Nupur Sharma case: Former HC judges and retired officials demand for the SC's comments to be recalled

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 5, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

There are also 25 former soldiers and 77 bureaucrats, including former chief secretaries, ambassadors, and DGPs.

Digital
Desk: Fifteen former Several
retired bureaucrats and army veterans, along with 15 former High Court judges,
published an open letter on Monday accusing the Supreme Court of going beyond
the "lakshman rekha" with its recent remarks on suspended Bharatiya
Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who is at the center of a heated
national debate over her remarks on the Prophet Muhammad.

The
vile comments, which have never been matched in the court's history, are a permanent
stain on the legal system of the biggest democracy. The findings of the highest
court that Sharma's "loose tongue" was the root of the widespread
unrest and that "urgent corrective steps are necessary for since these
have potentially catastrophic effects for democratic ideals and the security of
the country" were demanded to be recalled by the 117 petitioners.

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Kshitij
Vyas, a former chief justice of the Bombay high court, K Sreedhar Rao, a former
acting chief justice of the Gauhati high court, retired Delhi high court judge
SN Dhingra, and other former justices of various high courts are among the
signatories. There are also 25 former soldiers and 77 bureaucrats, including
former chief secretaries, ambassadors, and DGPs.

It
makes no sense to say that she is "single-handedly accountable for what is
occurring in the country." Such discovery effectively clears up the most
heinous beheading that occurred in broad daylight at Udaipur. Additionally, the
observations go to the most absurd conclusion that this was done "simply
to fan an agenda"... Any nation's democracy will endure as long as all of
its institutions carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the
Cooffensesoffences, it said, have never occurred in the history of the
judiciary.

By
making these observations, the letter claimed that Sharma was "de facto
denied access to judiciary." Reactions to these observations have been
extremely strong, which somewhat overshadows the horrifying, cowardly beheading
that occurred in Udaipur in broad daylight and is currently under
investigation.

color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">The letter was signed by former Kerala high
court judge PN Ravindran and former Kerala chief secretary Anand Bose. It
stated that "forcing a petitioner by such damning observations,
pronouncing her guilty without trial, and denying access to justice on issue
raised in the petition can never be a facet of a democratic society."

The
letter questioned why Sharma's case is given a different level of consideration
in light of the Supreme Court's previous granting of similar relief to
journalist Arnab Goswami.

color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">Referring to the right granted to every
citizen under Article 20(2), which forbids prosecution and punishment for the
same offence more than once, it added, "Such an approach of the Supreme
Court deserves no congratulations and hurts the very sanctity and honour of the
highest court of land."