The chief justice in the dock

The issue of the chief justice proceeding on leave abroad on health grounds and the statements and comments from various quarters have muddied the matter immensely. This situation is most unwarranted and should not have been allowed to happen. In this regard we feel the attorney general's remark that the chances of the CJ resuming his duties are a far cry, is uncalled for. As the chief law officer of the state it seems that he has already prejudged the case and declared the guilty verdict on the CJ.

As many as 11 charges have been brought against the CJ, all very serious in nature including money laundering, corruption and moral turpitude. The Supreme Court statement does not, however, inform us of any of the other 11 'charges' the CJ is alleged to have committed, nor does it inform us about the agency that has conducted the investigation into the charges; but be that as it may, we believe in the assumption of a person's innocence unless proven otherwise. It would not be remiss to ask whether a person with such a large number of extremely serious allegations against him should have been allowed to leave the country. Obviously there was no urgency, and the CJ has himself dismissed the news about his illness.

Justice Sinha was appointed as the chief justice by this government. And we recall his verdicts in many landmark cases including the judgment on the war criminals. While it is true that nobody is above the law, it is equally true that nobody should be considered below the law either. Surely, to accuse the CJ suddenly of such downright illegal activities as money laundering certainly raises many questions.

It is an extremely sad day that a matter relating to the highest judiciary has come to such a pass. We fear that the rule of law, respect for justice and independence of judiciary may suffer as a consequence.