Ex-judges, officials criticise SC’s Nupur observations

The observations, judgmental in nature, on issues not before the court, are crucifixion of the essence and spirit of the Constitution, the letter said

New Delhi: A group of retired judges, bureaucrats and military officers on Tuesday wrote an open letter to CJI NV Ramana criticising a bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala for not protecting the fundamental rights of BJP’s suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma and, instead, breaching judicial ethos by making “unfortunate and unprecedented” remarks against the petitioner.

In the letter to the CJI, 15 retired judges, 77 retired bureaucrats and 25 retired officers of the armed forces said the SC bench’s stance in turning down Sharma’s plea was violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and in conflict with its verdicts in similar cases. They also said the “judgmental remarks” were unprecedented, mark an “indelible scar” on the justice system, and “in a sense dilute the barbaric and dastardly beheading in Udaipur”.

“In the annals of judiciary, the unfortunate comments have no parallel and are an indelible scar on justice system of the largest democracy. Urgent rectification steps are called for as these have potentially serious consequences on democratic values and security of the country,” the letter said.