Salwa Judum verdict no blemish for V-P nominee Justice Reddy

As the momentum builds up for the vice-presidential election to fill the vacancy caused by the abrupt departure of former incumbent, Jag deep Dhankar, the war of words between supporters of the NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan and those back ing Justice (retired) B.

Sudershan Reddy, the INDIA bloc candidate is getting hotter. Justice Reddy is known for his long association with landmark judgments upholding principles of the Constitution and social justice, wherein he is known to have stood for democratic values.

He made a landmark constitutional contribution through the Salwa Judum verdict(also known as Nandini Sundar verdict), where he protected tribal communities and reinforced constitutional norms. The Salwa Judum verdict remains a cornerstone of Indian constitutional law, where the court reminded the State that counter-insurgency cannot come at the cost of fundamental rights.

Justice Reddy’s opinion was deeply rooted in constitutional morality and judicial humanism and forcefully reminded the State of its obligation under Article 355 to govern in accordance with the Constitution, not through coercive extra-legal means.

“The Constitution is not a tool of the powerful to misuse, but a shield for the powerless,” Justice Reddy was quoted as saying. Though due to the sheer numbers of the NDA allies, Justice Reddy might not emerge as the victor in the VP race, but his candidature has surely added another dimension to an otherwise expected outcome, and certainly disturbed the BJP.

As perhaps expected, he has been facing criticism from senior BJP leaders who called him a supporter of Naxalism as he was part of the two-judge Bench that disbanded the anti-Maoist Salwa Judum militia in Chhattisgarh in 2011.

The most scathing attack on Justice Reddy came from none other than home minister Amit Shah. Shah accused him of being a supporter of the Naxalite movement. Shah went so far as to allege that if not for Justice Reddy’s judgement, the central government would have wiped out the Naxalites from the tribal area.

The home minister’s allegations have been retorted through a strong, collective condemnation by several retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, as well as a senior advocate, a jurist and by most op position politicians.

In their public statement, the retired judges have termed the remarks “unfortunate”, and noted that the Nandini Sundar verdict, neither expressly nor by implication, lends support to Naxalism or its ideology. It is an irony that whereas the BJP has now raised these allegations against Justice Reddy’s vice-presidential candidature, they had expressed a starkly dif ferent view of him before.

In 2013, when BJP captured the Goa legislature, in their election promise, chief minister Parikkar had announced that within 100 days of the BJP resuming power, they would appoint the Loka yukta for the state. The BJP’s choice, interestingly, was Justice Sudarshan Reddy, who had just retired from the Supreme Court.