SC observations against Nupur Sharma not in sync with judicial ethos: Ex-judges

A group of former judges and bureaucrats on Tuesday criticised the recent Supreme Court observations against suspended BJP member Nupur Sharma alleging that the apex court surpassed the Laxman rekha and calling for urgent rectification stepsIn the annals of judiciary the unfortunate comments have no parallel and are indelible scar on justice system of the largest democracy Urgent rectification steps are called for as these have potentially serious consequences on democratic values and security of the country the statement signed by 15 former judges 77 exall India services officers and 25 veterans saidThe signatories include former chief justice of the Bombay High Court Kshitij Vyas former Gujarat High Court judge S M Soni former Rajasthan High Court judges R S Rathore and Prashant Agarwal and former Delhi High Court judge S N DhingraFormer IAS officers R S Gopalan and S Krishna Kumar ambassador retired Niranjan Desai former DGPs S P Vaid and B L Vohra Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi retired and Air Marshall retired S P Singh have also signed the statement which said the SC observations are not in sync with judicial ethosBy no stretch these observations which are not part of the judicial order can be sanctified on the plank of judicial propriety and fairness Such outrageous transgressions are without parallel in the annals of Judiciary it saidThe Supreme Court had on July 1 come down heavily on Sharma for her controversial comments against Prophet Mohammad saying her loose tongue has set the entire country on fire and that she is singlehandedly responsible for what is happening in the countryRefusing to entertain her plea for clubbing of FIRs lodged in various states against her for the remark the bench held that the comment was made either for cheap publicity political agenda or some nefarious activitiesCriticising the observations the statement said We as concerned citizens do believe that democracy of any country will remain intact till all the institutions perform their duties as per the constitution Recent comments by the two judges of the Supreme Court have surpassed the Laxman Rekha and compelled us to issue an open statementThese unfortunate and unprecedented comments have sent shockwaves in the country and outside it claimedNoting that Sharma sought access to justice system before the highest court the statement said the courts observations have no connect jurisprudentially with the issue raised in the petition and transgressed in an unprecedented manner all canons of dispensation of justiceShe was defacto denied access to judiciary and in the process there was an outrage on the preamble spirit and essence of the Constitution of India it alleged In the observations there is virtual exoneration of the dastardliest beheading at Udaipur in broad daylight it claimedIt further said Legal fraternity is bound to be surprised and shocked at the observation that an FIR should lead to arrest The observations on other agencies in the country without notice to them are indeed worrisome and alarmingThe signatories also defended Sharmas plea for clubbing all FIRs against her citing previous orders of the apex courtOne fails to understand why Nupurs case is treated at a different pedestal Such an approach of the Supreme Court deserves no applause and impacts the very sanctity and honour of the highest court of land it saidSharmas comments against the Prophet during a TV debate had triggered protests across the country and drew sharp reactions from many Gulf countries The BJP subsequently suspended her from the partyThe apex court had also pulled up the Delhi Police which has registered an FIR against her The bench said What has happened in the investigation so far What has Delhi Police done so far Dont make us open our mouth They must have put a red carpet for youThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever