NEW DELHI: Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the Supreme Court Collegium had carefully examined all material related to the elevation of Advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a judge of Madras High Court and one should not be “cold calling” individuals merely for views they may have held as lawyers.
He was responding to a question raised in a recent conversation at Harvard Law School in relation to all the hate speeches made by the former advocate against the minority communities. Pointing out that the question contains an inference that “the Supreme Court didn’t look at the issue at all,” the CJI said it is not a correct assessment while explaining intricacies of the procedure which duly followed on her appointment.
“One of our greatest judges, Justice Krishna Iyer, who came out with some of the finest judgments, had a political background,” Chandrachud remarked in his reply. “..if we start putting out everything about the lives of individuals into the public realm, there is a grave danger that people would not be willing to accept judicial office,” he said.
Gowri’s appointment as a judge of the higher judiciary had created a lot of controversy after allegations raised for her political leanings towards the BJP. Chandrachud also asked how an individual is disabled from becoming a judge “just by virtue of the fact that they have, at a certain point of time, appeared for a political cause?”
He said, “Lawyers across their careers appear for a cross section of clients. Lawyers don’t choose their clients. In fact, it’s my firm belief that as a lawyer, you’re duty bound to appear for whoever comes to you in search of legal aid. Much as a doctor has to administer medical aid to whoever comes to clinic. You don’t presume the guilt or the lack of guilt of, of people who come to you.”