Signatories include former SC justices Kurien Joseph, Madan B Lokur, J Chelameswar, A K Patnaik, Abhay Oka, Vikramjit Sen, and Gopala Gowda, along with former chief justices and high court judges like S. Muralidhar, Govind Mathur, Sanjib Banerjee, and Anjana Prakash.The statement urged restraint and civility in political discourse, particularly during high constitutional elections. “While ideological battles may be part of campaigns, they must be conducted with dignity. Name-calling demeans the offices being contested,” it added.Justice Reddy, responding briefly, declined to engage in a political back-and-forth, saying the judgment was that of the Supreme Court, not his alone. He noted that Shah may not have read the full verdict before commenting.The 2011 SC ruling, delivered by Justices Reddy and S.S. Nijjar, declared the use of tribal youth as Special Police Officers in anti-Maoist operations unconstitutional and ordered the disbanding of Salwa Judum, a controversial anti-Naxal militia backed by the Chhattisgarh government.(With Inputs from PTI)
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