Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi recently opened up about the ongoing debate over his Rajya Sabha nomination. He also talked about the independence of a judge on a very serious note pointing out to people who keep on blaming supreme judges over their decisions.

On Thursday, he said — the Judicial independence is stranglehold by a ‘lobby’ of people. Until the stranglehold is not broken, the Judicial can’t be called independent and free. He further added — As a judge, you need to think from all the respective perspectives before giving any judgment.

If the decision is not according to ‘a half a dozen people’, they will point fingers on you. During his oath ceremony, he also told that retiring peacefully as a judge will only be possible if the perspective is looked from in a broader way.

After that, he refuses all the claims of quid pro quo for Rajya Sabha over major judgments he has taken during his tenure. He further said, as a judge, I always took decisions as per my conscience and not driven by what others want to hear.