Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

‘Judiciary erred in punishing EMS’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Judge of the Supreme Court K.T. Thomas said the judiciary had erred in punishing former Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad for his remark against judges in the 1970s. The court had imposed a fine of Re. 1 on Mr. Namboodiripad after he was found guilty of contempt for accusing judges of being biased in favour of the rich.

Mr. Thomas was delivering a lecture on ‘judicial activism’ organised by the Kerala University Union in the city on Tuesday. “E.M.S had made only fair criticism. During those days the court had a tendency to rule in favour of a pot-bellied (financially prosperous) litigant,” he told the students.

However criticising judgements and insulting judges are two different things. “All judgements are open to criticisms. This is a delicate issue and should be dealt with carefully,” he said. Judiciary has always drawn flak whenever the verdicts have failed to please the ruling class. A court ruling that has been welcomed by both the ruling and opposition parties are rare, he added.

The former Judge urged the media in exercising caution while reporting matters relating to the judiciary. Recently there was some confusion when a section of the media reported that the Supreme Court had issued an order for the dismissal of the Tamil Nadu Government.

What created the controversy in reality was just a remark made by a judge during a discussion with his colleagues, he said.

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