Not contesting LS polls from Kerala: Former SC Judge Kurian Joseph

Justice Kurian, however, said political parties had approached him to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Justice Kurian Joseph.

(Photo: The Quint)

Former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph on Thursday, 7 February, dismissed the media reports that said he would be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Kerala. Dismissing the reports as "baseless", Justice Kurian said he was approached by political parties.

Speaking to IANS, Kurian, who retired from the apex court last year, said he has been informally approached by people from both the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).

"Several people have informally approached me from both the political fronts asking if I would be interested in contesting polls. From the UDF, it was the Kerala Congress (Mani) that asked my opinion. From the other front also, I was approached. But my answer to all has been I am not at all interested," he said.

In an interview to News18, Kurian Joseph, who hails from Kerala, said the parties asked if he would be interested in contesting from Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Chalakudy constituencies.

Interestingly, both the fronts are in search of suitable candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, which is just a few months away.

The 65-year-old was active in politics during his student days.

In 1996, he was designated a senior advocate and in 2000 appointed judge of the Kerala High Court. In February 2010, he was made the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. On 8 March 2013, he became a judge of the Supreme Court.

Kurian Joseph is one of the judges known to have maintained a clean image and someone who fought for transparency in judicial proceedings.

He was in the news when he, along with three of his colleagues, in January 2018, addressed a press conference against then Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

In the press conference held on 12 January 2018, Justice Chelameswar, along with Justices Madan B Lokur, Ranjan Gogoi and Kurian Joseph, had stated that they had written to the then CJI Dipak Misra, stating that the administration of the Supreme Court was not 'in order'.

The press conference was reportedly in response to the assignment of the Judge Loya case to Justice Arun Mishra's bench. Questioning the unhealthy practice of an individual taking decisions without consulting others, Justice Joseph had said, "It was an institutional crisis. Systems and practices are there for a long time. It takes time to change."

(This article originally appeared on The News Minute, and has been republished with permission. With inputs from IANS)