Chief Justice of India R M Lodha slammed the Centre for dropping former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium’s name from the list of persons recommended for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court and severely criticized Subramanium for making public his letter withdrawing consent to become a judge while casting a doubt on the independence of judiciary.
At the farewell function for Justice B S Chauhan, the CJI expressed his serious reservations over the manner in which the Centre segregated Subramanium’s name from the other three – R F Nariman and chief justices Adarsh Goel and Arun Misra – without his consent.“I do not approve of it (the segregation). It was done without my knowledge and consent,” the CJI said.The Centre had cited adverse CBI and IB reports to return Subramnaium’s name to the collegium at a time when Justice Lodha was abroad. The CJI said after learning about the development, he had on June 25 talked to Subramanium and told him to wait for his return on June 28.But, Subramanium wrote a 9-page letter to the CJI on June 25 itself and the letter has since been in public domain. Subramanium accused the Centre of trying to slight the judiciary by showing its unwillingness to appoint independent-minded persons as judge of the SC. He had also said: “I am, however, unable to dispel the sense of unease that the judiciary has failed to assert its independence by respecting likes and dislikes of the Executive.” The CJI said he was shocked by the letter that cast an aspersion on the independence of judiciary. He said he had told him to wait till his return to India.
“After I came back, I had a 75-minute talk with him on June 28. I told him that if he withdrew the withdrawal of his consent for becoming a judge, then I can place his name for reconsideration before the collegium. He said he would respond by tomorrow (June 29),” the CJI said.
The next day, that is on June 29, Subramanium had sent a 30-word regret letter to the CJI, who read it out word by word in the farewell function. As Subramanium is unwilling to become a Judge of the SC, the matter stand closed now, the CJI said.
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