Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, Sept 14, 2024

Letter to the Readers, Sept 14, 2024

Constitutional propriety requires that the Judiciary and Executive remain separate, not mix —follow the doctrine of separation of powers to ensure the independence of the judiciary in India’s democracy. Over the years there has been a progressive erosion of checks and balances to stop the breach of established conventions. Judges, like all citizens, are subject to new influences and pressures from unofficial entities & practices. Display of religiosity has grown massively in India influenced by the market, media & politics. The Hindu nationalist organisation the RSS has been systematically trying to infiltrate all arms of the system — the judiciary & government included and that process continues every day [1]. For years now we have seen court rulings favourable to Hindutva. There is the 1996 judgment by Justice Verma defining ‘Hindutva as a way of life’, then the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute. Now the recent reports of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Chandrachud & his wife praying on a Hindu religious festival in their home along with the Prime minister in full media glare is a disturbing violation Code of Conduct for Judges. What Judges or Prime ministers do as any citizens do in their private lives should remain private —while they play, pray, cook, skate, dance, do voodoo, have sex or a sex change operation, etc they do not need to advertise. and most certainly not televise. Already in 2019, Prime Minister Modi broke convention when he went to meet the CJI in the Supreme Court premises itself, soon after the Ram Janmabhoomi Judgement was passed, which raised eyebrows but now the visit to the residence of the CJI takes this one step further. It is very creditable that many prominent lawyers, politicians, and campaigns for legal transparency and accountability have rightly criticised CJI for breach of convention. The separation of powers must be respected and there is a vital need to educate our indifferent public on this subject.

September 14, 2024 —HK