Former civil servants, in an open letter on Thursday, criticised Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for several of his comments, which they said constituted a concerted attack by the government on the collegium system of appointments and on judicial independence.
“We write to you today in response to comments you made on various occasions, most recently at the India Today Conclave on March 18, 2023. Your statements that day are the latest in what is emerging as a concerted attack by the government on the collegium system of appointments, the Supreme Court of India, and, ultimately, on judicial independence. We unequivocally condemn this onslaught,” the letter said.
Rather than engage constructively with the Supreme Court and collegium, high offices of the executive, such as yours and that of the Vice President, have responded with venomous barbs, it said. The government’s continued refusal to accept some candidates can only give rise to the suspicion that the underlying intention is to create a pliant judiciary, the letter said. Former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, former home secretary G K Pillai, ex-foreign secretary Sujatha Singh, and former health secretary K Sujatha Rao are among the 90 signatories to the open letter. “The process of determining judicial appointments goes to the heart of this independence. It is a testament to their commitment to the institution that retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are not mute spectators to abrasive attacks on the judiciary,” it said.
The bureaucrats also took exception to Rijiju’s remark that the government will take strict action against “those who have worked against the country.” “It seems to us that you are confusing the government with the country, construing criticism of the government as disloyalty to the country. You seem to believe that if a person disagrees with the views of the government, that is enough to permanently label him or her as ‘anti-national’,” they said in the letter and accused the Centre of trying to suppress dissent with punitive actions.
“As the Law Minister, if you have concerns about opinions being expressed or discussions taking place in public fora, you can avail of multiple platforms and ways to respond, beginning with inviting dialogue,” the letter said. To label public-spirited citizens as an “anti-India gang” and threaten them with action that will exact “a price” rings of authoritarianism and is “unbecoming of your high post”, the letter read.