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Justice Markandey Katju is the Chairman, Press Council of India. He was formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Before being elevated as a judge to Supreme Court, he had earlier served as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Madras High Court and as acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.

Early life and education

Justice Markandey Katju was born on 20 September 1946 in Lucknow, India, in a Kashmiri Pandit family. Justice Katju topped the merit list of the Allahabad University's LL.B. examination in 1967, after which he practised law in the Allahabad High Court specializing in Labour Law, Taxation and Writ Petitions. Justice Katju is keenly interested in academics, and has a wide range of interests, including Sanskrit, Urdu, History, Philosophy, Science, Sociology etc., apart from his interest in Jurisprudence. He was awarded (Honoris Causa) a Doctorate of Philosophy from Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit University, New Delhi, for his book Mimansa Rules of Interpretation, and a Doctorate of Law from Amity University. He is an Honorary Professor of Law at the National Law University, New Delhi and Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow.

His background is also noteworthy because of his family’s achievements in the fields of Law and Politics. Justice Katju is the son of late Justice S. N. Katju, formerly a Judge of the Allahabad High Court. Shiva Nath Katju was also, after his retirement, the President of the Vishva Hindu Parishad . His grandfather Dr. Kailash Nath Katju, was one of India's leading lawyers and participated in the country's freedom movement. Dr. K. N. Katju was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Governor of West Bengal and Orissa, as well as the Union Law, Home and Defence Minister. Justice Katju's uncle, Justice B.N.Katju, was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

Justice Markandey Katju is married to Rupa and has two children, a son and a daughter.

Career

Justice Katju was appointed as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1991. He served as the Chief Justice of three Indian High Courts: The Allahabad High Court, appointed in August 2004 in an Acting capacity; the Madras High Court, appointed in November 2004, and the Delhi High Court, appointed in October 2005.

Justice Katju was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India in April 2006. He retired from this position on 19 September 2011, after serving the Indian judiciary for 20 years.

His courtroom was one of the fastest in India, disposing off 100-plus matters in a week. Justice Katju is variously described as "brilliant","bold","one of the best","a maverick". His strong belief in judicial restraint has been contrasted with some unconventional opinions he delivered. The contradiction may be partly explained in his own words: "A judge should restrain from challenging policy decisions in economic matters by the Government, though be an activist in cases of personal liberty."

Associations

Justice Katju has served as a Member, International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARIJ).

Publications

He has written several books, which include the following:

• Law in the Scientific Era
• Interpretation of Taxing Statutes
• Mimansa Rules of Interpretation
• Domestic Enquiry
• Justice with Urdu

Some of his Articles and Speeches, include the following:

• Injustice to Urdu in India, published in the Tribune on 3 August 2008
• Sanskrit as a language of Science, speech delivered in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore on 13 October 2009
• Kalidas-Ghalib Academy for Mutual Understanding
• The Role of Art, Literature and Media
• Ideal and reality: media’s role in India
• Looking back at the Caste System
• The Ideal of Women's emancipation
• Importance of Liberty and Democracy in India
• Global Economic Scenario
• The Hart-Fuller Debate by Justice Markandey Katju – Judge, Allahabad High Court
• The Role of Media in India

Controversies, Criticism, and Praise

• Commenting on a judgement given by a single judge in Allahabad High Court and in light of alleged corruption, he said “'Something is rotten in the State of Denmark', said Shakespeare in Hamlet, and it can similarly be said something is rotten in the Allahabad High Court, as this case illustrates.”. The Allahabad High Court had taken strong exception to the apex court’s remarks that “something was rotten” and there was “rampant uncle judge syndrome” in the higher court. As a judge, his court-room hearings were high drama. However, former Assistant Solicitor General of India Amarendra Sharan has praised Katju. According to Sharan "You can criticise his views, but you can't criticise the man. His integrity is unimpeachable." The noted jurist Fali Nariman commented that Katju is a "a person who doesn't merely pretend to support human rights but lives it every moment of his life."

• Addressing a seminar organised by the South Asia Media Commission, and subsequently in several articles and interviews Katju has said that 90 per cent of Indians are idiots and 80 percent Hindus and 80 percent Muslims are communal. He justified his statement on the ground that 90% of Indians vote in elections on the basis of caste and religion and not on the merit of candidates, 90% Indians believe in astrology, etc.. He has clarified that the 90% figure need not be taken literally, and that by 90% he really means 'a large proportion of Indians'.

