Wouldn't Have Attended Adhivakta Parishad's Program As A Sitting Judge As It's Politically Inclined : Justice AS Oka

Speaking during an event organised by Adhivakta Parishad, former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka today expressed that as a sitting judge, he would not have accepted invite to an event hosted by a politically-inclined organization.

"If as a sitting judge, I was invited by Adhivakta Parishad to speak on its platform, I would have politely said no, because my belief was Adhivakta Parishad does have political inclinations" he said.

"When a judge demits office, of course, he is not bound by those strict constraints and restrictions which he had as a judge, but I personally believe that being a retired judge of the constitutional court, he must follow certain restraints and constraints", Justice Oka added.

Justice Oka was speaking at an event hosted by Adhivakta Parishad Supreme Court Unit on the topic - "robes cannot be rented".

Justice Oka's remarks assume relevance in the recent context of Arvind Kejriwal citing the attendance of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court in the seminars organised by the Adhivakta Parishad - which is linked to the RSS - as one of the grounds for her recusal in the liquor policy case. The CBI defended Justice Sharma, saying that it was an advocates' body, and many judges have attended its programs on legal topics.

During his address, Justice Oka also spoke about the criticism that followed former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Verma's giving of expert opinion in fugitive Nirav Modi's extradition case in the United Kingdom.

Reportedly, when his opinion was sought in Modi's plea for reconsideration of his appeal against extradition proceedings, Justice Verma deposed that Modi is likely to be interrogated by CBI, ED and other investigating agencies if extradited to India. He also said that the sovereign assurance given by the Indian government that Modi won't be interrogated by CBI & ED will not bind the Courts in India.

Despite the expert opinion tendered by Justice Deepak Verma, the concerned Court in UK found no ground to interfere.

In this backdrop, Justice Oka said that though he personally felt that a retired judge must not tender expert opinion before foreign courts at the behest of a fugitive, at the same time, one must carefully examine the judge's opinion before criticizing it and seeking action against them.

"All that the retired judge says is that the assurance in Mr. Modi's case therefore appears to be diplomatic promise rather than a legally enforceable formal assurance in India. So his comment is that the assurance given by the Indian agencies or government of India is not enforceable promise, but it is some kind of a diplomatic promise."

Justice Oka also gave the example of opinion given by Justice Verma in fugitive Sanjay Bhandari's case, noting that in the said case, the retired judge spoke about the possibility of bail under PMLA and gave factual figures based on government data.

"We must objectively examine whether the retired judge has said something which is absolutely wrong", Justice Oka stated. "The real challenge before us is that we should bring about reforms in our judicial system so that our system is not criticized in foreign courts", he added.