NEW DELHI : History of judiciary in India is replete with the examples of politicians lawyers becoming constitutional court judges as well as of Supreme Court and high court judges in the evenings of their lives deciding to jump onto dusty electoral battle tracks.
“Law without politics is blind and politics without law is deaf” was famously said by celebrated Supreme Court Judge V R Krishna Iyer, who epitomised the politician-turned-judge and judge turned politicians syndrome. As a CPI member, he was elected to Ma dras and then Kerala assembly thrice and remained an active politician till 1965.
Iyer became a HC judge in 1968 and with the support from the politicians became a SC judge in fiv e years: something unthinkable as a HC judge puts in a minimum 10-15 years before becoming a SC judge. In 1987 he unsuccessfully contested election for President as the joint opposition can didate. Justice Baharul Islam takes the cake a politician-turned-judge-turned-politician. This Congressman was elected to Rajya Sabha in April 1962 and re-elected in 1968, in between unsuccessfully contesting the assembly elections in Assam.
He resigned from the RS in 1972 to become a Gauhati high court judge and retired in March 1980 to return to active politics.
Nine months after retirement, the Indira Gandhi government appointed him as a judge of the SC in December 1980. He resigned in January 1983, weeks after he gave a verdict favouring Congress’s Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra in a corruption case, to contest the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. The elections were countermanded. Nonetheless, Congress saw to it that Justice Islam made it to Parliament by nominating him to the RS in 1983 for six years.
K S Hegde, who had joined Congress in 1935, was elected for a two-year-term in RS in 1952 and in 1954 was reelected for a six year term, even though he continued to practice in courts. In August 1957, he resigned from RS to become a judge of Mysore HC and became a SC judge in July 1967. When Indira Gandhi government superseded him and two others, Jusice J M Shelat and Justice A N Grover, to appoint Justice A N Ray as CJI in 1973, all three of them resigned.
He contested on Janata party ticket in 1977 and won from Bangalor e North constituency. He was chosen LS Speaker in July 1977. After the disintegration of Janata Party, he joined BJP and was one of its vice presidents from 1980-86. He contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections but lost.
Justice Aftab Alam was a member of CPI , who moved to Congress. He resigned from the party before being appointed as a HC judge. Alam had caused considerable consternations to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi while hearing Sohrabuddin fake encounter case so much so that senior advocate Ram Jethmalani had openly criticised him for showing unabashed bias towards Modi and Amit Shah, then the home minister of the state.
F I Rebello, before his appointment as a judge of Bombay HC in 1996, was a Janata Party MLA in Goa. He went on to become Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in 2010-11. J&K HC judge Hasnain Masoodi was successfully fielded as a NC Candidate for Anantnag Lok sabha constituency after his retirement.
Justices A M Thipsay, Vijay Bhauguna, M Rama Jois, Rajinder Sachar all had taken plunge into active politics after retiring as HC judges. Rajya Sabha seats have been taken by retired CJIs Ranganath Misra and Ranjan Gogoi, while gubernatorial assignments were accepted by former SC judge Fathima Beevi and ex-CJI P Sathasivam.
Justice B R Gavai aptly said on Tuesday, “I have been a judge of constitutional courts for the last 20 years and I have a political background. ” His father R S Gavai is the founder of the Republican party. Senior Gavai had been a MLA in Maharashtra and had been elected to both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during his three decades of active politics. Late r, he was appointed Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala.
“Law without politics is blind and politics without law is deaf” was famously said by celebrated Supreme Court Judge V R Krishna Iyer, who epitomised the politician-turned-judge and judge turned politicians syndrome. As a CPI member, he was elected to Ma dras and then Kerala assembly thrice and remained an active politician till 1965.
Iyer became a HC judge in 1968 and with the support from the politicians became a SC judge in fiv e years: something unthinkable as a HC judge puts in a minimum 10-15 years before becoming a SC judge. In 1987 he unsuccessfully contested election for President as the joint opposition can didate. Justice Baharul Islam takes the cake a politician-turned-judge-turned-politician. This Congressman was elected to Rajya Sabha in April 1962 and re-elected in 1968, in between unsuccessfully contesting the assembly elections in Assam.
He resigned from the RS in 1972 to become a Gauhati high court judge and retired in March 1980 to return to active politics.
Nine months after retirement, the Indira Gandhi government appointed him as a judge of the SC in December 1980. He resigned in January 1983, weeks after he gave a verdict favouring Congress’s Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra in a corruption case, to contest the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. The elections were countermanded. Nonetheless, Congress saw to it that Justice Islam made it to Parliament by nominating him to the RS in 1983 for six years.
K S Hegde, who had joined Congress in 1935, was elected for a two-year-term in RS in 1952 and in 1954 was reelected for a six year term, even though he continued to practice in courts. In August 1957, he resigned from RS to become a judge of Mysore HC and became a SC judge in July 1967. When Indira Gandhi government superseded him and two others, Jusice J M Shelat and Justice A N Grover, to appoint Justice A N Ray as CJI in 1973, all three of them resigned.
He contested on Janata party ticket in 1977 and won from Bangalor e North constituency. He was chosen LS Speaker in July 1977. After the disintegration of Janata Party, he joined BJP and was one of its vice presidents from 1980-86. He contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections but lost.
Justice Aftab Alam was a member of CPI , who moved to Congress. He resigned from the party before being appointed as a HC judge. Alam had caused considerable consternations to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi while hearing Sohrabuddin fake encounter case so much so that senior advocate Ram Jethmalani had openly criticised him for showing unabashed bias towards Modi and Amit Shah, then the home minister of the state.
F I Rebello, before his appointment as a judge of Bombay HC in 1996, was a Janata Party MLA in Goa. He went on to become Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in 2010-11. J&K HC judge Hasnain Masoodi was successfully fielded as a NC Candidate for Anantnag Lok sabha constituency after his retirement.
Justices A M Thipsay, Vijay Bhauguna, M Rama Jois, Rajinder Sachar all had taken plunge into active politics after retiring as HC judges. Rajya Sabha seats have been taken by retired CJIs Ranganath Misra and Ranjan Gogoi, while gubernatorial assignments were accepted by former SC judge Fathima Beevi and ex-CJI P Sathasivam.
Justice B R Gavai aptly said on Tuesday, “I have been a judge of constitutional courts for the last 20 years and I have a political background. ” His father R S Gavai is the founder of the Republican party. Senior Gavai had been a MLA in Maharashtra and had been elected to both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during his three decades of active politics. Late r, he was appointed Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala.
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