By Justice Katju
I regard Justice BV Nagarathna as the best Judge in the Indian Supreme Court today, erudite, upright and totally independent, as a judge should be. It is because of judges like her that I still have some hope in the Indian judiciary, despite the shoddy performance of a large number of Indian judges.
Some time back I wrote a few articles about Justice Nagarathna, which are given below :
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https://indicanews.com/justice-bv-nagarathna-a-beacon-of-merit-and-integrity-in-indias-judiciary
https://legalmaestros.com/tag/justice-bv-nagarathna-legal-philosophy
https://justicekatju.com/the-role-of-women-in-the-judicial-world-da8cda691bcd
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Here are also some videos on her, in the second of which she mentioned the importance of dissent
Her recent dissent in the Supreme Court Collegium meeting which recommended the name of Justice Vipul Pancholi, Chief Justice Patna High Court, for elevation as a Judge of the Supreme Court, is being widely discussed and hailed these days. Justice Pancholi was originally a Judge of the Gujarat High Court, and he was transferred in 2023 to the Patna High Court, not as a routine transfer, but because there were serious allegations against him. He was made Chief Justice of Patna High Court only recently in July 2025, while there are 57 High Court Judges and several Chief Justices of High Courts in India senior to him, but they were not recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. Why ?
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Justice Nagarathna has rightly said that Justice Pancholi’s elevation to the Supreme Court will erode the credibility of the Supreme Court Collegium
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It is surprising, and deeply unfortunate, that her dissenting opinion was not uploaded on the Supreme Court website, despite her request.
There are many people who believe and say that it is unwise and even dangerous to disclose the wrongdoings in the judiciary. What such people forget is that even if one buries such wrongdoings under the carpet, the bulge will show.
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In this connection, Judge Jerome Frank of the US Court of Appeals said:
‘’I am unable to conceive that in a democracy it can ever be unwise to acquaint the public with the truth about the workings of any branch of government. It is wholly undemocratic to treat the public as children who are unable to accept the inescapable shortcomings of man-made institutions. The best way to bring about the elimination of those shortcomings of our judicial system which are capable of being eliminated is to have all our citizens informed as to how that system now actually functions. It is a mistake, therefore, to try to establish and maintain through ignorance, public esteem for our Courts.’’
The people of India want to know why did the other 4 judges in the Supreme Court Collegium insist on recommending Justice Pancholi’s name for elevation to the Supreme Court bench, despite Justice Nagarathna’s valid and cogent objections ?
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