5 months ago
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Forty-four erstwhile judges of the Supreme Court and assorted High Courts person condemned what they described arsenic a “motivated campaign” against the Chief Justice of India (CJI), pursuing his remarks during proceedings connected Rohingya migrants.
In an unfastened letter, the judges said the “disparagement” of the Supreme Court was unacceptable. “We the undersigned retired judges explicit our beardown objection to the motivated run targeting the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India successful the aftermath of his remarks successful proceedings concerning Rohingya migrants,” the missive said.
The signatories said judicial proceedings tin and should beryllium taxable to fair, reasoned criticism. However, they said, the run was not astir principled disagreement, but an effort to undermine the judiciary by portraying regular courtroom questions arsenic prejudice.
The missive added: “The Chief Justice is being attacked for asking the astir basal ineligible question: who, successful law, has granted the presumption that is being claimed earlier the Court?”
They said nary adjudication connected rights oregon entitlements tin proceed until this basal threshold is addressed.
The judges noted that the Bench had besides intelligibly affirmed that “no quality being connected Indian soil, national oregon foreigner, tin beryllium subjected to torture, disappearance oregon inhuman treatment, and that each person’s dignity indispensable beryllium respected.” The missive said to suppress this affirmation and past impeach the Court of “dehumanisation” constituted a superior distortion of what was really said.
On ineligible status, the erstwhile judges pointed retired that the Rohingyas person not entered the state nether immoderate statutory refugee-protection framework; successful astir cases their introduction is “irregular oregon illegal”.
The missive said they cannot person that presumption into a legally recognised “refugee” presumption simply by assertion. India, they noted, is neither a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol. The country’s obligations originate from its Constitution, home migration laws, and wide human-rights norms, not from immoderate pact it consciously chose not to join, they said.
The missive raised a “serious and morganatic concern” implicit reports that Rohingyas person obtained Indian identities and payment documentations, specified arsenic Aadhaar cards and ration cards. Such misuse, the judges warned, undermines the integrity of India’s recognition and payment systems.
They advocated that a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) could beryllium considered to analyse the lapses, place those responsible, and exposure immoderate organised trafficking operations.
While acknowledging the analyzable concern of the Rohingyas successful Myanmar, wherever they person often been treated arsenic amerciable migrants with disputed citizenship, the retired judges stressed the request for Indian courts to proceed connected wide ineligible categories, not slogans oregon governmental labels.
Against this backdrop, they said, the judiciary’s involution was wrong law bounds and balanced nationalist information with the work to uphold quality dignity.
The signatories cautioned that if each probing judicial question connected nationality, migration, documentation, oregon borderline information is met with accusations of hatred oregon prejudice, judicial independency itself volition beryllium astatine risk.
They expressed afloat assurance successful the Supreme Court and the CJI to execute their law duties without fearfulness oregon favour. The missive concluded by supporting the thought of a court-monitored SIT “to inquire into the amerciable procurement of Indian individuality and payment documents by foreigners lacking lawful status”.
“Bharat’s law bid demands some humanity and vigilance,” said the letter.
Among the signatories are erstwhile Supreme Court judges Anil Dave and Hemant Gupta, erstwhile Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court Anil Deo Singh, and erstwhile Chief Justice of J&K and Delhi High Court B.C. Patel.
