The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Monday, urged outgoing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to not accept any post-retirement job offered by the central government.
In a four-page letter, BCI president Manan Kumar Mishra wrote that by doing this, Misra “would be doing a great service to the judiciary and democracy.”
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“We earnestly hope and believe that Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra would put new life and meaning to the initiative taken by Hon’ble Mr Justice Jasti Chelameswar in not taking any post retirement assignment from the government. And he would be doing a great service to the judiciary and democracy by doing so,” the letter read.
Supreme Court judges Jasti Chelameswar and Kurian Joseph had publicly declared that they will not accept any such post-retirement appointments.
The letter added, “When a judge accepts any assignment after his retirement fingers are raised about the bona fides of this assignment. The case of Hon’ble Mr Justice P. Sathasivam, former Chief Justice of India who was appointed governor of Kerela (sic) after retirement, had generated much reaction.”
“..some powerful people, sitting in the government, (which is the largest litigant), have been controlling our judges by giving them assurances to keep them engaged after their superannuation.
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And since the Bar is supposed to be the mouthpiece and voice of the people, the judiciary is being used to throttle and shut its mouth.”.
After coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has appointed at least 12 retired judges on various government posts. Ironically, in 2012, senior party leaders Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, had argued that the trend of recruiting retired judges was affecting the court’s judgments, reported The Print.
Read BCI’s full letter here:
Bar Council of India urges outgoing CJI Dipak Misra to follow footsteps of Justice J Chelameswar in not taking post retirement assignment from the Government. By doing this, CJI Misra would be "doing great service to the democracy & Judiciary", says BCI. pic.twitter.com/qb1opC7lVb
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