Quash House resolutions against me, Justice Katju asks apex court

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, June 29

Justice Markandey Katju today moved the Supreme Court, pleading for quashing the resolutions adopted by Parliament condemning his remarks against Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Justice Katju had called Gandhiji a British agent and Netaji a Japanese agent.

In his writ petition, the former SC judge and ex-Chairman of the Press Council said the resolutions passed by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on March 11 and 12, respectively, 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.

Justice Katju said Parliament did not have competence to pass resolutions against individuals and that too without giving an opportunity to him to explain his views and without considering the full text of his statement on the two national icons. He said he senior advocate Gopal Subramanium would argue his case in the SC.