SC judges against CJI: Not politicising judiciary, says Congress

The Congress that began attacking the Modi government through Judge Loya's case by using the presser of four Supreme Court judges now seems to have taken a back seat.

The party had given signs of an all out attack on Friday when within hours of judges' presser, Rahul Gandhi himself had come to issue a statement flanked by the full battery of legal luminaries of the party including Chidambaram, Salman Khursheed and Manish Tewari.

The BJP immediately described Rahul's remarks as a bid to politicise the judiciary. The next day Congress politician and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi kept up the heat by indicating that the allegation by the four senior judges about the Chief Justice of India allocating cases "selectively" to preferred judges cannot be treated as an "internal" judicial matter and is "linked to the government".

However, soon after this, the Congress retracted. The reason for a change in tactics could be attributed to the late realisation by the lawyers' think tank in Congress that more indulgence in the matter could tarnish its image for politicising the judiciary. With elections in several states round the corner and Lok Sabha polls due next year, the Congress can ill afford to take this blemish.

Party sources said, senior lawyers within the party later asked for caution and possible dangers especially when the government has specifically described it as internal matter of the judiciary that should be solved within the four walls of the Supreme Court.

A senior Congress leader told DNA that fissures between judiciary do not warrant any politics and there was no question of moving an impeachment motion as suggested by some people. Trying to distance from allegations of politicising the issue, Salman Khursheed said there was "no politics in Congress President's statement"and the Congress only wants the judiciary to ensure that its independence is maintained.

"Congress came with this gesture (press statement) because it thinks these issues (raised by the four judges) are of paramount importance and integrity and independence of judiciary is maintained," Khursheed said.