16 hours ago
My father never regretted decision to disqualify Indira
Lucknow: Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha, whose historic verdict on June 12, 1975, disqualifying the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, sparked a chain of events culminating in a 21-month-long Emergency, never 'regretted' his decision.
'My father neither regretted delivering the judgment, for he did what was right. For him it was yet another case; he decided on merit and facts,' Justice (retired) Vipin Sinha, son of Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha, told PTI in a telephonic interview.
'What's more, nobody could say that he later tried to extract any benefit for the order to disqualify the then PM from this regime or that. Nobody can say that he was the beneficiary of the order,' Justice (retired) Vipin Sinha said.
An Emergency was imposed in India from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977, with then president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issuing an order under Article 352 of the Constitution citing prevailing 'internal disturbance' for the decision that witnessed unprecedented suppression of fundamental rights, sparking widespread resentment.
He said his father, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha, was never afraid of the decision he would be making.
'He wouldn't have delivered the judgment had he felt afraid or anything.
'He must have been aware of the consequences, that too against Mrs Indira Gandhi, who at that point in time was all powerful. The easiest way out would have been to dismiss the petition, but he didn't do that,' Justice (retd) Vipin said.
'When the Emergency was imposed, I was in class XI. Yes, there were occasional anonymous calls threatening my father that he would be arrested soon, but from what I remember, there never was any pressure on our family.
