The New Indian Express News

36 former judges condemn Opposition leaders' bid to impeach Justice G R Swaminathan

NEW DELHI: Thirty-six former judges,including former Supreme Court and High Court Chief Justices, denounced theOpposition leaders' bid to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, stating such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary. This is a brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society. Even if the reasons mentioned by the signatory Member(s) of Parliament are taken at face value, they are wholly inadequate to justify resorting to such a rare, exceptional and serious constitutional measure such as impeachment, the former judges in a letter said. It further added that even during the dark period of the Emergency, the then Government adopted various mechanisms, including supersessions to penalise judges who refused to oe the line. The supersession of three seniormost judges of the Supreme Court after the decision in Kesavananda Bharati, the sidelining of Justice H.R. Khanna after his famous dissent in ADM Jabalpur, are sobering reminders of how political overreach can damage judicial independence. Despite these onslaughts, our Judiciary has stood the test of time and withstood all external pressures, the former judges said while condemning the move to try to impeach Justice Swaminathan. The present move (to try to impeach Justice Swaminathan) is not an isolated aberration. It fits into a clear and deeply troubling pattern in our recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests, said the 36 former judges in their signatories letter. Terming the bid as not principled and as reasoned criticism of judicialdecisions, the letter written by 36 former judges sai, it was an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure, a practice that strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy. The very purpose of the impeachment mechanism is to uphold the integrity of the judiciary, not to convert it into a tool of arm-twisting, signalling and retaliation, the letter said. To wield the threat of removal as a means of compelling judges to conform to political expectations is to turn a constitutional safeguard into an instrument of intimidation. Such an approach is anti-democratic, anti-constitutional, and an anathema to the rule of law, the letter said. Terming the present attempt as a razen one, to impeach a sitting High Court judge for discharging his judicial duty, the letter added that, therefore, it was not an isolated episode but part of a continuing assault on the dignity and independence of the judicial institution itself. Today, the target may be one judge; tomorrow, it will be the institution as a whole. The former judges, therefore, call upon all stakeholders, Members of Parliament across party lines, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens at large to unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception. Judges must remain answerable to their oath and to the Constitution of India, not to partisan political pressures or ideological intimidation. The message from all constitutional stakeholders must be clear and firm: in a Republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, and not by threats of impeachment for political non-conformity, the 36 former judges stated. Out of 36 signatories, some of the names were former Supreme Court Judge Justice Krishna Murari, former Chief Justice of Delhi and Meghalaya, Rajender Menon and S Vaidyanathan, respectively. Also, 14 of Madhya Pradesh HC's former judges and 11 of Allahabad HC's former judges were signatories andcondemned the move to impeach Justice G R Swaminathan.