A day after four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court went public with their differences with Chief Justice Dipak Misra, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said it is “our bounden duty to take note of what the judges have said and raise our voice for corrective action”.
Sinha, who finds himself at variance with his party’s stand and policies, chose to speak on the matter and said it is fear that is stopping people from speaking out.
“If four senior judges have gone public then how is it a Supreme Court matter? It is a serious matter. If they say anything to the people of the country, it is our bounded duty to take note of that,” Sinha said.
He urged “not only to listen to what the judges said to the people but also to take corrective action and raise our voice in regard to their issues”.
“All those who care for the future of the country and democracy should raise their voice. People are not speaking out of fear.”
The BJP, though, has refrained from speaking on the issue calling it an “internal matter of the apex court” and hit out at the Congress for using it to gain “political mileage”.
Sinha alleged that senior cabinet ministers are quiet because they fear they might lose their post.
“I am not saying the government should step in, it should be left to the Supreme Court. But what I am saying is the government should play its part in protecting the democracy.”
If democracy is being threatened then it’s the government’s responsibility to stand up against those (threatening it), Sinha said.
It was an argument early on Friday which convinced the four most senior judges in the Supreme Court to go to the people’s court.
The four judges — Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph — addressed the media on the controversy over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the top court is “not in order” and that efforts to convince CJI Dipak Misra had “failed”.