The Congress on Sunday raised concerns over judicial independence under the Narendra Modi government, citing former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul’s forthcoming memoir, Without Fear of Favour.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the memoir raised “serious questions” about the functioning of the judiciary, including alleged government interference in judicial appointments and the allocation of sensitive cases.
Sharing a media report quoting the memoir’s pre-publication manuscript on X, Ramesh said Kaul had highlighted instances of the government seeking approval before Collegium meetings and questioning the caste of a judge belonging to a minority community.
Ramesh also referred to Kaul’s account of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud being “too deferential to the Government” on judicial appointments. He said concerns over judicial independence had deepened after Chandrachud acknowledged that the government engaged with the CJI in the appointment process.
The Congress leader further cited Kaul’s account of a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in which a matter was reassigned to another bench after the bench headed by Kaul considered reconsidering certain aspects of an earlier ruling. According to Ramesh, the reassignment took place without consulting Kaul.
Questioning whether such developments amounted to pressure on the judiciary, Ramesh said the institution responsible for upholding the Constitution must remain free from the influence of those in power.
He asserted that judicial independence was indispensable to democracy and called for the judiciary to remain insulated from government pressure.
(With inputs from PTI)