When sought his comment on the recent claim of former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, a Roman Catholic Christian, National Commission for Minorities Vice-Chairman George Kurian said it was not the case and the former judge was ‘communalising the issue’.
George Kurian said Justice Kurian Joseph is a good friend and both belong to Kerala. “He retired from the post of a judge of Supreme Court. He was a judge for long 18 years. After that he is telling that he wanted to become the Chief Justice of India.”
The NCM Vice-Chairman said the former judge’s claim was not true as he had “cleverly hidden” certain facts before making the statement. According to George Kurian, Justice Kurian’s claim that after the retirement of Justice Cyriac Thomas, a Christian, if he were appointed as a judge he would have become the Chief Justice. “But very cleverly, he has hidden one thing. After the retirement of Cyriac Thomas, another Christian judge Justice Vikramjit Sen was appointed. He retired on December 30, 2015. His name does not reflect his religion,” said George Kurian.
George Kurian said, “After retirement Justice Kurian stated that minority tag is a hindrance to professional growth even if a person has outstanding merits.” With a smile on his face, George Kurian he doesn’t want to contest his claims of “outstanding merit”.
According to George Kurian, Justice Kurian did not maintain the dignity of the post he held. “When Vikramjit Sen was asked about his religion by a Times of India correspondent, he advised him that it was a personal matter and such questions should not be asked to a judge.”
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