Saturday, March 23, 2013

Subversion of justice

Justice Chandru of the Madras High Court in a recent judgement admonished Justice S.Mohan, a former judge of the Supreme Court for taking up an assignment which a retired judge of the SC was not expected to handle. Chandru's courage and passion to uphold law deserve commendation.

When a retired judge of the highest court in the land keeps commenting on judgements and intervenes in the execution of the sentence pronounced by the court, it is a cause for serious concern. If, in addition, there is no justification for what the former judge demands, it becomes the duty of the judiciary to silence the loose cannon. Justice Katju is one such former judge.

Katju wants Sanjay Dutt to be pardoned by the governor of Maharashtra. Reasons? He has two young children. He has suffered a lot in the last 20 years attending the courts. He is connected with films on Mahatma Gandhi. His parents were 'patriots'. These reasons are as puerile as you can get.

Justice Katju cannot be unaware that the Supreme Court has held Sanjay Dutt guilty of a 'very serious crime' including possessing huge arms and ammunition without licence. It cannot be the case of any prudent person that such a crime which facilitated serial bomb blasts is pardonable. Demented judges, retired or otherwise, are dangerous to society.

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