nobody will escape. Don’t worry, nobody will escape,” he had said in his speech.
The statement from lawyers calls on the minister to publicly withdraw his remarks and refrain from making such statements in the future.
“The Hon’ble Minister must realise that by virtue of his office, he is the bridge between the executive and judicial wings of the state, and that he must therefore maintain a dignified public discourse,” the statement said.
Rijiju’s remarks came in the middle of an ongoing standoff between the Modi government and the Supreme Court over the appointment of judges. It led to backlash from the opposition parties which see it as an attempt to crush dissent.
Wednesday’s statement came a day after the Bombay Lawyers’ Association moved the Supreme Court in light of the remarks. The appeal was against the Bombay High Court’s dismissal in February of a petition that sought action against Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Rijiju for their previous remarks against the higher judiciary.
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‘New low in public discourse’
The statement from the lawyers noted that the allegations of anti-nationalism and the threat of action against individuals who have spent their lifetime upholding the law is unwarranted and marks a “new low in the public discourse of our great nation”.
The minister, it said, has a sworn duty to uphold and protect the Constitution, judiciary, and the judges — both past and present.
“It is no part of his duty to single out some retired judges with whose opinion he might disagree, and to issue public threats of action by law enforcement agencies against them,” the statement read.
It further alleged that without naming the judges in question, Rijiju “transgressed all limits of constitutional propriety” by claiming that people who, until very recently, occupied high constitutional positions were working as the government’s opposition.
It also saw the law minister’s words as a larger rebuke to the freedom of speech and expression.
Mere criticism of the government in power is not unpatriotic or against the nation. “He must remember that the government of the day is not the nation, and the nation is not the government,” the statement read.
Those criticising the government are “every bit as patriotic as those in government” and pointing out failures or shortcomings doesn’t make one unpatriotic, the statement said.
Under the Constitution, every citizen has the right to dissent, criticise, and peacefully oppose any government and its policies or functioning, the lawyers said.
“Criticism of the government does not authorise a high state functionary to besmirch any individual’s patriotism,” they added.
Retired judges, the statement said, have ‘shepherded’ the courts through thick and thin. Even if such views are unpalatable to the ruling power, such “outrageous comments” and “unacceptable threats” need to be strongly condemned.
“The nation owes a debt of gratitude to our retired Judges, and it matters not whether one might individually agree or disagree with the views of an individual judge, whether serving or retired,” it added.
Political backlash
Rijiju’s statements at the conclave drew criticism from opposition parties.
In his response, All India Congress General Secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted on 18 March: “A Law Minister talking like an Outlaw. A Minister of Justice propagating Injustice. If this is not a threat to freedom AFTER speech, what is?”
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that it was an attempt to pressure the judiciary.
“What kind of democracy is this? Does it suit a law minister to threaten the judiciary? It is a threat to judges who refuse to bow down to the government and it’s an attempt to pressure the judiciary,” he told reporters in Mumbai a day later, according to PTI.
On his part, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed it as a “difference of perception”. Speaking at the same event on 18 March, the CJI said: “He has a perception, I have a perception and there’s bound to be a difference in perception. And what’s wrong with having a difference in perceptions? We have to deal with differences in perception even within the judiciary.”
Akshat Jain is a student at the National Law University, Delhi, and an intern with ThePrint.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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