Noting that dissent by judges while adhering to Constitutional morality comes at a price, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay Oka on Wednesday publicly asked if Justice (retired) S Muralidhar had to “face consequences” for his “bold decisions” during the 2020 Delhi riots.
At the same event in the capital, themed on morality in judiciary, retired Delhi HC judge Justice Kailash Gambhir drew a contrast between former CJIs D Y Chandrachud and M N Venkatachaliah. He said that while one “violated” the Constitutional scheme of separation of powers by inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a Ganesh Puja at his residence, the other had refused to meet the then PM, Rajiv Gandhi, when his elevation from the Karnataka HC to SC was underway.
Justice Chandrachud had defended himself over the visit last year, saying there was “absolutely nothing wrong for the simple reason that these are continuing meetings between the judiciary and the executive, even at a social level”.
Justice Oka, delivering the keynote address at the event in New Delhi, said: “Judges are not bound by traditional concepts of morality, they are bound by the oath of the constitution. We talk about dissenting judgements… We talk of Justice HR Khanna… he gave dissenting judgments because he was bound by his oath, not bound by what politicians feel or people in power feel or what the common man feels… One example I can’t resist, it pertains to Delhi… a midnight bench was constituted (of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup Bhambhani), some victims of riots were stranded and the bench gave audience at midnight or a little past midnight and not only ensured that they were given safe passage, but also ensured that compliance is reported. We often talk about sacrifices made by the three judges in Kesavananda Bharati, but some day we also have to consider whether the judges who were in the midnight bench during the 2020 Delhi riots) met with consequences of their bold decisions given in the four corners of the Constitution. So when we discuss morality, we have to discuss this also… these judgements were delivered because the judges were not influenced by the opinion of the ruling party.”
Justice Muralidhar, who retired in 2023 and is now practising as an advocate, was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Punjab & Haryana High Court in February 2020 after questioning the Delhi Police’s conduct in the riots and directing it to register FIRs against those who made hate speeches.
Meanwhile, Justice Gambhir noted recent instances of “judicial impropriety”. He spoke about Justice Yashwant Varma, at whose residence cash was found, and Justice Shekhar Yadav, who had made communal statements in a public address. He said apart from financial corruption, the judiciary has also been under attack owing to judges’ “temptation for post-retirement jobs”.
