Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of Supreme Court of India who served as chairman for the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014. He is the son of politician Shiva Nath Katju and grandson of Kailash Nath Katju. He is the founder and patron of the Indian Reunification Association (IRA), an organisation that advocates for the peaceful reunification of what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh with India under a secular government.

Early life and education

Markandey Katju was born on 20 September 1946 at Lucknow in a Kashmiri Hindu family. Katju's family consisted mainly of lawyers who took a keen interest in politics and current affairs. His father, Shiva Nath Katju, was a judge and an Indian National Congress politician and was elected a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. His grandfather, Kailash Nath Katju, was one of India's leading lawyers and participated in the country's freedom movement. His grandfather also served as the governor of Orissa and West Bengal, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Union Home, Law, and the Defence Minister. Katju's uncle, B.N. Katju was the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court. The academic Tilottama Mukherji Tharoor, the first wife of Shashi Tharoor, is also a cousin to Katju. Katju topped the merit list of Allahabad university's LL.B. examination in 1967. He was awarded an Honoris Causa by a Doctor of Philosophy from Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit University, New Delhi, for his book Mimansa Rules of Interpretation. Katju was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Banaras Hindu University. Katju is married to Rupa and has a son and a daughter.

Career

Katju started his law practice at the Allahabad High Court from 1970 to 1991. He specialized in Labour Law, Taxation and Writ Petitions. He has also worked as Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. He was elevated to the Bench of Allahabad High Court in 1991 and was appointed acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in August 2004. Katju was appointed Chief Justice of Madras High Court in November 2004, and Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in October 2005. He was then elevated to the Supreme Court of India in April 2006, from which he retired on 19 September 2011; after having served in the judiciary for nearly 20 years. He subsequently served as the Chairman of the Press Council of India for three years. His courtroom was one of the fastest in the Supreme Court, disposing of 100+ matters in a week. His strong belief in judicial restraint has been contrasted with some unconventional opinions he delivered. Katju currently serves as the patron of the Indian Reunification Association (IRA), an organization he solely founded that advocates for the reunification of Pakistan and Bangladesh with India under a secular government.

Controversies and criticism

Courtroom

Politics

Hindustani as link language of India

Markandey Katju has supported Hindustani, that is Urdu and Hindi, as the link language of India. He also said that there should be no forceful imposition of Hindustani.

Indian Reunification and the existence of Pakistan

Katju's views on the legitimacy of Pakistan as a nation have come under criticism in Pakistan including Shamshad Ahmad, a former Pakistani foreign secretary. On several occasions, Katju has said in articles and lectures that he does not recognize Pakistan as a legitimate country, as the whole basis is the two nation theory and he does not accept this. Katju has also claimed that the eventual reunification of India and Pakistan is the only solution to the Pakistan Kashmir issue. Katju justified his stance in a leading Pakistani newspaper The Nation, where he reiterated that the only solution to the ongoing dispute is the reunification of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh under a strong, secular, modern-minded government. He expanded on the reasons for his support for a reunified India in an article for Newslaundry. Katju's contribution to the release of fishermen arrested along the coastal areas on the border of India has earned him praise from human rights groups of Pakistan.

View on Jammu and Kashmir

Markandey Katju, himself an ethnic Kashmiri, maintains that Kashmir's handicraft industry, a major part of the union territory's economy, is dependent upon other parts of India, where these products are sold by Kashmiris; Katju opines that the "secession" of Kashmir would cause its economy to suffer, leading to high rates of unemployment among Kashmiris. He, being diametrically opposed to the partition of India, holds that the ultimate solution to the Kashmir conflict is the reunification of what is now Pakistan with India.

Allegation of improper compromises in the collegium system of appointing judges

On 20 July 2014, Justice Katju sparked off a new controversy when on his blog, he alleged that in the year 2004, a corrupt judge was given an extension and later a permanent post due to strong political backing. He wrote that he himself raised concern about the conduct of this judge and after due probe from CJI, and his doubt was found to be true. However, this judge had political backing from a political party in Tamil Nadu, and this party threatened to withdraw the support to the UPA government if this corrupt judge was not given an extension. He also alleged that a prominent Congress leader arranged an extension to save the UPA government. After his blog post, several parties and social groups raised concern over political interference in the posting of the judges; however some of them also questioned the timing and purpose behind this revelation. In January 2017, Markanday Katju said that proceedings of judges selection should be televised.

View on gay relationships

On 25 December 2014 Justice Katju fueled controversy by saying that he regarded gay relationships to be "humbug and nonsense." However, he later clarified that he has partially changed his mind after discussing the issue with others and accepted that he was partially wrong. After this, his position was that gay relationships should not be held to be a criminal offence, and this provision in the Indian penal code should be swiftly annulled. However, he continues to regard gay relationships as "unnatural."

Praise

Former Assistant Solicitor General of India Amarendra Sharan has praised Katju. Sharan says on Katju, "You can criticise his views, but you can't criticise the man. His integrity is unimpeachable." The noted jurist Fali Nariman commented that Katju is a person who doesn't merely pretend to support human rights but lives it every moment of his life. The former editor of The Times of India, Dilip Padgaonkar, has said that Katju is "an individual whose reputation for uprightness has been consistently above board."

Confrontation with Indian Parliament

In March 2015, in his blog, Katju called Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore as British and Japanese agents respectively. Both the house of the Indian Parliament condemned his remarks and passed a resolution against him. Katju has filed a petition before the Supreme Court of India seeking a quashing of the said resolutions.

Sexism

Katju has been criticised for sexist comments on social media. In 2015, he made comments comparing Shazia Ilmi to Kiran Bedi, saying: "If Shazia had been made their chief minister candidate, the BJP would have definitely won the Delhi elections. People vote for beautiful faces [....] Even a person like me who does not vote would have voted for Shazia." In 2020 he was criticized when screenshots of an exchange he had with a woman on Facebook went viral when he told her that "good girls go to sleep early."

Opposition to the Reservation System

Katju has opposed the reservation system in India and has called upon Dalits and Other Backward Castes to ask for its removal

Thoughts on the Israel Palestine Conflict

Katju believes that Hamas was provided with weapons by countries like China and Russia on October 7, the attack which started the Israel-Hamas War Katju considers Israel an illegitimate state