• He also said that he did not recognise Pakistan as a legitimate country.In an article published in a leading Pakistani newspaper Katju explained why he holds this view. An article in the Indian Express noted that it was surprising that Katju's article questioning the raison d'etre of Pakistan was published in a Pakistani newspaper traditionally known for its anti-India stance.

• In May 2007, while hearing a multi-crore corruption case in the Supreme Court, Katju had made the oral observation "The law does not permit us to do it, but otherwise we would prefer to hang the corrupt". In March 2013, Katju had said that it will take India 20 years to defeat corruption. According to Katju, the reason for corruption in India today is that Indian society is in a transitional phase. As the country was moving from a feudal society to an industrial society, the old moral code was being destroyed but the new moral code of an industrial society had not yet been put in place.

• Katju has criticized Salman Rushdie and argued that Rushdie is over-praised.

• Arun Jaitley, once a close friend, called for his resignation as PCI chairman in the wake of a particularly visceral article against Narendra Modi. He had said "It is… said that (Modi) has not been found guilty by any court of law…, but I certainly do not buy the story that Mr. Modi had no hand in the events of 2002.” Katju retaliated by asking Jaitley to retire from politics.

• Katju has also been critical of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for calling student Tanaya Bharadwaj a Maoist in a public discussion, for ordering the arrest of farmer Siladitya Choudhary after calling him Maoist when he had only asked her why she has not kept her pre-election promises, and for ordering the arrest of Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra for circulating a cartoon lampooning Banerjee. Other political parties including the CPM, the BJP, and the Congress had joined in the criticism of Mamata on these issues. Katju had also warned police and administrative authorities that they could face action for following 'illegal orders' as happened to the Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials. "At the Nuremburg Trials the Nazi war criminals took the plea that orders were orders and they were only carrying out the orders of Hitler, their superior, but this plea was rejected and they were hanged. The West Bengal officials should take a lesson from the Nuremburg verdict if they do not wish to suffer a similar fate," Katju had said. Subsequently, the West Bengal Human Rights Commission had ordered Rs 50,000 compensation to be paid to Professor Mahapatra for the manner in which he was arrested and detained.

Notable Judgements and Opinions

This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2012)

As Chief Justice of Madras High Court, in the case of Rama Muthuramalingam v. Dy.S.P, AIR 2005 Madras 1, on the constitutional question of inter se relationship among judiciary, Legislature and Executive, he emphasized judicial restraint and the impropriety of the judiciary encroaching into the legislative or executive domain. He re-iterated this two years later, while he was a Supreme Court Judge, in the case of Divisional Manager, Aravali Golf Club v. Chander Hass.

In 2005, while still serving as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice Katju spoke about judges initiating "Contempt of Court" proceedings. His view was that the authority of judges rests on public confidence, and not on the power of contempt. The Indian jurist Fali S Nariman commended Justice Katju's view in his article "A judge above contempt" published on 5 August 2005 in the Indian Express.

In January 2009, while hearing a petition filed by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath about violence against Christians in Orissa, Justice Katju observed, "We can't tolerate persecution of religious minorities. If your government cannot control such incidents, then quit office." The Bench directed the government to provide adequate security and compensation to the aggrieved parties.

In May 2009, Justice Katju made a controversial remark that a husband has to accept the suggestion of a wife irrespective of the fact whether it is sensible or not.

In July 2009, Justice Katju apologised for commenting, during the hearing of a case, that students cannot insist on wearing beards as this would lead to the "Talibanisation" of India. The comment led to much controversy and Justice Katju and Justice Raveendran later withdrew the related order, stating "During the hearing, certain observations were made by one of us. His intentions were not to offend anyone. However, if any one's feeling has been hurt, he apologises and expresses regret in the matter."

In Prafull Goradia V. Union of India, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising also Justice Katju, dismissed petitioner's claim that Haj subsidies provided by the Government of India were unconstitutional. The Bench observed that, "the object of Article 27 is to maintain secularism, and hence we must construe it from that angle."

Following this judgement, In the case of Md Sukur Ali Vs State of Assam, a division Bench of Justice Katju and Justice Mishra ruled that criminal defendants have a right to counsel. "Article 21 which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty is the most important of all the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the constitution," the apex court bench said. They further observed that, "In the absence of a counsel, for whatever reasons, the case should not be decided forthwith against the accused but in such a situation the court should appoint a counsel who is practising on the criminal side as amicus curiae and decide the case after fixing another date and hearing him," This judgment received both national and international recognition.

