Mumbai: “I would want to be remembered as a good judge and not a bad Chief Justice of India,” retired justice Jasti Chelameswar of the Supreme Court said on Friday. The former Chief Justice of the Kerala and Guwahati High Courts was speaking on ‘Dissent in Democracy’ at All India Professionals Congress (AIPC) in Bandra.
In a free-wheeling conversation with AIPC president Sanjay Jha, Mr. Chelameswar spoke about the controversial press conference, the working of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the need for a civil society to lodge its dissent.
Referring to holding the press conference in January, he said, “Some wise men said you should do it now. The issue was if a matter is listed before a certain Bench it should always be heard before that Bench. But, overnight matters have disappeared from one judge and gone to the other. So, we need a transparent and fair administration because there reasons are not recorded.”
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On being questioned about being the lone dissenter in the National Judicial Appointments Commission judgement, he said, “Even as a student of law I found it unacceptable that the government of the day has no say in the appointment of judges.”
The retired justice said, “Let the government have a say in it, but make sure they don’t take control of it. We need the government to enforce judgements, because no court can do that. If the government doesn’t do it, judges are helpless.”
Commenting on the current situation of the CBI, he said the body is not constitutional nor statutory. “Everyone wants the CBI to investigate a matter, but it is not a divine organisation. There is no proper legal framework in it, and all political parties are responsible since they have all used it as an instrument when in Opposition.”
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He emphasised on the need to speak up and protest at something which is not right. “When we choose to be silent we have ourselves to blame. The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain silent.”
Mr. Chelameswar has delivered landmark judgements like Aadhaar, upheld freedom of speech, and struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. The retired justice, who had studied in Telugu language, said he could not speak a line in English till he reached Loyola College, Chennai.
The 65-year-old ended the conversation by saying, “Most of the problems arise because we have forgotten our Father of the Nation. We have forgotten to speak the truth. The truth is the first sacrifice and everyone tries to camouflage it.”