56 Ex-Judges Criticise 18 Retired Judges for “Cloaking Political Partisanship”

Fifty-six former judges, including five retired Supreme Court justices, have strongly criticised a statement by 18 retired judges defending Opposition vice-presidential candidate B. Sudershan Reddy against remarks by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The 56 judges said the statement misused the language of judicial independence to further political agendas.

“These statements are determined to cloak their political partisanship under the language of judicial independence. This does a great disservice to the institution we once served, projecting judges as political actors,” the 56 ex-judges said in a statement.

The criticism comes after the 18 retired judges described Shah’s attack on Reddy as “unfortunate.” Shah had accused Reddy of “supporting Naxalism” by delivering a 2011 Supreme Court judgment that disbanded Salwa Judum, an armed organisation of tribal youths involved in anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. The 18 former judges had said Reddy’s judgment “nowhere supports Naxalism or its ideology.”

Responding, the 56 retired judges, including former Chief Justices of India P. Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, and ex-Supreme Court judges A.K. Sikri and M.R. Shah, said they strongly disagreed with the stance of the 18 judges.

They emphasised that a retired judge who enters politics, such as contesting the vice-presidential election, must defend their candidacy in the political arena, not in the guise of judicial opinion. “Judicial independence is not threatened by criticism of a political candidate. What tarnishes the judiciary is repeated partisan statements that give the impression the institution itself is aligned with political battles,” the statement said.

The 56 judges warned that such practices erode the neutrality, dignity, and credibility of the judiciary. They urged former judges to refrain from issuing politically motivated statements, adding, “Let those who have chosen the path of politics defend themselves in that realm. The judiciary must remain above such entanglements.”

Other signatories included former high court chief justices Suresh Kait, Ali Mohammad Magrey, Navniti Prasad Singh, S.K. Mittal, and L. Narsimha Reddy.

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