The Question is... Why Did a Former SC Judge Attend a VHP Event?
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Dear Reader,
On Wednesday, while reading The Indian Express newspaper with my cup of morning chai, a story on the front page caught my attention. 'Kashi-Mathura Dispute, Waqf Bill on table at VHP meet with former judges,' read the headline.
It detailed how as many as 30 former judges of the Supreme Court and various high courts, along with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, attended an event organised by the legal cell of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) — a right-wing organisation which is a member of the Hindu nationalist outfits led by the RSS.
The question, however, was — WHO were the judges present at the VHP event? This was a crucial detail missing in the report.
We decided to fill that gap and identified some attendees from publicly available photos posted by the minister on social media platform X. While many of them refused to confirm their presence, Justice Hemant Gupta, who retired from the Supreme Court of India in June 2022, got back.
My next question — why did Justice Hemant Gupta attend a VHP event?
Justice Gupta told me that he attended the event as a 'citizen of India' to pontificate on 'current affairs'. He added that much like any other citizen of India, he 'has the liberty to associate with platforms and forums to discuss and deliberate upon current issues and topics.'
While one can argue that Justice Gupta is right — and that there are no rules/laws which prohibit judges from participating in public life post-retirement, it becomes important to look at it in the context of the values that the VHP stands for. The organisation has been accused of being involved in violence against minorities, cow vigilantism, and has defended bulldozer action in many cases.
In my report, I contextualised Justice Gupta's tenure in the Supreme Court against the backdrop of his public appearance at the VHP event. FYI: In his final judgment in the Supreme Court, he upheld Karnataka High Court's verdict in the hijab ban case.
After it was published, our story was shared by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and news publications including the Hindustan Times, ABP News, The News Minute, and Maktoob Media.
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HIMANSHI DAHIYA
Principal Correspondent
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