Rasheed: Judiciary has to be above political meddling

Srinagar, January 13

Langate MLA Engineer Rasheed has expressed concern over the developments which forced four senior-most Supreme Court judges to make public their observations on Friday over the functioning of the apex court.

He said the developments would have far-reaching consequences.

“While the judiciary is an institution that has always earned the respect of people, it has to be above political interferences and personal interests and likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, for the past many years, the credibility of a few honourable judges has been questioned and several issues surfaced, creating a lot of confusion over many serious issues,” Rasheed said in a statement.

“Ultranationalism and religious fundamentalism seem to have penetrated in the judiciary as well and it has been one of the core reasons why Kashmiris had cried that Afzal Guru couldn’t get justice and fell victim not to the collective conscience of Indian masses but to the political agenda of the then ruling Congress,” he said, adding, “One still fails to find the answer as to how was Afzal Guru picked from serial No. 28 to serial No. 1 and sent to the gallows, even without providing him a proper lawyer.” — TNS