In an unprecedented collective intervention, a group of former Judges of the Supreme Court of India and retired Chief Justices and Judges of various High Courts have issued a sharply worded statement expressing “serious exception” to the impeachment move initiated by Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc against Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court.
The statement, issued on 12 December 2025, frames the impeachment attempt as a direct assault on judicial independence, describing it as “a brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with ideological and political expectations.”
Warning of Democratic Backslide
The former judges caution that allowing such a move to proceed would “cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary.” Even if the allegations cited by the MPs were taken at face value, they argue, the reasons are “wholly inadequate” to justify such an extraordinary constitutional measure.
Drawing from India’s constitutional past, the signatories invoke the Emergency-era abuses, including the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges after the Kesavananda Bharati verdict and the sidelining of Justice H.R. Khanna following his legendary dissent in ADM Jabalpur. These, they said, remain “sobering reminders of how political overreach can damage judicial independence.”
A Pattern of Political Intimidation
The statement situates the current move within a broader timeline of political attempts to undermine the higher judiciary. It cites the 2018 impeachment attempt against then CJI Dipak Misra, sustained vilification campaigns against Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S.A. Bobde and Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, and recent political targeting of CJI Surya Kant whenever rulings appear inconvenient.
The letter stresses that this is not legitimate critique but a calculated strategy:
“This is not principled, reasoned criticism of judicial decisions; it is an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure.”
Impeachment as an Instrument of Intimidation
The retired judges warn that the very mechanism meant to safeguard judicial integrity is being twisted into a political weapon.
“To wield the threat of removal as a means of compelling judges to conform to political expectations is anti-democratic, anti-constitutional, and an anathema to the rule of law,” the statement observes.
They argue that targeting Justice Swaminathan for performing his judicial duties represents a broader attempt to erode the dignity and autonomy of the judiciary.
“Today, the target may be one judge; tomorrow, it will be the institution as a whole.”
Call for Nationwide Rejection of the Move
In one of the strongest calls to action in recent memory, the former judges urge Members of Parliament across party lines, the legal fraternity, civil society, and citizens to “unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception.”
They reassert that judges are accountable only to their constitutional oath, not to political factions or ideological coercion.
“In a Republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, not by threats of impeachment for political non-conformity.”
Among the 56 prominent signatories to the statement include former Supreme Court Judges Adarsh Goel and Hemant Gupta, as well as several former Chief Justices such as Narsimha Reddy, Subroto Kamal Mukherjee, and Permod Kohli, who previously headed the High Courts of Patna, Karnataka and Sikkim respectively. The endorsement list carries further weight with the inclusion of distinguished former High Court judges including Vishnu S. Kokje, S. N. Dhingra, R. K. Gauba, Vinod Goel, K. K. Trivedi, D. K. Seth, Rajendra Badamiker, Vineet Kothari, P. N. Ravindran, and V. Chitambaresh.
Thiruparankundram Hill Issue:
Thiruparankundram Hill in Madurai, home to the ancient Subramanya Swamy (Murugan) Temple and one of the six Abodes of Bhagwan Murugan, has been at the centre of an intensifying religious dispute. Central to the present controversy is the ritual lighting of the Karthigai Deepam atop the hill, a tradition that has been practised for generations as part of temple worship.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on December 1, 2025, permitted the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam atop Thiruparankundram hill’s Deepathoon and directed police protection for the ritual; this was reaffirmed on December 4, 2025, with the Court rejecting the State’s objections and asserting that Deepathoon lies within the temple’s limits and the tradition must continue. Subsequently, on December 9, 2025, the Court summoned the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and the ADGP (Law and Order) to appear on December 17 in a contempt hearing over alleged non-compliance with its directives.
On these developments, Members of Parliament from the INDI bloc, led by the DMK and supported by several opposition parties, submitted an impeachment notice on 9 December 2025 seeking the removal of Justice G. R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench. The motion, handed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, was backed by around 120 MPs from the opposition alliance.
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