Justice Kurian tried to prevent elevation of another Christian judge
National Minority Commission Vice-Chairman George Kurian on Wednesday slammed former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph for making unsubstantiated remarks with malicious intentions to create communal discord and hatred in the society. Talking to Indus Scrolls, George Kurian said he was appalled by the retired judge’s claim that the “minority tag had hindered his career”. He made the statement with an intention to instil fear and hatred among different communities, the Vice-Chairman said.
George Kurian said, “After serving as the judge of a High Court, Chief Justice of various High Courts and a Judge in the Supreme Court for 18 years, he is trying to mislead the people of India. His statement ‘even if a member of minority community has outstanding merits, he is recognised only because of his ‘minority identity’. He wanted the people from the minority communities to think that if the fate of a Supreme Court Judge is like this, what will be the fate of the common people?”
Justice Kurian Joseph’s remarks communal
According to the Vice-Chairman, the ex-judge’s intention was “to create unrest and communal disharmony”. “It may be noted that he was respected and loved by the people irrespective of his religion, but he gives back the community the feeling of fear and hatred. While referring to his decision to revolt against his former colleague, once equal and later first among equals, he stated that he felt “something went wrong”. Even after his retirement as a Supreme Court Judge, he did not give any proof or evidence for his assumption. So, from his statement about the minority tag, if somebody feels that he is communal, they cannot be blamed. For the common man, the post of Judge of Supreme Court is one of the highest positions in the Indian democratic system. He did not maintain the dignity of the position he held while speaking to the media. He wanted to show the world that minorities are not recognised in India. I request him to tell us which is the country in the world more secure and minority-friendly than India. Whether our neighbours like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are better than India? Western countries like America where the President himself says that he hates people from a particular religion and do not allow the people from six countries belonging to that religion even to visit America or in England where a Church is run officially and the Bishops and other clergies of that church is appointed only by the Queen. So, he should explain whether the members of the minority communities are suppressed in India. As a responsible citizen of India, he should explain to the nation about it.”
Ex-Supreme Court judge is selfish
George Kurian said more than the Christian community’s interests, he was guided by his own personal interest and ambitions. During his long judicial career, Justice Kurian Joseph has tried to “hinder the career of judges belonging to his own community”. According to him, many of his claims were far removed from truth. “From his statement, one can easily find out that he is a selfish individual. He says that if he was selected as a Supreme Court Judge in 2012, he would have become Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India. He would have succeeded Justice Deepak Mishra as Chief Justice of India. He cleverly misled the people that in 2012, a member of the Christian community became Justice of Supreme Court from another State but his name does not reflect as such. Justice Joseph wanted to avoid that Christian member to become Justice of Supreme Court. That means he wanted to hinder the career of another Christian. It clearly shows that he is selfish and his malicious intention is exposed here as he is seeking to accomplish his own personal professional interests more than the general interest of the community. As a Judge of the Supreme Court, he puts “ifs” and “buts” for fulfilling his personal ambitions which unbecoming of a senior judge.”
On the controversial press conference: lowered Supreme Court’s stature
Criticising the former judge for his role in the controversial press conference which led to the erosion of the judiciary’s stature in the public eye, George Kurian said he and his colleagues had taken the decision on the “basis of their feeling”. “But he did not provide any proof or evidence. Nobody especially a person in the judiciary takes decisions on the basis of rumour and hearsay. There are so many rumous about Justice Kurian Joseph himself. I presume that nobody will believe them because people of India respected and loved him as a Judge of Supreme Court like other judges. One of the rumours is that when a Judge from a minority community from South India, who was selected by the Collegium as Supreme Court Justice, Justice Kurian Joseph openly supported him outside the Collegium knowing fully well that his vociferous support make confusion in the appropriate forums and could prevent him from being appointed as Judge of Supreme Court. Another rumour is that he was instrumental in selecting an advocate from a minority community who was very junior in profession and not qualified to become a High Court Judge, purportedly misleading the leaders of the minority community that if selected, that man will become the Chief Justice of India. While processing the case further, he was eliminated. By this way, he prevented qualified advocates of minority communities from Kerala becoming High Court Judges. From this, we can see that he is concerned only about himself and his position.”
In a statement George Kurian said, “After retirement, one of his statements is that the Court should not interfere in religious matters. Every media interpreted this to be regarding the Sabarimala Judgement. A few days later, he told the media that he did not mean it. Always he is telling the world that he is expressing his concern about religious faiths and minority rights. The people want to know what is his opinion about the Supreme Court judgement on IPC 497 dealing with adultery. As per Ten Commandments “you shall not commit adultery”. Does Justice Kurian Joseph felt that the Bench of the Supreme Court was remote controlled by someone else? Regarding NEET, the first judgement by the Supreme Court, the Bench led by the Chief justice of India held that the notification for conducting NEET was against Article 30 (1) of the Constitution of India i.e. minority rights. In the review, the Supreme Court entrusted MCI to conduct NEET stating that there can be reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights even on minority rights. Whether Justice Kurian Joseph feels that the said Bench was also remote controlled?”
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