KOCHI: Justice Harun Ul Rashid, who had stirred a controversy by making certain observations against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recently in the famous land grab case, has dared the government to initiate a CBI inquiry into his meeting with CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Rashid said at a programme here that he was ready to demit his office and face any inquiry into the incident. He was giving vent to his feelings in the public for the first time ever since his observation in court snowballed into a controversy. He also had faced severe criticisms from several quarters, on this account.
The judge said not only Kodiyeri but Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minster Ramesh Chennithala and Speaker G Karthikeyan are also his friends. “ I saw Kodiyeri at Kerala House when I was staying with my family. I just had a casual talk with him. Nothing regarding Kadakampally/Kalamassery land grab case was discussed. I have known Kodiyeri from the time he was the home minister,” he said.
“What I asked about land grab cases was just what people wanted to ask about the same. There is no harm in criticising the court order but those who do that should have the qualification to do that. It is not like any Tom, Dick and Harry has the right to criticise an order,” Rashid said.
Delving on the criticism over the timing of his verdict, he said there is no relation between a judge/verdict and the election. “Suppose the verdict comes after the election… then also it will be criticised. Once the verdict is ready, it can’t be kept inside a judge’s pocket, he said, adding that “the court is being misused by politicians and humiliating a judge for no genuine reason is not right”.
Timing of verdict
Regarding the allegation that the home minister received a copy of the verdict even before the judge could sign it, Rasheed said, “at a time when modern applications like Whatsapp is prevalent, it’s not surprising that the copy reached the minister within an hour”.
He said people’s last resort is court. “The allegation that the CM was given a clean chit in solar case was just the opposition’s propaganda. It is not the right thing to attack courts which usually don’t take issues to media directly. In Kerala, there is no such atmosphere where a court can function independently,” he rued.
Winding up his lengthy talk, Rashid said, he is a man of integrity and therefore he had nothing to fear about backlashes. “I’m ready to face anything or any probe. But if I’m cleared of all ‘charges’, what will the people who attacked me do to restore my hard-earned reputation,” he quipped.
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