The statement issued by 323 advocates said that Rijiju’s speech had “obliquely referred” to a few retired judges as being part of an “anti-India gang” and he “pointedly threatened” these retired Supreme Court judges that “no one will escape” and “those who work against the country will pay the price”.
“By threatening retired judges, the law minister is clearly sending a message to every citizen, that no voice of dissent will be spared,” it said.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave on March 18, Rijiju had claimed that a few retired judges and some activists who are “part of the anti-India gang” are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition party.
The statement further said that such “hectoring and bullying” were unbecoming of the minister’s office and that criticism of the government was not unpatriotic, nor “anti-India”.
“We unhesitatingly state that critics of the government are every bit as patriotic as those in government and critics who highlight failures or shortcomings in the administration, or violations of constitutional norms, are exercising an inherent and most basic human right…,” it said.
The statement said that the “unacceptable threats” could incite the public against the judges and judicial system and that it deserved to be “strongly condemned”.”The nation owes a debt of gratitude to our retired judges, and it matters not whether one might individually agree or disagree with the views of an individual judge, whether serving or retired,” it said.
The statement urged the law minister to “publicly withdraw his remarks and refrain from making such remarks in the future”.
The signatories to the statement included senior advocates from the Supreme Court, advocates and counsels from the Delhi High Court, Bombay High Court, Gauhati High Court, Gujarat High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Jharkhand High Court, Karnataka High Court, Kerala High Court, Madras High Court, Manipur High Court, Meghalaya High Court, Patna High Court, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Rajasthan High Court, Telangana High Court and Uttar Pradesh High Court.
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