New Delhi, Dec 10 (NationPress) A collective of 44 retired judges, which includes two former Supreme Court justices and numerous ex-Chief Justices from High Courts, has released a unified statement denouncing “a biased campaign” targeting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant following his comments during proceedings concerning Rohingya migrants.

The statement emphasized that while judicial processes can justifiably attract well-founded criticism, recent initiatives—such as an open letter published on December 5—are an effort to “undermine the judiciary” by misrepresenting standard courtroom inquiries as acts of bias.

“The Chief Justice is facing backlash for posing a fundamental legal question: who, in legal terms, has accorded the status being claimed in court? No adjudication regarding rights or entitlements can advance without addressing this initial point,” the statement continued.

The retired judges remarked that the current campaign “conveniently ignores” the CJI Kant-led Bench’s definitive statement that no individual on Indian soil—be they citizen or foreigner—can be subjected to torture, disappearance, or inhumane treatment.

“To obscure this fact and subsequently accuse the court of ‘dehumanization’ is a significant misrepresentation of what was actually articulated,” they noted.

The signatories pointed out that Rohingya migrants have not been granted entry into India under any legal refugee-protection framework; India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol; and the illicit acquisition of Aadhaar, ration cards, and other documentation by foreign nationals warrants prompt investigation.

They proposed that a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) may be essential to probe how unlawfully entered migrants obtained Aadhaar, ration cards, and other welfare documentation, as well as to identify the networks facilitating such activities.

According to the statement, the intricate citizenship status of Rohingya individuals in Myanmar further highlighted the necessity for Indian courts to “operate on clear legal definitions, rather than slogans or political labels.”

“In this context, the judiciary’s involvement has remained firmly within constitutional limits,” it stated, adding that the CJI Kant-led Bench’s observations maintained a balance between protecting national security and upholding human dignity.

“Transforming such a constitutionally compliant stance into an accusation of inhumanity is unjust to the Chief Justice and detrimental to the institution,” warned the former judges, stressing that judicial independence would be compromised if every judicial inquiry regarding nationality, migration, documentation, or border security was met with claims of hate or bias.

The statement concluded with a declaration of “full confidence” in the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India, denouncing motivated attempts to personalize dissent through targeted attacks. It endorsed the consideration of an SIT to investigate the unlawful acquisition of Indian identity documents by foreign nationals who have entered the country illegally.