All matter except point No. 9 by Mohan Menon and point No. 9 by Shreepal Singh
The impeachment notice against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was rejected by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament. INC (Indian National Congress) presently headed by Rahul Gandhi knew that their impeachment motion against the CJI shall fail, because this motion was not supported by the ruling BJP having the necessary numerical strength in Parliament for carrying this motion and INC that moved this motion did not have the required numerical strength (including the 7 sundry political parties supporting INC). Then, why did INC move such a motion? It was just to blackmail the judges who dared not to succumb to the INC pressure in delivering judgments to their liking.
Who could have imagined that lawyer leaders of Congress who charge crores of rupees for a single appearance in courts would draft such rubbish for a notice of impeachment?
This clearly confirms a long held suspicion beyond any doubt now that they have been practising so successfully in the Supreme Court, not by virtue of their merit but only through their ability to ‘fix’ benches.
Kapil Sibbal, Prashant Bhushan, Indira Jai Singh etc. have had quite a reputation for this. The father of one of them was even caught a few years ago on tapped audio tape that talked of his son’s ability of fixing the Supreme Court judges for money. The tape had gone viral then. Time kills memory but habits do not die.
And, it is their inability to continue doing the same now that is exposing them today.
Let’s take a look at the Congress’s journey through the years. This shameful history of INC makes them so eminently qualified (!) to hold rallies in the name of ‘Saving’ the Constitution and the independence of judiciary that it becomes necessary to recapitulate the same here.
-
1973: Indira Gandhi appoints Justice A N Ray as CJI superceding three senior judges of the Supreme Court. Justices JM Shelat, KS Hegde and AN Grover resign in protest. Congress makes a statement in the parliament “It is the duty of the Govt to appoint as CJI one who is close to our philosophy and point of view” Today they talk of judicial independence!
-
1975: Justice Jagmohan Sinha was to deliver judgement in the Rajnarayan Vs Indira Gandhi electoral malpractice case. He gets a call “If you indict Indira Gandhi – tell your wife not to fast this Karva Chauth,” to which Justice Sinha calmly replied ” fortunately my wife expired just two months back”. And he went on to deliver the historic judgment that became a leading light for those seeking judicial independence and the harbinger of the biggest abrogation and insult to the constitution by the Congress, the declaration of Emergency, to his peril, of course!
-
1976: Justice A N Ray pays back partially for the favours done in appointing him as CJI in the case of Shivkant Shukla Vs ADM Jabalpur. The bench headed by him declared the abrogation of fundamental rights during Emergency as just and rightful by a majority decision. The only dissenting judge was Justice HR Khanna, who told his colleagues on the bench “Can you look yourself in the eye?” The bench comprised of Justices AN Ray, HR Khanna, MH Beg, YV Chandrachud, and PN Bhagwati. All except Justice HR Khanna became CJI in due course. Justice Khanna was punished for his dissent and was superceded. Justice MH Beg was appointed as the CJI!
-
Justice MH Beg, on retirement, was made a director of the NATIONAL HERALD, a news paper wholly owned by the Congress party, and regarding fraudulent acquisition of its property both the present and past president of the Congress party are out on bail from the court. So much for the ‘independence of judiciary’! This doesn’t end here.
-
In 1980 when Indira Gandhi came back to power Justice MH Beg was made Chairman of the minorities commission. A chair that he warmed till 1988 and was awarded by ‘Padma Vibhushan’ by Rajiv Gandhi for services rendered (to?).
-
1962: Even more intriguing is the case of Justice Bahrul Islam!! Mr Islam was a Congress MP of the Rajya Sabha in 1962. He tried his hand at popular politics and contested for Lok Sabha unsuccessfully on a Congress ticket.He was made a Rajya Sabha MP by congress in 1968. He resigned from the Rajya Sabha in 1972 to be appointed a judge of the Guwahati High Court!
-
He retired from there in 1980, perhaps honourably. But, after Indira Gandhi came back to power in 1980, Mr Bahrul Islam was again elevated to the Supreme Court! Nine months after his retirement from the Guwahati High Court!
