Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president and senior advocate Adish C. Aggarwala on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to amend the law to ensure that judges are debarred from engaging in political activities for at least two years following their retirement or resignation.

The letter, a copy of which was marked to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, also suggested that only sitting judges or advocates be appointed as heads of tribunals instead of asking retired judges to take up the job.

“Unfortunately, former judges venturing into the political arena has been seen on multiple occasions in India. Earlier Mr Baharul Islam, who was Congress Member of Rajya Sabha, became a Judge of the Guwahati High Court. After retirement as Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court, he became a Judge of the Supreme Court. Finally he resigned as Judge of the Supreme Court and then again became a Congress Member of Rajya Sabha,” the letter said.

“Also, Mr Justice Ranganath Misra who was the Chief Justice of India from 1990 to 1991 joined the Congress Party and was made a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, after serving as Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission,” it added.

Aggarwala said the NDA government had in March 2020 nominated former CJI Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha but he did not join the BJP and instead chose to remain an independent member of Parliament.

“Recently Mr Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned as Judge of Calcutta High Court and within a few days, he joined the BJP and now he is contesting from Tamluk Parliamentary constituency.

“In light of similar situations being encountered, the time is ripe for your government to consider introducing a law to debar former judges from engaging in political activities for at least two years immediately after demitting office as a cooling off period. This will help prioritise public trust and confidence in the judiciary over personal interests and ambitions of the judges,” the letter stated.

Aggarwala also highlighted that of the 21 judges who retired from the Supreme Court from January 2008 to 2011, 18 got assignments in different commissions and tribunals.

He said a judge who accepts posts offered by the government immediately upon retirement is seen to have placed his personal interest above that of the cause of justice.

“Given the subjective standards of professional ethics and moral rectitude each person possesses, it may not be appropriate to leave the decision to accept an offer on the recipient judge...,” he said. “The relevant Acts must be amended to provide for Tribunals and Commissions to be manned by either sitting Judges of Supreme Court/High Courts/District Courts or by eminent lawyers.”

“If advocates can be considered for being appointed as Judges of important Constitutional Courts, there is no reason why they should not be in the zone of consideration for heading Tribunals and Commissions. This will make the adjudicatory process efficient...,” the letter said.