With the collapse of almost every institution that could act as a check on the Union government in recent times, the Delhi High Court’s act...
With the collapse of almost every institution that could act as a check on the Union government in recent times, the Delhi High Court’s action over the past few days has been commendable.
On Wednesday, a bench consisting of Justice Dr S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh made sure to pass critical comments against the alarming lapses on the part of Delhi Police when it came to containing hate speech that led to the communal violence in the capital. The bench urged the Delhi Police to file cases on hate speech – especially singling out BJP leader Kapil Mishra, whose incendiary speech has even been referenced by rioters in the midst of violence.
Far from listening to the benches’ recommendations to punish hate speech that led to the violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government decided to immediately notify the transfer of Justice Muralidhar to another high court.
The transfer decision had been taken per an order by the Supreme Court collegium – the senior-most judges of the top court – to transfer Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 12. That order was itself controversial, with many raising questions over the the timing and its implications for seniority.
Muralidhar was well known in the Delhi High Court as a...
