Wish he read judgment: Sudershan Reddy on Amit Shah's naxalism verdict criticism

News Desk,UPDATED: Aug 23, 2025 21:07 IST

Opposition vice-presidential candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy on Saturday countered Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s charge that he had “supported Naxalism” through a Supreme Court verdict, saying that perhaps Shah did not read the judgement.

Amit Shah alleged that Reddy, who delivered the 2011 judgment striking down the anti-Maoist Salwa Judum campaign, had “helped Naxalism.” Shah said if the Supreme Court had not banned the use of tribal youth as armed auxiliaries in the fight against Maoists, the insurgency “would have ended by 2020.”

He further linked the Congress’s decision to nominate Reddy as vice-presidential candidate to “supporting Naxalism,” claiming it weakened the Opposition’s chances in Kerala.

REDDY'S REBUTTAL

Reacting to Shah’s remarks, Reddy said he would not “join an issue directly with the Home Minister,” but stressed that the judgment was that of the Supreme Court, not his personal opinion.

“I have authored the judgment. Judgment is not mine. Judgment is of the Supreme Court. Another judge was sitting with me and repeated attempts were made to get it overruled, but it didn’t happen,” he explained.

He added that Shah should have studied the ruling before commenting. “I wish the Home Minister could have himself read the whole judgment. If he had read the judgment, perhaps he would not have made that comment,” Reddy said.

WHAT WAS SALWA JUDUM VERDICT?

Salwa Judum was a state-backed militia movement in Chhattisgarh where tribal youths—called Special Police Officers or “Koya Commandos”—were armed and used to fight Maoist insurgents. In December 2011, a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Reddy declared the practice unconstitutional, ordering that the tribal recruits be disarmed. The court held that the state could not arm civilians and outsource law and order functions to them.

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