Modi’s praise by the judges shows that the so-called church-state separation in the context of the judiciary is blurring, undermining its credibility. rime Minister Narendra Modi has been called many things. Donald Trump even called him “my true friend”, “religious’, “calm” and “tough” man. But nothing beats the new level of praise that he got from a Supreme Court judge — “versatile genius”. The third senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Arun Mishra went overboard on 22 February, in his appreciation of Modi, describing him as an “internationally acclaimed visionary and a versatile genius who thinks globally and acts locally”. Justice Mishra was speaking at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference, 2020, an event where, apart from the Prime Minister and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, sitting judges from over 20 countries were also present. From trying to rule through obiter, some judges seem to have decided to take their words outside the courtrooms too. The so-called church-state separation in the context of the judiciary is blurring, undermining its credibility and the strength of democracy. But, if anyone thinks Justice Mishra is the first judge to make such loaded comments, drawing controversy to what is supposed to be an independent institution, think again. Also read: Dear Supreme Court, Indians mostly clueless about what goes behind the scene in judiciary Before Justice Mishra’s contentious remark, Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde had declared that “real rights are a result of performance of duty”. He was of course, quoting Mahatma Gandhi, but without possibly realising that the context was different and that, unlike the father of the nation, who never held a constitutional post in independent India, CJI Bobde had an obligation to uphold the rights of all citizens, including those who failed to perform their duties. In August 2019, Supreme Court judge M.R. Shah, then Chief Justice of Patna High Court, was gushing in his praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as a “model and hero”. “…Modi is a model. He is a hero. This is what is being said about him for the past one month. There are thousands of clippings on social media. The papers are also publishing the same, daily,” Justice Shah had said. In these trying times, when every action and word of every constitutional office-holder is being carefully scrutinised, judges, like Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion.