Justice KM Joseph’s judgment on CEC reflects boldness and brilliance

KOCHI: To those who know Justice KM Joseph’s integrity and commitment to justice, the judgment he wrote for the five-member Supreme Court bench on the appointment of Election Commissioners does not come as a surprise.
Being a highly respected judge known for his independent and impartial judgments, he is known for taking up difficult cases and delivering judgments that are not only exacting in law but also procedurally sound.
So much so that his July 2013 judgment as a Kerala High Court judge to demolish a seven-star resort project worth Rs 200 crore, consisting of 59 pool villas at a private island called Nediyathuruthu in the Vembanad backwaters in Kerala, mainly due to violation of CRZ norms, was upheld in toto by the Supreme Court in January 2020.
Shortly after delivering this judgment, in July 2014, Justice Joseph was elevated as chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. His commitment to the rule of law was put to test in the case over the imposition of the President’s rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 by the Union government.
After his judgment quashing the imposition of President’s rule, Justice Joseph’s elevation to the Supreme Court got delayed, with J Chelameswar, a former Kerala chief justice who was then a Supreme Court judge and a member of the collegium, writing a strongly-worded letter to the apex court in February 2017 protesting the non-elevation of Justice Joseph. He is an outstanding judge with impeccable integrity and the most suitable judge for elevation, wrote Justice Chelameswar.
The Supreme Court collegium recommended for Justice Joseph’s elevation in January 2018, stating that he is more deserving and suitable than other candidates. But the Union government, in April 2018, took the stance that his elevation would not be appropriate.
This resulted in an unprecedented case in which the Supreme Court Bar Association filed a petition signed by 100 lawyers before the apex court challenging the government’s decision not to elevate Justice Joseph. However, the then Chief Justice, Dipak Misra, said the government is acting within its rights.
In July 2018, the Supreme Court collegium headed by Dipak Misra reiterated Justice Joseph’s name for elevation. He was finally appointed as a Supreme Court judge in August 2018 and will retire on June 16 this year.
Justice Joseph was born in Kottayam in Kerala on June 17, 1958, and his father, Justice KK Mathew, was a judge of the Supreme Court and chairman of the 10th Law Commission of India.
He graduated from Government Law College, Ernakulam and enrolled as an advocate in January 1982, and was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court on October 14, 2004.