Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud had adopted an excessively soft stance towards the BJP government! This explosive claim has been made by former Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul. The retired judge has made this sensational revelation in his upcoming autobiography ‘Without Fear or Favour’. Kaul has also raised serious questions about the practice of discussing candidates’ names with the government even before the formal collegium meeting for judicial appointments.
In the book, Justice Kaul recalls a special collegium meeting convened to fill six vacancies in the Supreme Court. According to him, although five names had already been finalized, Chief Justice Chandrachud suddenly proposed a sixth name at the last moment before going into the meeting.
Describing the incident, Kaul said, “The Chief Justice called me to a separate room nearby and expressed concern to me whether we should call the government to know its opinion on this sixth name.”
However, knowing that other members of the collegium would reject this name, Kaul directly opposed such a proposal.
In an interview given to senior journalist Karan Thapar of news outlet ‘The Wire’, Kaul also emphasized the need to prevent such unwarranted interference by the executive in the interest of protecting the independence of the judiciary. He warned that such a culture of seeking prior approval from the government in appointments even before formal discussions would create a serious crisis for future Chief Justices with short tenures.
Apart from this, the retired judge also openly criticized the decision to suddenly transfer an important case related to PMLA from his own bench to another bench.
Meanwhile, after this information came to light, the Congress party has become aggressive against the Modi government. Reacting on social media, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the independence of the country’s judiciary is in deep crisis under the Modi government.
Accusing the ruling party of constantly exerting pressure on the day-to-day functioning of the Supreme Court and the judge appointment process, which are responsible for protecting constitutional dignity, the Congress leader termed it an extreme danger to democracy.
