Won’t quash Parliament resolution against Justice Katju: SC

New Delhi : The Supreme Court refused to quash Parliament resolutions against Justice Markandey Katju for his statement against Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose calling them foreign agents.
“We have dismissed the petition on merits,” Justice UU Lalit said while reading out gist of the verdict by a three-member Bench that included Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi.
At the same time, the Bench rejected the Centre’s contention that Justice Katju’s petition was not maintainable.
The government had pleaded that the resolution did not amount to censuring the former SC Judge.
The resolutions had merely denounced his remark calling Gandhi and Bose agents of Britain and Japan, respectively, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had pleaded.
The Bench was hearing a PIL by Justice Katju, a retired judge of the SC, pleading for quashing the resolutions passed by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on March 11 and 12, 2015, respectively. He contended that the resolutions would have a “chilling effect on free speech and muzzle and discourage critical thinking,” besides hindering an independent academic engagement with India’s history and its key personalities.The Bench, however, remarked that the Parliament resolutions represented the collective view of MPs who had as much freedom as Justice Katju had to express their anguish over the statement against the two national leaders.