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SC Lawyers’ Body Expresses Concern on Top Court Judge Praising PM, Passes Resolution Against Remark
Feb. 27, 2020

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday passed a resolution criticising Justice Arun Mishra, who recently lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remarking that such statements reflect poorly on the independence of the judiciary.
On Friday, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the international judicial conference, Justice Mishra had said that ‘India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the stewardship of the internationally acclaimed visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Mod
He had further described the PM as a ‘versatile genius who thinks globally but acts locally.’

Reacting to the same, the SCBA, which is the body of lawyers practising in the Supreme Court, said that it had taken note of Justice Mishra’s comments ‘with a deep sense of anguish and concern.’ In a statement, the body said, “The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the statements and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit.”

“The SCBA reaffirms its faith in the Constitution and independence of the judiciary and calls upon all concerned in the administration of justice to work for the same in letter and spirit,” the statement stated further. The body also said that such statements that ‘such proximity and familiarity’ may impact the judicial decision-making process give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants with regards to the outcome of the case.

Justice Arun Mishra is the third senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justice NV Ramana.