V. N. Khare

Last updated

Vishweshwar Nath Khare
Justice V.N. Khare.jpg
Chancellor of the Central University of Jharkhand
In office
August 2017 December 2023

Vishweshwar Nath Khare is a retired Indian judge who served as the 33rd Chief Justice of India, from 19 December 2002 to 2 May 2004. He also served as the Chancellor of the Central University of Jharkhand from 2017 to 2023. [1] He was a judge of the Supreme Court of India from 21 March 1997 before he was elevated to the post of Chief Justice.

Contents

Early life

Khare was born in Allahabad on 2 May 1939. [2] He lived in Allahabad for much of his life and attended St. Joseph's College, Allahabad.[ citation needed ] He further attended the Allahabad University. Khare was a First Class cricket player, playing for the state of Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy matches in 1958.[ citation needed ]

Khare started his career as an Advocate in the Allahabad High Court in 1961, where he practised on Civil, Writ and Revenue petitions.[ citation needed ] He was appointed Chief Standing Counsel for the Government of Uttar Pradesh. On 25 June 1983, he was appointed a Judge of the Allahabad High Court. In early 1996, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, from where he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India a year later.[ citation needed ]

Emergency

As an Advocate in 1975, Khare and his uncle, S. C. Khare, represented Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, in her famous case against Raj Narain, alleging electoral malpractices. He was responsible for advocating the case that got the order of the High Court stayed until an appeal could be filed in the Supreme Court. [3] The decision of the Supreme Court led to the imposition of Emergency in India for a period of 19 months, the only suspension of democracy the country has seen since Independence in 1947.[ citation needed ]

Gujarat violence

During his tenure as the Chief Justice of India, Khare was confronted with the failure of the justice system in the aftermath of the Gujarat violence following the Godhra train burning. His decision to reopen the Best Bakery case provided some recourse for victims of the violence. Speaking to The Hindu newspaper when he retired [4] he said, "I found there was complete collusion between the accused and the prosecution in Gujarat, throwing rule of law to the winds. The Supreme Court had to step in to break the collusion to ensure protection to the victims and the witnesses. I was anguished and pained by the turn of events during the trial of the riot cases but was determined to salvage the criminal justice delivery system." [5]

In interviews to the media in 2004, Khare explained why he decided to transfer the Best Bakery case to Maharashtra for a retrial. [6] [7] In a 2012 interview, Khare gave details about the Best Bakery case and the Gulbarg Society massacre in explaining why he believed the 2002 Gujarat Violence was an instance of a "state sponsored genocide". [8]

Post retirement

Since retiring as Chief Justice of India, Khare comments occasionally on national television and press on issues of jurisprudence. [9] His comments on the Jessica Lal murder case echoed the sentiments expressed during the Gujarat riots. He was also appointed the Chancellor of Central University of Jharkhand in 2017, serving until the end of 2023. [10]

Criticism

Khare's comments on there being an appearance of complicity between the state government and the rioters during the 2002 Gujarat violence have been criticized by the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi (Then Chief Minister of Gujarat). [11] [12] According to Modi:

Judges should keep away from politics. Khare should know the difference between khare and khote (right and wrong). The state government was never a party to riots, nor was it a silent spectator. No commission of inquiry has indicted me. I am a victim of false propaganda by a section of the media. The million-dollar question is why did Khare make the remark only after retiring from office? Regarding my role in the riots, the people of Gujarat are the best judge and they have replied in a befitting manner. [11]

Awards and honors

The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting Padma Vibhushan to Justice Visheshwar Nath Khare at investiture ceremony, in New Delhi on March 29, 2006 The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting Padma Vibhushan to Justice Visheshwar Nath Khare at investiture ceremony, in New Delhi on March 29, 2006.jpg
The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting Padma Vibhushan to Justice Visheshwar Nath Khare at investiture ceremony, in New Delhi on March 29, 2006

Khare was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour in 2006. [13]

Related Research Articles

The Best Bakery case was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery, a small outlet in the Hanuman Tekri area in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, on 1 March 2002. During the incident, mob targeted the Sheikh family who ran the bakery and had taken refuge inside, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people. This case has come to symbolize the carnage in 2002 Gujarat riots that followed the Godhra train burning. All the 21 accused were acquitted by the court due to shoddy police work and issues with evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesta Setalvad</span> Indian activist and journalist (born 1962)

Teesta Setalvad is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. She is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation formed to advocate for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adarsh Sein Anand</span> 29th Chief Justice of India

Adarsh Sein Anand was the 29th Chief Justice of India, serving from 10 October 1998 to 31 October 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Hameedullah Beg</span> 15th Chief Justice of India

Mirza Hameedullah Beg was the 15th Chief Justice of India, serving from January 1977 to February 1978.

The Godhra train burning occurred on the morning of 27 February 2002: 59 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya were killed in a fire inside the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in the Indian state of Gujarat. The cause of the fire remains disputed. The Gujarat riots, in which Muslims were the targets of widespread and severe violence, occurred shortly afterward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Gujarat riots</span> Sectarian violence in the Indian state

The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, is cited as having instigated the violence. Following the initial riot incidents, there were further outbreaks of violence in Ahmedabad for three months; statewide, there were further outbreaks of violence against the minority Muslim population of Gujarat for the next year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markandey Katju</span> Indian judge (born 1946)

Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of Supreme Court of India who served as chairman for the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014. He is the son of politician Shiva Nath Katju and grandson of Kailash Nath Katju. He is the founder and patron of the Indian Reunification Association (IRA), an organisation that advocates for the peaceful reunification of what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh with India under a secular government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehsan Jafri</span> Indian politician

Ehsan Jafri was an Indian politician and former member of the 6th Lok Sabha for the Congress Party, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. S. Verma</span> 27th Chief Justice of India

Jagdish Sharan Verma was an Indian jurist who served as the 27th Chief Justice of India from 25 March 1997 to 18 January 1998. He was the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003, and chairman of the Justice Verma Committee Report on Amendments to Criminal Law after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. He remains one of India's most highly regarded Chief Justices and eminent jurists in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. N. Bhagwati</span> 17th Chief Justice of India

Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati was the 17th Chief Justice of India, serving from 12 July 1985 until his retirement on 20 December 1986. He introduced the concepts of public interest litigation and absolute liability in India, and for this reason is held, along with Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, to be a pioneer of judicial activism in the country. He is the longest-served supreme court judge in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulbarg Society massacre</span> Massacre of a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad during the 2002 Gujarat Riots

The Gulbarg Society massacre took place on 28 February 2002, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, when a crowd started stone pelting the Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in the eastern part of Chamanpura, Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. Most of the houses were burnt, and at least 35 victims, including a former Congress Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive, while 31 others went missing after the incident, later presumed dead, bringing the total deaths to 69.

Sanjiv Bhatt is a former Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat-cadre. He is known for his role in filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against the then Chief Minister of the Government of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, concerning Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. He claimed to have attended a meeting, during which Modi allegedly asked top police officials to let Hindus vent their anger against the Muslims. However, the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that Bhatt did not attend any such meeting, and dismissed his allegations.

Hosbet Suresh was a judge of the Bombay High Court who led a number of commissions that investigated violations of human rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naroda Patiya massacre</span> Massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots

The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organised by the Bajrang Dal, a wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and allegedly supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in the Gujarat State Government. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh (strike) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad a day after the Godhra train burning. The riot lasted over 10 hours, during which the mob plundered, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups. After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and Indian Army troops were called in to contain further violence.

Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya is a former justice of the Supreme Court of India. He was also chair of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal from 1 June 2016 to 14 March 2020. He previously served as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court and also served as acting Chief Justice at the Jharkhand High Court and the Madras High Court.

The Nanavati-Mehta Commission is the commission of inquiry appointed by the government of Gujarat to probe the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February 2002. Its mandate was later enlarged to include the investigation of the 2002 Gujarat riots. It was appointed on 6 March 2002, with K. G. Shah, a retired Gujarat High Court judge, as its only member. It was later re-constituted to include G. T. Nanavati, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, after protests from human rights organizations over Shah's closeness to then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Akshay H. Mehta, retired judge of the Gujarat High Court, replaced Shah when the latter died before the submission of the commission's interim report. Mehta was the same judge who had granted bail to Babu Bajrangi, the main accused of the Naroda Patiya massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukesh Shah</span> Indian judge (born 1958)

Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, former chief justice of the Patna High Court and a former judge of Gujarat High Court.

Daya Saran Sinha was an Indian judge and the eighteenth chief justice of the Gujarat High Court. He also served as the first chairperson of the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikram Nath</span> Indian judge (born 1962)

Vikram Nath is a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He is a former chief justice of the Gujarat High Court and former judge of the Allahabad High Court. He was earlier recommended as chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court but the centre disapproved the recommendations. He is the first chief justice of a High Court in India to live stream its proceedings on Youtube during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Events in the year 2022 in India.

References

  1. "The Central University of Jharkhand". cuj.ac.in. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. "Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.N. Khare". nalsa.gov.in. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. Kuldip Nayar 1977. The judgment: Inside story of the emergency in India. Vikas Publishing House.
  4. "National : I raised the image of judiciary: V.N. Khare". The Hindu . 2 May 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. Era, Legal (28 October 2013). ""Judiciary is not corrupt, judges are corrupt"". www.legaleraonline.com. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  6. "Khare vote for truth". The Telegraph. 3 May 2004. Archived from the original on 29 May 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  7. "As a judge, my job is to wipe tears". Rediff. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  8. "I would have lodged an FIR against Narendra Modi on charges of genocide and manslaughter". HardNews. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  9. "Justice after Jessica Lall". The Indian Express. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  10. "Justice V.N.Khare". Cuj.ac.in. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Modi on retired CJI Khare's comments". Sify. 5 May 2004. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  12. "Justice Khare's remarks irk Gujarat CM". The Times of India. 3 May 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  13. "V. N. Khare". Supremecourtofindia.nic.in. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
Legal offices
Preceded by Chief Justice of India
19 December 2002 2 May 2004
Succeeded by