Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday made scathing attacks on retired judges who had protested Union Home Minister Amit Shah's comments on opposition vice-presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy and the 2011 Salwa Judum judgment.
Addressing the media in Bengaluru, Rijiju blamed the retired judges of launching a "signature campaign" against Home Minister Shah.
He added, "Vice Presidential election process is going on. Some days ago, some retired judges conducted a signature campaign and made some statements against the Home Minister. They have penned against the Home Minister. This is not proper.This is Vice Presidential election. Why do retired judges want to involve themselves in it? This gives an impression that when they were serving as (sitting) judges, they should have had a different ideology. Otherwise, signing a letter and conducting a signature campaign against the Home Minister is not proper."
The retired judges had openly endorsed Justice B Sudershan Reddy following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's criticism of the Opposition for choosing a purported "left wing" sympathiser as their candidate.
The row revolves around the July 2011 verdict, whereby Justice Reddy, sitting along with Justice SS Nijjar, had dissolved the Salwa Judum in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, declaring it illegal and unconstitutional.
Earlier on Friday, Hitesh Jain, a member of the 23rd Law Commission of India, had targeted retired Supreme Court judges, stating that some of them were acting like political activists. He also targeted former SC judge Justice Abhay S Oka for standing up for Justice Sudershan Reddy in the Salwa Judum verdict controversy.
Posting a note on X, Hitesh Jain had taken umbrage with statements by Justices Abhay Oka, Madan B Lokur, S Muralidhar, and Sanjib Banerjee, accusing them of a "partisan" attitude.
"I have been reading some interviews by Justice Abhay Oka recently. I was not surprised to discover that he too had signed the statement made by a group of retired judges and self-styled activists in defense of retired Justice Sudarshan Reddy," he posted.
"I am not, as of now, judging why they decided to write that letter. What bothers me is the bigger trend: more and more retired judges are openly acting like political activists. From Justice Madan Lokur to Justice S Muralidhar, Justice Sanjib Banerjee, and now Justice Abhay Oka, their interventions are increasingly looking like partisan posturing and not a principled position taken on judicial independence," he added.
In the meantime, former Attorney General and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi came out in defense of 56 retired judges who rallied behind Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the controversy over his statement on the Salwa Judum judgment.
Rohatgi said he considered their stand "more appropriate" than that of the 18 retired judges who are against the Home Minister, pointing out that once a judge turns to politics, his or her previous judgments necessarily become subject to debate and criticism.
Read also| 'Would it have taken so long?”: Mohan Bhagwat on RSS Deciding Next President
Read also| Eight Opposition States Back Reducing GST Rate Slabs, Says Congress
