The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) expressed strong reservations on Wednesday over the statements made by Justice Arun Mishra praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 'International Judicial Conference' held last week.
In a communication sent to the media, the SCBA said, it has taken note "with deep sense of anguish and concern", the statement made by Justice Mishra concerning Modi during the conference held on Saturday.
"The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the aforesaid statement and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit," said the SCBA statement signed by its President Dushyant Dave and others members.
It said that SCBA believes that any such statements reflects "poorly on the independence of the judiciary and so calls upon the judges not to make statements in future nor show any proximity or closeness to the executive including higher functionaries".
The lawyers' body of the apex court said, "The SCBA also believes that such proximity and familiarity may impact the decision making process by the judges and may give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants about the outcome".
It said that the association reaffirms its faith in the Constitution of India and independence of the judiciary and calls upon all concerned in the administration of justice to work for the same in letter and spirit.
On February 22, Justice Mishra was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally".
Complimenting the PM and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for doing away with 1,500 obsolete laws, Justice Mishra said India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the "stewardship" of Modi.
Delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 - 'Judiciary and the Changing World' at the Supreme Court, he said challenges faced by the judiciary at the national and international levels are common and judiciary has a "significant role" in the ever-changing world.
"Dignified human existence is our prime concern. We thank the versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally, Shri Narendra Modi, for his inspiring speech which would act as a catalyst in initiating the deliberations and setting the agenda for the conference," Justice Mishra, who is third in seniority in the apex court, said while expressing gratitude to the PM for inaugurating the conference.
He said India is the biggest democracy in the world and "people wonder how this democracy is functioning so successfully".
"India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the stewardship of internationally acclaimed visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi," he said.
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