File photo: Former Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam
A reported decision by the ruling BJP to appoint former Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam, as Kerala governor has set up a political row, with the Congress hinting at a trade-off.
"There are instances of judges taking charge of the Green Tribunal, National Human Rights Commission... But what is in the persona or decisions of the most recently retired judge that has pleased the PM and BJP President Amit Shah? This raises a question," Congress leader Anand Sharma said today.
He added, "Till the other day, the BJP was saying former Chief Justices should not be given post-requirement jobs."
Justice Sathasivam was Chief Justice of India from August last year to April.
Just before his term ended, Justice Sathasivam was on the Supreme Court bench that scrapped a second FIR or police complaint against Amit Shah in a fake encounter killing case, saying it was linked to the bigger Sohrabuddin Sheikh killing case and did not need to be separate.
Speaking to NDTV on the Congress' allegations, the former Chief Justice said, "There was no quid pro quo for my verdict on Amit Shah. Any other judge would have given the same verdict."
In December, a bench headed by Justice Sathasivam granted bail to Bihar politician Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case on grounds that several other convicts in the case had been given bail in similar circumstances.
If he is appointed governor to Kerala, Justice Sathasivam will replace Sheila Dikshit, who resigned last week after months of resisting pressure from the central government.
Since it came to power in May, the Modi government has moved firmly to replace governors appointed by the previous Congress regime with its own candidates.
Similar controversies erupted in the past when former Comptroller and Auditor General TN Chaturvedi, whose official report made critical references to the Bofors defence deal during the Rajiv Gandhi regime, was made a governor by the BJP. The Congress also provoked controversy when it made former Chief Election Commissioner MS Gill a Rajya Sabha member and Union minister.