Forty-four retired judges of the Supreme Court and various High Courts have issued a strongly worded statement condemning what they describe as a “motivated campaign” against the Chief Justice of India over his remarks in proceedings concerning Rohingya migrants. The letter, dated December 9, 2025 and circulated by former Sikkim High Court Chief Justice Permod Kohli, asserts that attempts are being made to mischaracterise routine courtroom questions as evidence of prejudice and to “delegitimise” the judiciary.

The signatories stress that, in their view, Rohingya migrants “have not come to India as refugees under Indian law”, noting that their entry is largely irregular or illegal and is not covered by any statutory refugee-protection framework. They also underline that India is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, arguing that the country’s obligations towards foreigners arise from its Constitution, domestic immigration laws and general human-rights norms rather than from treaties New Delhi has chosen not to join.

Raising security and governance concerns, the retired judges point to “serious and legitimate” questions about how foreign nationals who entered India illegally may have managed to obtain Aadhaar cards, ration cards and other identity and welfare documents meant for citizens or lawfully resident persons. Such misuse, they caution, corrodes the integrity of the identification and welfare systems and suggests the presence of organised networks and official complicity in facilitating fraudulent documentation.

Against this backdrop, the former judges back the idea of a court-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged illegal procurement of Indian documents by foreign nationals, and to identify any officials or intermediaries involved. At the same time, they emphasise that the Supreme Court’s approach has remained within constitutional bounds, balancing national security with a clear affirmation that no human being on Indian soil, citizen or foreigner, can be subjected to torture, disappearance or inhuman treatment.

The signatories including former Supreme Court judges Anil Dave and Hemant Gupta, several former Chief Justices of High Courts and dozens of retired High Court judges declare their “full confidence” in the Supreme Court and in the Chief Justice in the discharge of constitutional duties “without fear or favour”. Warning that attacks on individual judges over searching questions on nationality, migration and documentation could imperil judicial independence, they call for “principled support, not vilification” of the judiciary as it grapples with complex questions around illegal migration and human dignity.