Not Poster Boy But Became Punching Bag Because I Come From Northeast: Ranjan Gogoi on Ayodhya Judgment | Zee News Exclusive

Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi said people can criticize a judge as much as they can, but they should not criticize the judge as it harms the institution.

New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, who delivered the historic verdict on Ram temple in Ayodhya, on Friday said that he was not a poster boy during the judgment time but became a punching bag because of his Northeastern roots. In an exclusive interview with Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, Justice Gogoi talked about the book that he has recently authored. Giving details, he said he had to face criticism during the Ram temple verdict just because he came from Northeast.

In his recent book, he has written in detail about the Ayodhya verdict, judiciary, exploitation and relations with the government.

Talking about his transition from ‘My Lord’ to ‘Mr Gogoi,’ he said he lived a simple family life during his tenure of ‘My Lord’ of 18-19 years and now he does not have any problem if ‘My Lord’ is removed.

He also talked about the title of the book, ‘Justice For Judge’ and said he is not seeking any justice for himself at this point of life rather through the book he said he is trying to reach out to people.

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“Look at your judges differently. Don’t judge your judges. Don’t look at the judge as a public servant or a politician. This judge’s position is slightly different,” he said.

He added that people can criticize a judge as much as they can, but they should not criticize the judge as it harms the institution.

“A politician answers in a public forum. But the judge remains silent. This means that they are following judicial discipline, do not take advantage of it,” he said.

Talking about writing a book and writing judgments, Gogoi said that writing a judgment is easy because the judge has no side, no opinion, no personal interest. “The case is judged on facts. According to me, the easiest thing is to give judgment,” he said.