Congress' Anand Sharma lambasts former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, accuses him of appeasing govt

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on former CJI Ranjan Gogoi after he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He alleged that the Rajya Sabha seat was a “reward” for compromising the independence of the judiciary. Moreover, he accused the former CJI of intentionally delaying the hearing of important matters to appease the Centre. Sharma claimed that Gogoi had eroded the common person’s confidence in the judiciary. Thereafter, he contended that the sitting judges had a duty to undo this “damage”.

Read: Ex-SC Judge Kurian Joseph Surprised At Ex-colleague Ranjan Gogoi Accepting RS Nomination

Read: Owaisi Slams Ex-CJI Gogoi's 'representing Judiciary In Legislative' Reason For RS Ticket

Career as CJI

Gogoi, the 46th CJI is the son of former Assam CM Kesab Chandra Gogoi. In his tenure lasting a little over 13 months, Gogoi delivered key judgments in cases such as the Ayodhya land dispute, the Rafale deal, contempt case against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sabarimala review verdict. He retired on November 17, 2019. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde succeeded him as the next CJI. Gogoi's nomination fills the vacancy caused due to the retirement of senior advocate KTS Tulsi, a nominated member. 

A nominated member can join a political party

Out of Rajya Sabha’s total strength of 250 members, the President of India has the power to nominate 12 individuals having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. While nominated members enjoy all the powers, privileges and immunities available to fellow parliamentarians, they cannot vote in the election of the President. Moreover, a nominated member is given a period of 6 months to decide whether he wants to join a political party. Currently, Swapan Dasgupta, Subramanian Swamy, Narendra Jadhav, Suresh Gopi, Mary Kom, Sambhaji Chhatrapati, Roopa Ganguly, Ram Shakal, Rakesh Sinha, Sonal Mansingh, and Raghunath Mohapatra are the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha.

Read: BIG: Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi Explains Why He Accepted His Nomination To Rajya Sabha

Read: Manish Tewari Unfavourably Compares Cong-era Ex-CJI's Rajya Sabha Nod With Ranjan Gogoi