Days after Justice Arun Mishra of the Supreme Court praised PM Narendra Modi as an “internationally acclaimed visionary” and a “versatile genius who thinks globally and acts locally”, the Supreme Court Bar Association today criticised his statement, saying it “reflects poorly on the independence of judiciary”.

The SCBA believes independence of judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution and that it should be preserved in letter and spirit. Yesterday, the Bar Association of India had expressed dismay over the statement made by the third senior-most judge of the SC.

“Dignified human existence is our prime concern. We thank the versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally, Shri Narendra Modi, for his inspiring speech which would act as a catalyst in initiating the deliberations and setting the agenda for the conference,” Justice Mishra had said on Saturday while delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020. In a resolution, the SCBA expressed strong reservations over Justice Mishra’s praise for the PM.