NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (TIWN): The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday condemned Justice Arun Mishra’s praise for PM Narendra Modi at a recent conference and called on apex court judges to maintain judicial independence by refraining from making such statements or show close proximity to the political executive.

Mishra, who retires on September 2, had described Modi as an “internationally acclaimed visionary” and a “versatile genius who thinks globally and acts locally”.

Saying that it “expresses its strong reservations of the statement and condemns it strongly,” the SCBA resolution added, “the SCBA believes any such statement reflects poorly on independence of judiciary and so calls upon the judges not to make statements in future nor show any proximity or closeness to the executive, including higher functionaries. SCBA believes that such proximity and familiarity may impact decision-making process by judges and may give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants about the outcome.