Nomination of Gogoi to Rajya Sabha unpardonable assault on Constitution: Congress

Singhvi said the decision has shaken the pillars of “perception, faith and belief”

India Chief Justice

The Congress on Tuesday strongly criticised the nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha, describing it as one of the most serious, unprecedented and unpardonable assaults on the basic structure of the Constitution, of which independence of the judiciary is an integral part.

“It is important that the perception, which has been growing for some time, that the judiciary is not able to stand up with its usual vigor and fearlessness against executive and legislative assault and onslaught should not be given a push by this government,” Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. The move to send Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha only strengthens this feeling, he added.

He quoted late Arun Jaitley, who was a member of the Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019: “Pre-retirement judgments are influenced by a desire for a post-retirement job. For two years after retirement, there should be a gap before appointment because otherwise the government can directly or indirectly influence the courts and the dream to have an independent, fair and impartial judiciary in the country would never actualise.”

He said the decision has shaken the pillars of “perception, faith and belief” which are essential for the judiciary's functioning. “These pillars matter more than reality and actuality, and when this is shaken in the minds of the public, the institution is decimated,” he said.

He dismissed as erroneous the examples cited by the BJP of judges who the Congress has nominated to the upper house. Emphasising Gogoi's nomination to the Rajya Sabha just months after he demitted the office as CJI, he said Justice Ranganath Misra was elected to the upper house six years after his term as the top judge of the country got over.

As regards former CJI M. Mohammad Hidayatullah, he said Hidayatullah had become vice president nine years after his retirement from the judiciary. Singhvi further said there was a gap of six years between former Justice Baharul Islam's Rajya Sabha term and his appointment as a judge of the Gauhati High Court.

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