Bar Council of India hails nomination of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi to RS

The Bar Council of India has hailed the nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha and stated that this will act as a "bridge between the legislature and the judiciary".

It also termed the criticism by some of the former judges and a section of lawyers of such a move as "unwarranted and premature".

"We hail the novel initiative taken by the President of India in nominating Ranjan Gogoi, former Chief Justice of India, as a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). We see it as a bridge between the Legislature and Judiciary. This, in fact, would be an ideal opportunity to portray the first-hand views of the judiciary before the lawmakers and vice versa," read a press release from the Bar Council of India.

"We have witnessed some comments and criticism from some quarters including former judges of the Supreme Court of India and a few lawyers, which we feel is unwarranted and premature. Therefore, such hue and cry and reckless comments would be an attempt to malign the image of judiciary," it added.

The Bar Council of India further stated that there is no law or constitutional provision that prohibits such a nomination. "Rather, the concept of nomination under Article-80(1)(a) of the Constitution of India is meant for such people only," it said.

"It is most unfortunate that without even witnessing the part or role to be played by Ranjan Gogoi in Parliament, such comments are being issued. The former judges and the lawyers should refrain from making the criticism, but, it appears to us that a few former judges and a handful of lawyers are in the habit to criticise almost each and every move of the government and many a time, they have gone to the extent of criticising and commenting upon the decisions of even the apex court," read the statement.

The Bar Council said that the decision will prove to be a "landmark" and go a long way in the process of nation building."

Ranjan Gogoi is likely to take oath as Rajya Sabha MP at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Gogoi served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from October 3, 2018 to November 17, 2019. He delivered several key judgments including the Ram janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid decision and also oversaw the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam that has left over 19 lakh people out of the citizenship list.