MADURAI: Dismissing the anticipatory bail petitions filed by nine Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) members, who had been booked by Madurai and Ramanathapuram police for allegedly making threatening remarks against Karnataka High Court judges over the recent hijab verdict, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court reminded the State government of its duty to ensure that the judiciary is able to function independently without fear.
The TNTJ had conducted protest meetings on March 17 and 18 in Madurai and Ramanathapuram respectively, and remarks made during these meetings had led to the case. Justice K Murali Shankar noted that it is evident that the speakers had given an “open threat of murder” to the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and two judges.
The speakers have also referred to the murder of Additional District Judge of Jharkhand last year, implying that the Supreme Court judges would meet with a similar fate if they pass any unfavourable order in the hijab issue, the judge pointed out.
Commenting that it is not an ordinary case, the judge said, "On considering the speeches made at the meetings, it can easily be inferred that they (the speakers) have been attempting to turn a particular community or a particular section of the community against the judiciary."
Justice Shankar further expressed displeasure over the fact that the police authorities did not stop the Ramanathapuram meeting though it was conducted without permission and also failed to register FIRs immediately after the incidents.
Rejecting the Additional Advocate General’s explanation that the authorities had to get permission from the headquarters, the judge said, "Neither the Code of Criminal Procedure nor any other law mandates the police officials to get permission from their headquarters for registering cases, even those involving cognizable offences."
Citing the anguish expressed by the Supreme Court in the suo motu case registered over the Jharkhand judge’s murder, Justice Shankar told the government, "... If any one of the judges is affected by the threats, then the judicial independence would vanish, eroding the very edifice on which the institution of justice stands, and then the very foundation of the country’s democracy would crumble."
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