Justice Katju's opinion in D. Velusamy vs D. Patchaiammal, delivered on 21 October 2010, relating to the maintenance of a woman in a live-in relationship, was the first time the apex court laid the legal framework for recognizing a woman's rights in a live-in relationship.

Justice Katju issued notices to the Centre and state governments directing them to file compliance reports on steps taken to rehabilitate sex workers in the case of Budhadev Karmaskar vs State of West Bengal. The accused had brutally murdered a sex worker and claimed leniency in his petition in the Supreme Court, citing the victim's profession. The court dismissed the petition, stating that "prostitutes have a right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India." The court further observed that "This is a case of brutal murder of a sex worker. Sex workers are human beings and no one has a right to assault or murder them."

In November 2010, in a strong indictment of a judge of the Allahabad High Court for passing orders on extraneous considerations, Justice Katju directed the Chief Justice of the High Court to take action against the judge concerned, and some other judges facing complaints. Making a reference to Shakespeare, Justice Katju famously noted that "something is rotten in the Allahabad High Court". The observation was contested by the Allahabad High Court, but the Supreme Court refused to expunge the remark.

In a judgement delivered on 1 February 2011, Justice Katju highlighted the malaise of land-grabbing of village community land by private and commercial entities. He noted that the purpose of village community land is community benefit like schools, playgrounds, water storage facilities etc., hence he directed the state governments to prepare schemes for eviction of illegal occupants of this land.

On 8 March 2011, Justice Katju delivered a "landmark" judgement legalizing passive euthanasia—or withdrawal of life-support systems—for patients who are brain dead or in a permanent vegetative state, and whom doctors have lost hope of reviving even with the most advanced medical aid. The detailed process of passive euthanasia includes strict guidelines that must be met, including a case-by-case review of medical condition by a team of court-appointed doctors and prior approval of the High Court. The Judge further observed that Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, according to which attempt to suicide was a criminal offence, was archaic and needed review. He said, "A person attempts suicide in a depression, and hence he needs help, rather than punishment. We therefore recommend to Parliament to consider the feasibility of deleting Section 309 from the Indian Penal Code." The judgement received widespread commendation as "brave", well researched and "path breaking"

On 16 March 2010, in an unusual step, Justice Katju appealed to Pakistan to consider granting remission to Gopal Dass, an Indian prisoner detained in the Lahore central jail for 27 years. He based this appeal on humanitarian grounds and on "the quality of mercy". The supreme court bench headed by Katju noted, "We cannot give any directions to Pakistan authorities because we have no jurisdiction over them", however it went on to quote a couplet by Faiz, "Qafas uddas hai yaaro sabaa se kuch to kaho, Kaheen to beher-i-khuda aaj zikr-i-yaar chale", to seek mercy for Dass. Pakistan took cognizance of this appeal of the Indian court, and within a few days the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, decided to remit the remaining jail term of Gopal Das and to release him.

On 9 May 2011 Justice Katju directed Trial/High courts to award death sentences to perpetrators of "honour killings". Honour killing is the killing of a member of a family, or social group, by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community. In his judgement, Katju said that it was time to stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices, which were a slur on our nation.

On 13 May 2011, a Supreme Court bench involving Justice Katju said that fake encounters are nothing but cold-blooded brutal murders which should be treated as the rarest of rare cases and police personnel responsible for it should be awarded death sentence. The observation was made while rejecting bail to Mumbai policemen involved in the fake encounter at Nana-Nani Park at Versova. A similar observation was made while hearing the fake encounter case of an alleged gangster by Rajasthan Police on 23 October 2006.

On 17 June 2011, Justice Katju made a personal appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release on "humanitarian grounds" Khalil Chishty, an elderly Pakistani virologist in Indian prison since 1992. Justice Katju expressed fear that if Chishty is not released forthwith, he may die in the jail by the time his appeal is decided by the Rajasthan high court. The move did not appear to go down well with the main opposition party BJP, which found as "odd" the appeal to free 80-year-old Chishty, a murder convict. "It is odd that an SC judge is writing to the PM for securing the release of a Pakistani prisoner, even in his individual capacity," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh instructed the Home Minister to examine the request of Justice Katju. Subsequently, in February 2012, the Indian Supreme Court acquitted Khalil Chishti of the 20 year old murder charge and allowed Chishti to return to Pakistan.