-
Indira Gandhi desperately needed to control benches as there were a number of cases running in the Supreme Court regarding atrocities during Emergency. He proved very useful in saving the skins of Congress people. Justice Islam resigned about a month and a half before his superannuation from the Supreme Court and contested for Lok Sabha from Barpeta in Assam. As the elections could not be held, he was once again made Rajya Sabha MP by Congress. So much for the cause of judicial probity and independence and constitutional propriety that the Congress purports to be espousing today!
-
It would not be out of place here to give one more INC’s sample of “saving” the independence of Indian judiciary. This ‘sample’ relates to the time when a case against Indira Gandhi’s son – Sanjay Gandhi – of the criminal theft and destruction of a property owned by one Amrit Nahata – a film called “Kissa Kursi Ka”, figuratively “Every trick can be employed to cling to power” – was going on in the Indian Supreme Court. Sanjay Gandhi used to come along with a gang of boxers / kickmasters to Supreme Court and attend court proceedings of his case. One day, his gang of boxers came to the security officer who was guarding the entry gate of the court of the Chief Justice of India – Justice Y. V. Chandrachud – and kicked that security officer on his private parts. The officer fell down unconscious. CJI was informed, who ordered to take immediate medical care of the officer. The life of the officer was saved. In those days, there was no elaborate security frisking before going near the court room. As if this was not enough to scare away the CJI, the next day, one Youth Congress activist – if my memory does not fail me, Mr. Yashpal Sharma – telephoned the CJI Chandrachud warning him not to come to the court that day because his life was in danger. But the CJI came to the court. Sanjay Gandhi immaticulately dressed in white Kurta Payjama was sitting along with lawyers in the front row of the court room. The CJI questioned Sanjay why did he get it done (kicking and threatening on telephone). Sanjay flately denied the charge. The author herein was present in the court that day. CJI addressed Sanjay Gandhi thus: ‘You come from a respectable family. I know it is you who got it done. I can send you to jail just now. But I will not do so. I cannot low down myself to that standard. Mr. Sanjay, behave yourself because you come from a respectable family.’ Two or three days thereafter, this author had a chance to seek an apointment and meet the CJI Chandrachud for some work. During the exchange related to my problem, the CJI, referring to himself, said, “Look at me.” and then quoted Sakshpere “Cowards die many a times before their death; vallient dies but once.” This makes me proud of the CJI of my country then and of the CJI of my country today who had refused then and who has refused now to buckle under the pressure of political ‘Goonda-ism’ of Congress – Congress which is shamelessly flauting itself today the champion of the independence of judiciary and protector of Constitution. This makes me proud to be a citizen of a country where the judiciary does not buckle under the threat of blackmail of impeachment by those who fail to obtain desirable judgments. One more aspect of the browbeating the judiciary: Congress lawyers-cum-MPs are so arrogant and discourtious when they appear in the highest judicial forum of the country that, had they been ordinary lawyers, they would have been sent to jail multiple times! They find it safe to play this dirty game in the name of ‘fearless advocacy’ in court, while it is nothing but blackmailing the judiciary. These lawyers-cum-politicians have the cheeks to boast for ‘Saving’ the independence of judiciary and the Constitution!
-
The angst of Congress is palpable and if one could say so, understandable. The party which has been having a stranglehold over the judicial system is not able to ‘ fix’ benches today! What a comedown!! And, so utterly unacceptable!
-
The party which at one time saved the skin of Justice Ramaswamy during impeachment proceedings for corruption after 11 out of 14 charges were proved, by abstaining from voting, is trying to impeach the CJI today on puerile and frivolous charges.
-
They have a problem. That’s granted. It is difficult for them to come to terms with a situation where they don’t have the power to mould the decisions of the courts in their favour, or to assign the matters to benches where favourable decisions could be ensured.
-
The frustration is evident. It is overwhelming. Justice Deepak Mishra is succumbing neither to inducement nor to Blackmail! And this, when he was appointed as judge of the High Court and Supreme Court by the Congress!
-
The reason for this attempted suicide by INC is mostly this sense of deep frustrtation.