The appointment of judges to the post of governor will raise questions on the decisions of the courts.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has been strongly criticizing the Congress and other parties on the issue of corruption and nepotism. This criticism does not mean that the BJP should also start behaving like these parties and argue that this has been happening under their rule as well, so what is wrong with it. The central government of BJP is making similar arguments in the matter of appointing retired Supreme Court Justice Abdul Nazeer as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. The BJP is justifying Nazir’s appointment by saying that this has been happening even during the Congress rule. BJP forgot that Congress is out of power because of such exploits. The BJP cannot, at its own convenience, curse the Congress in which it sees harm and present the example of the Congress where it has to implement its hidden agenda. This negative example will definitely raise fingers on the image of the BJP and the judges.

The BJP cannot escape its responsibilities by setting a wrong example of Justice Nazir. The question is not that Nazir, being a judge in the Supreme Court, gave a verdict in favor of the central government on the issue of Ayodhya and triple talaq, the bigger question is the morality and purity of the judiciary, which at least no one in the current era can maintain. It cannot be expected from a political party. The appointment of Nazir as Governor is in a way a way to rehabilitate judges after their retirement. That is, such judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, who would have given a decision in favor of the governments, would be at the mercy of the ruling parties. Whenever the right opportunity will come, the government will rehabilitate them and bless them.

This practice is not favorable not only to the judiciary but also to the judicial system of the country. It will not be easy to find out how much truth is there in the decisions given due to any greed or attraction. It will be considered that the judge has been obliged by appointing him to any administrative or constitutional post in return for his decisions to support the government. Leaders of political parties have been getting stained but if this evil reaches the judiciary then it will be difficult to maintain the faith of common people on justice. Retiring and taking up a post will raise questions on the decisions given during the judge’s tenure. As they are getting up regarding the appointment of Judge Nazir. There is already a long queue of those seeking justice in the country. The cost of getting justice is increasing continuously. Judiciary is facing shortage of judges. People are getting frustrated with the complex judicial process. On top of that, if this tendency inculcates in the judges that the government will do good to them after their retirement, then due to the judicial decisions, the remaining faith of the common people in the judiciary will start to crack.

The coronation of retired judges reinforces the point that the central government is trying to influence the judiciary in one way or the other. It is not that the Government does not have suitable persons to fill the post of Governor, but the inclusion of judges in it raises questions about the credibility of the Judiciary and the Government. Similarly, the central government is on the cusp of a confrontation with the Supreme Court on the issue of appointment of judges. The government has ruled out the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges through collegium. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has declared the law made by the government on the issue of appointment invalid. The Supreme Court has clearly said that by doing this the government is trying to interfere in the judiciary. The BJP argues that judges’ favorites are appointed in the Supreme Court and High Courts, while jurists say that the government is refusing to accept the collegium system to appoint its favourites. On one hand, the central government is determined to appoint judges of its choice, while on the other hand, it is trying to influence the judges by giving creamy posts to retired judges.

It is constitutional to say the post of governor, but in reality there are many examples of governors being embroiled in political controversies. In non-BJP ruled states, there are incidents of conflict between the governor and the state government. Jagdeep Dhankhar, who became the Vice President, is the biggest example of this. As long as Dhankhar was the Governor of West Bengal, his confrontation with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continued. There have even been political sit-ins against the governors in many states including Tamil Nadu. The governors have been facing many allegations of arbitrariness including corruption. In such a situation, it cannot be denied that such a situation will not arise if Nazir, who is a Supreme Court judge, becomes the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. There have been several clashes between the BJP and the Andhra government. If the situation of political protest arises, then it will not only be against the Governor but also against the retired judge of the Supreme Court. Being a judge in the Supreme Court, the governor will be dragged into controversies. Since there is no limit to allegations and counter-allegations in politics, if the controversy goes to any extent, judges who became governors after retirement will also come under its grip.

In many cases of conflict with the Governor, the Government and the Legislative Assembly, it has reached the High Court and the Supreme Court. If such a situation arises when a judge becomes governor, the courts will have to face a peculiar situation. The courts will have to hear such cases in which a Supreme Court judge has been involved. If the court makes adverse remarks against the governor, then indirectly the judiciary will also be affected because the governor has been a judge in the past. Undoubtedly the interests of the political parties are served by such situations of dispute, but it will not remain without breaking the faith built up in public sentiment towards the judiciary. The only way to curb this kind of self-serving tendency of the governments is if the Supreme Court takes the initiative and sets the Lakshman Rekha, otherwise the spatter of this decline will not remain without falling on the courts.

– Yogendra Yogi