In December 2012, he clarified his remark 90 per cent of Indians are fools by saying that it was meant to awaken people to the realities of social evils like casteism, communalism in the country when two Lucknow students Tanaya and Aditya Thakur had sent him a legal notice.

In February 2013, Justice Katju was involved in a war of words with the BJP when over his controversial remarks on the involvement of Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat Violence. Justice Katju compared the riots to the Kristallnacht opining that he did not believe that Narendra Modi didn't have a hand in the violence. Justice Katju's views on the Gujarat violence had earlier been echoed by V.N. Khare, former Chief Justice of India, in an interview published in May 2004 and another interview published in March 2012 The noted jurist Fali Nariman had also endorsed the views of Justice Katju on the Gujarat violence

In March 2013, Former Justice Katju has appealed to the Maharashtra governor K Sankarnarayan seeking pardon for Sanjay Dutt on humanitarian grounds under Article 162 of the Constitution after the apex court had upheld his five-year sentence in the 1993 blasts case. . He had provided ten reasons for pardon which includes personal sufferage, had to go to court, could not get bank loans, could not go abroad without court permission,his parents worked for the good of society, married and has two small children and the fact that he has already spent eighteen months in jail for this offense.

Notes

1. "Press Council of India". Presscouncil.nic.in. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
2. "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Markandey Katju". Retrieved 30 March 2013.
3. "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Markandey Katju". Supremecourtofindia.nic.in. 20 September 1946. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
4. "Former Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and its Bench at Lucknow(1900-1990)". Allahabadhighcourt.in. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
5. Katju, Manjari, p. vii
6. "Dr. K.N. Katju". Indianpost.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
8. "Chief Justices of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad". Allahabadhighcourt.in. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
10.  May 13, 2011  (13 May 2011). "Supreme Court judges take on corruption : The Big Story - India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 3 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Text "UPDATED 15:44 IST" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. The Hindu. Chennai, India. 19 September 2000 http://www.hindu.com/2000/09/19/stories/1319017g.htm. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Opinions". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
13. "Sanskrit As A Language Of Science | Markandey Katju". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
14. "Kalidas-Ghalib Academy For Mutual Understanding - By : Justice Markandey Katju, Judge, Supreme Court of India". Kgfindia.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
15. "KGF India". KGF India. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
17. The Hindu. Chennai, India http://blogs.thehindu.com/delhi/?p=10636. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
18. "The ideal of women's emancipation". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 18 February 2009.
19. "Importance of liberty & democracy in India". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 January 2009.
20. "Kalidas Ghalib Foundation". Kgfindia.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
21. Name (required). "The Hart-Fuller Debate by Justice Markandey Katju – Judge, Allahabad High Court | SIVA-LIZATION". Drsivalaw.wordpress.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
22. "Justice Markandey Katju on the role of media in India". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 5 November 2011.
23. "Supreme Court upholds "rotten" remark against Allahabad High Court". The Hindu. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
24. ^ "Justice Markandey Katju: Why his critics remind him of no longer being a judge". The Times of India. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
25. "Fali S Nariman praises Katju for his article critical of Modi". The Economic Times. 18 February 2013.
26. "Jurist Fali S Nariman backs Katju's remarks". Times of India. 19 February 2013.
27. "The 90%". Indian Express. 9 April 2012.
28. "Reply to young students Tanaya and Aditya". Times of India. 10 December 2012.
29. "90 per cent of Indians are idiots: Markandey Katju". Indian Express. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
30. "The truth about Pakistan". The Nation. 2 March 2013.
31. "Pakistan all-praise for Markandey Katju". Indian Express. 7 March 2013.
32. "Hang the corrupt, fumes Supreme Court". Times of India. 8 May 2007.
33. "It will take India 20 years to defeat corruption: Katju". Hindustan Times. 31 March 2013.
34. {{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-25/india/30662303_1_jaipur-literature-festival-satanic-verses-justice-katju%7C work=Times of India | title=Salman Rushdie is poor, substandard writer: Justice Katju| date=25 January 2012}
