Why should I resign? You resign: Katju to Jethmalani on timing of charges

Retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju, who now heads the Press Council of India, had on Monday triggered a massive controversy by alleging that three chief justices of India made “improper compromises” during the UPA’s first tenure in allowing an allegedly tainted judge in Tamil Nadu to continue in office. [caption id=“attachment_1629719” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] Although the incident throws a lot of light into the murkiness of coalition compulsions in politics, justice Katju, is also facing flak for keeping silent for so many years, given that the incident dates all the way back to 2005. He even came under scrutiny for his role from the nation’s top legal luminaries. “He should have had the moral courage to speak out at that time. If I was in justice Katju’s position I would not have rested thinking that my duty is performed by informing (then Chief Justice of India) RC Lahoti. According to me, justice Katju to some extend failed in his duty. Perhaps he felt that publicity may cause more damage than prevention of corruption,” senior lawyer Jethmalani said. Defending his own position, justice Katju who participated in the debate, said that he did whatever was possible for him within the restraints oh his position. “As long as I was a sitting judge I could not have gone public. That was the maximum I could do at that point of time. There is an unwritten code of conduct for a sitting judge. There is a judicial discipline that I had to follow. Till September 2011 there was no question of me going public because I was a sitting judge. I had told then CJI Lahoti about the judge. Is truth not more important than timing?” “I had mentioned this issue on my Facebook page when some Tamilians about three weeks back had asked me to put my experience as a judge in the Madras High Court. I recalled the whole thing and wrote about it,” he said. Jethmalani however felt that justice Katju should have done more when he realised that even after approaching then CJI Lahoti the tainted judge was going to get an extension. “When he realised that despite speaking to Lahoti the mischief is continuing he should have spoken out. He should now apologise for not trying to stop that. He should have sacrificed his position of sitting judge and should have gone public. He should have resigned and exposed the wrong in the system to the nation. I am not doubting his integrity. He tried to prevent corruption. I don’t know if there are any rule that prevents a judge from speaking the truth,” Jethmalani said. Sharing similar views, Sorabjee said, “If the CJI was unable to prevent it, justice Katju should have told the people of India. His considerations of judicial propriety should have prevailed over judicial discipline.” The former Supreme Court judge did not agree that resignation was an option. “Why I should have resigned? I did whatever was possible for me then. May be the seniors lawyers should resign,” Katju said. Among his most damaging allegations, is the fact that Katju has also charged that the Prime Minister’s Office, under then prime minister Manmohan Singh, directly intervened to put pressure on the Supreme Court collegium to get an extension for the same judge. Reacting to the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation that no extension should be given to the concerned judge, the PMO then went to the extent of seeking as to why he should not be given an extension. “Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress should come forward and answer the allegations of how different constitutional bodies, including the judiciary, were misused for political reasons. It is unfortunate and a matter of serious concern,” BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday.