The Four Wise Men

Perhaps the operative part of the letter the four judges have sent to the Chief Justice is this: "There have been instances where cases having far-reaching consequences for the Nation and the institution had been assigned by the Chief Justice of this court selectively to the benches "of their preference" without any rational basis for such assignment (with quote marks). And in the press conference, while asked if the case of Justice Loya's death is among the cases referred to in the letter, Justice Gogoi replied, 'Yes."

It's huge, unprecedented and extraordinary. In plain words, four senior judges at the Supreme Court -- one of them could be the next CJI-- come out in public and say the rot has spread even to the highest office of India's judiciary. This is an inflexion point. Something Prime Minister Modi could certainly say has happened for the real first time while he is in power. But it also demands answers. According to whose "preference" cases are being allotted in the Supreme Court? Is the CJI a pawn acting on behalf of some external forces? If the freedom of judiciary is in danger, as the letter claims, who is endangering it? When the judges say they don't want future generations to say they sold their souls, the question is who all in the judiciary have already sold their souls and who are the buyers?

You may not get the answers. Instead, there will be a vicious campaign against the judges. Some Alok Bhatt, who's followed by none other than the Prime Minister himself, has already tweeted, "Impeach all four bastards and also drag everyone instigating judiciary." (He didn't take much time to realise who's against whom). The whole issue could be brushed as an intra-judiciary power struggle. The judges could be accused of acting out of frustration or many more. But remember, these kind of incidents do not happen every year, not in every decade. It's happening for the first time in the history of the country, so it needs that strong a reason. It shows how serious the situation is. And I am sure the judges have taken this path after much deliberation, including of the consequences. As a citizen, I genuinely appreciate their patriotism, moral courage and commitment to constitutional values. You often hear these words from bigots, sectarian nationalists and power-hungry maniacs these days. But Justices Kurian Joseph, J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur have exemplified these values through their dissent. #DemocracyInDanger, really.