Congress points to ex-SC judge's memoir, raising serious doubts about judiciary independence under Modi govt

New Delhi: Referring to former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul’s yet-to-be-published memoir, the Congress on Sunday raised “serious questions” about the independence of the judiciary under the Modi government and said the institution responsible for upholding the Constitution must remain free from pressure from those in power. Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report quoting the pre-publication manuscript of Kaul’s memoir, *Without Fear of Favour*, which says Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud was “too deferential to the Government” in matters related to appointments. In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said, “A book by former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has raised serious questions regarding the independence of the judiciary during the tenure of the Modi government.” Justice Kaul has pointed to several troubling incidents, including government interference in the appointment of judges, attempts to seek government approval before Collegium meetings, and what he described as the government’s absurd questioning of the caste of a judge from a minority community, Ramesh said.

He added that issues many had earlier been reluctant to speak about publicly have now been recorded by Justice Kaul in careful and restrained language. “Strikingly, a former Chief Justice of India has not denied that discussions with the government take place prior to judicial appointments. When former CJI Justice Chandrachud acknowledges that the government engages with the CJI and has a role in the appointment process, concerns about judicial independence become even more serious,” Ramesh said.

He also said Justice Kaul’s disclosure was equally troubling — that after a bench headed by him suggested reconsidering certain aspects of a court ruling in a PMLA case, the matter was transferred to another bench without any consultation with him. “This shows the extent of the government’s day-to-day interference in the functioning of the Supreme Court,” Ramesh said. “When there is pressure to secure government approval for judicial appointments, and when benches hearing sensitive cases are changed, one has to ask — in the interest of protecting democracy — if this is not pressure on the judiciary and a weakening of its independence, then what is?” the Congress leader said.

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