A PIL has been moved in Supreme Court seeking strict legal action against former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju for bringing the disrepute to the Indian judicial system and deposing before the UK court in the fugitive Nirav Modi matter.
The public interest litigation filed by Nand Kishore alleges that Markandey Katju tarnished the image of the Indian judicial system by “insinuating derogatory allegations against judiciary while deposing before a foreign court of Westminster Magistracy of United Kingdom”.
Recently, Justice Katju deposed before the UK court in connection to the fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s extradition case while stating that Modi is unlikely to get a fair trial back home in India and maybe turned into a “convenient scapegoat”.
The petitioner has alleged Justice Katju of casting aspersions and insinuations to the integrity and credibility of the Indian Judiciary. He showed his concerns about the people’s faith in judiciary and stated, “The depositions made by Mr Katju are highly derogatory and insulting to the entire judicial system of India. His allegations amount to questioning the very credibility of judicial institution where millions of citizens are reposing their faith and trust.”
The petitioner urged for exemplary action against the individuals who routinely lower the integrity of the judicial system and erode public confidence in the judicial system.
“The image our judiciary has lowered down following the highly derogatory deposition where serious allegations have been made only to protect the interest of fugitive accused. The Indian judiciary must not take this issue casually as such derogatory deposition made the entire judiciary suspect in the eyes of international community,” said the petition.
The petitioner has also sought the constitution of a court-monitored high power committee to look into the disparaging remarks made by former judges. The petition filed through Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi also sought the proper guidelines related to the issues concerning public criticism of judiciary and judges by the individuals who were once part of the judicial system. The petition also sought broad guidelines for deposing the cases before courts of foreign courts.
