The trend of judges going into politics is old. Recently, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court has resigned from the post of judge and is contesting elections from Tamluk in West Bengal on BJP ticket.
He remained in the news continuously for his decisions and comments, but at this time his entry into electoral politics has become a topic of discussion in judicial-administrative circles. Whether honorable people should enter politics or not has been a matter of debate, but the trend of leaving the court of justice and entering politics is not new.
He joined active politics
HR Gokhale and P Shivshankar, who were law ministers in the Indira Gandhi government, DD Thakur, who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, resigned from the post of judge and entered politics.
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judge who becomes minister or chief minister
- MC Chagla: Was a judge in Bombay High Court and International Court. In 1963, he became MP and minister in Jawaharlal Nehru government.
- Baharul Islam: After resigning from the post of Supreme Court judge, he became Congress candidate from Barpeta (Assam) Lok Sabha seat.
- KS Hegde: In 1973, he left the post of judge when Justice AN Roy was made the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by violating his seniority. Became Speaker of the Lok Sabha by winning the election from Bangalore North seat on Janata Party ticket.
- Gumanmal Lodha: After being a judge in Rajasthan High Court and Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court, he was elected BJP MP thrice from Pali Lok Sabha seat of Rajasthan.
- Vijay Bahuguna : Vijay Bahuguna resigned from the post of judge of Bombay High Court in 1995 and later became MP and CM of Uttarakhand.
Former judges have been going to Rajya Sabha
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the leader of the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court which gave the decision on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, and former Chief Justice Ranganath Mishra were Rajya Sabha members from Congress from Orissa.
No former justice could become President
Apart from the usual electoral politics of parties, former judges have been contesting for the country’s highest post, President. Till now no former justice has become President. Politician-turned-judge VR Krishna Iyer contested the presidential elections in 1987 after being a Supreme Court judge, but he lost.
Also Read: West Bengal: Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Ganguly resigns from his post.
Some resigned from politics and then became judges.
Daulatmal Bhandari, the first MP from Jaipur in Rajasthan, left politics and became the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court. Bombay High Court Justice VM Tarkunde was an official of the Radical Democratic Party (RDP). Justice Rajinder Sachar of Delhi High Court was also in politics before becoming a judge.