Former judges defend CJI Surya Kant amid criticism over Rohingya migrant remarks

A group of 44 retired judges, including two former Supreme Court judges and several ex-Chief Justices of High Courts, has condemned what they describe as a “motivated campaign” against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant following his remarks in proceedings concerning Rohingya migrants.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the former judges said that while judicial proceedings may invite reasoned criticism, recent attacks — including an open letter issued on December 5 — mischaracterise routine courtroom queries as prejudice, in an attempt to “delegitimise the judiciary.”

“The Chief Justice is being criticised for asking the most basic legal question: who, in law, has granted the status being claimed before the Court? No adjudication on rights or entitlements can proceed unless this threshold is addressed,” the statement noted.

The judges emphasised that the CJI-led Bench had clearly affirmed that no person on Indian soil — citizen or foreigner — can be subjected to torture, disappearance, or inhuman treatment. “To suppress this and then accuse the Court of ‘dehumanisation’ is a serious distortion of what was actually said,” the statement added.

The signatories highlighted that Rohingya migrants have not been admitted to India under any statutory refugee-protection framework, and India is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. They noted that concerns over the illegal acquisition of Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and other documents by foreign nationals require urgent scrutiny.

The statement suggested that a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) may be necessary to examine how migrants who entered the country illegally obtained identity and welfare documents, and to identify networks facilitating such activities.

It further stressed that the complex citizenship status of Rohingya in Myanmar underscores the need for Indian courts to proceed on clear legal categories rather than slogans or political labels. The judges said the CJI-led Bench’s observations struck a careful balance between safeguarding national security and upholding human dignity.

“To convert such a constitutionally compliant approach into a charge of inhumanity is unfair to the Chief Justice and damaging to the institution,” the statement said, warning that judicial independence could be at risk if every judicial query regarding nationality, migration, documentation, or border security were met with accusations of prejudice.

The retired judges concluded by affirming their full confidence in the Supreme Court and CJI Surya Kant, condemning targeted attempts to personalise disagreement, and supporting the potential formation of an SIT to investigate the illegal procurement of Indian identity documents by foreign nationals.

With IANS inputs