New Delhi: A group of lawyers of the Madras high court have sent representations to both President Droupadi Murmu and the Supreme Court Collegium against the proposed elevation of Additional Solicitor General Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a high court judge.
Gowri is one of the five advocates recommended for elevation as judge of the Madras high court by the Collegium on January 17.
As has been reported, Gowri, according to the social media account purportedly belonging to her and speeches available on YouTube, is the general secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Mahila Wing. It is not clear if Gowri continues to be associated with the political party. An Article 14 report detailed several anti-minority statements Gowri has made.
In their letters to the president and Murmu, members of the Madras high court bar have said that Gowri’s elevation “dents the independence of the judiciary”, and cites several remarks she has made in interviews to support this allegation.
Statements made by Gowri quoted in the letter include: “At the world level, they find the Islamic group as more dangerous than Christian groups. But as far as India is concerned, I would like to say that Christian groups are more dangerous than Islamic groups. Both are equally dangerous in the context of conversion, especially love jihad. I don’t mind a Hindu marrying a Muslim – a Hindu girl marrying a Muslim boy, unless and until they are in love with each other and they are living in understanding and love. But if I am not able to find my girl with him as his wife, instead, if I find my girl in Syrian terrorist camps, I have an objection, and that is what I define as love jihad (sic).”
The lawyers have said that the elevation of “a person who harbours such strong antipathy towards minorities is disturbing”. A petitioner from the Muslim or Christian communities, they argue, may not get justice if they are to appear in her court.
“A judge is a custodian of Constitutional rights and cannot be its saboteur. We are therefore compelled to state that appointing a person who spews vitriol and animosity towards an entire community as a judge of a High Court will cause grave harm to the judiciary,” the representation continues.
Read the full text of the letter below.
Representation to President by The Wire on Scribd