Chennai:
Former Chief Justice of India Palaniswamy Sathasivam, who was yesterday appointed Governor of Kerala, has rejected allegations that his new position was the ruling BJP's reward for a verdict that he gave as the CJI that gave a huge relief to Amit Shah, presently the party President.
Just before his term ended, Justice Sathasivam was on the Supreme Court bench that scrapped a second FIR or police complaint against Mr Shah in a fake encounter killing case in Gujarat, saying it was linked to the bigger Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case and did not need to be separate.
"The verdict on Amit Shah was purely on merit. We have not exonerated him. No two FIRs can be filed for the same case. At that time, no one knew Amit shah would become the BJP President. There's no quid pro quo. I have got to deliver verdicts for all political parties," he said.
When asked whether former chief justices of India should accept post-retirement benefits or posts, he said, "It is an opportunity to utilize my experience. Nothing wrong. There's no bar to accepting constitutional positions. Only Lokpal chairperson cannot take any such positions after retirement".
Speaking about the allegations of an advocate who has written to the President alleging impropriety by his son in accepting Maruti dealership without the five crore mandatory deposit and has also claimed that his family accepted undue favour from the Tamil Nadu government, he said, "My son is an MS who has spent years abroad and Maruti gave him no concession. A decade ago itself they had dispensed with the deposit system. He had applied like hundreds of others."
"My daughter-in-law's mother too" he added "fought against acquisition of her land and got back 98 cents. Even High Court has cleared it".
Lawyers in Kerala have opposed his appointment as Governor. Reacting to the matter, he said, "Kerala lawyers should be proud that someone from the judiciary is becoming the state's governor. I will do good to the state."