35. "Justice Katju has no one to blame but himself for his fall". First Post. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
36. "Katju has warned Mamata as a friend, but will her eyes open?". oneIndia news. 13 December 2012.
37. "Opposition, Press Council chairman Markandey Katju attack 'intolerant' Mamata Banerjee". Economic Times. 13 August 2012.
38. "Mend your ways or lose power, Markandey Katju tells Mamata Banerjee". Times of India. 29 November 2012.
39. "Katju calls Mamata 'dictatorial, intolerant, whimsical". DNA. 12 August 2012.
40. "Zero tolerance". Frontline. August 2012.
41. "WBHRC asks govt to compensate accused in Mamata cartoon row". Indian Express. 13 August 2012.
42. Fali S. Nariman Posted: Aug 05, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST (5 August 2005). "A judge above contempt". Indianexpress.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
43. "Can't protect minorities, then quit office: SC tells govts [India]". The Times of India. 6 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
44. "Bow down before your wife's 'diktat', SC tells husbands [India]". The Times of India. 18 May 2009.
45. Agencies. "SC judge apologises for 'Taliban' remarks on Muslims". Express India. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
46. Wisher, Well (20 August 2011). "Prafull Goradia V. Union of India - Secular Judgment to Savor - Reader Blogs on Legally India: Uncut". Legally India. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
47. "Paper Chase: India Supreme Court finds constitutional right to counsel". JURIST. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
48. "SC: Don't decide case if accused has no lawyer". The Times Of India. 26 February 2011.
49. "Sex workers also human beings, entitled to a life of dignity, says SC". Indian Express. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
50. "Something rotten in Allahabad High Court: SC". Indian Express. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
51. "Village common land transfer illegal: Supreme Court". The Times Of India. 1 February 2011.
52. "Aruna lives, but others can die with dignity". The Times Of India. 8 March 2011.
53. "Attempt to suicide must be decriminalized: Supreme Court". The Times Of India. 8 March 2011.
54. Venkatesan, J. (16 March 2011). "Supreme Court appeals to Pakistan to free jailed Indian". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
55. Agencies (27 March 2011). "Zardari remits jail term of Indian convict | Pakistan". Dawn.Com. Retrieved 3 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Text "27th March, 2011" ignored (help)
56. "Treat 'honour' killings as rarest of rare cases: court". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 May 2011.
57. "Cops deserve death for fake encounters". The Times Of India. 14 May 2011.
58. "Cops behind fake encounters should be hanged, says SC". The Times Of India. 9 August 2011.
59. "SC judge urges PM to release 80-yr-old Pak murder convict, BJP finds it odd". Times Of India. 17 June 2011.
60. "Manmohan writes to Chidambaram on Pakistani prisoner". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 June 2011.
61. "SC acquits Pak scientist Mohammed Khalil Chishti of murder charge". The Indian Express. 12 December 2012.
62. "Students force Markandey Katju on backfoot over 'fool' remark". Indian Express. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
63. "Markandey Katju clarifies 'fool' remark, says it was made to awaken people to social evils : North, News - India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
64. Markandey Katju (15 February 2013). "All the perfumes of Arabia". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
65. "I raised the image of judiciary: V.N. Khare". The Hindu. 2004-05-2. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
66. "I would have lodged an FIR against Narendra Modi on charges of genocide and manslaughter". Hard News Media. March 2012.
67. "Fali S Nariman praises Katju for his article critical of Modi". The Economic Times. 18 February 2013.
68. "Jurist Fali S Nariman backs Katju's remarks". Times of India. 19 February 2013.
69. PTI Mar 21, 2013, 09.47PM IST (21 March 2013). "Press Council chief Markandey Katju pitches for pardon for Sanjay Dutt - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
70. "Sanjay Dutt is not a terrorist, should be pardoned: Justice Katju". Ibnlive.in.com. 22 March 2013.

References

• Katju, Manjari. "Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics". Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2003. ISBN 978-8125040347, OCLC 52594749

External links

• Supreme Court of India official page
• Candid Court
• Never a dull moment
• A few good men
• Supreme Court judges take on corruption
• A year with Justice Katju
• A Judge above contempt
• Walk the talk with Justice Katju
• Anna and the media: From compatriots to antagonists?
• Satyam Bruyat - Justice Katju's personal blog

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• Use dmy dates from January 2013
• Justices of the Supreme Court of India
• Living people
• 1946 births
• People from Lucknow
• Allahabad University alumni