In Afzal Guru's case the Supreme Court said: “The collective conscience of the society will be satisfied only if the death penalty is awarded to Afzal Guru.”.
Is this a legitimate consideration for the Court ? Should a court of law pander to its assumed notion of “collective conscience” rather than follow legal principles ?.
Yakub Memon's case was incorrectly decided by the Supreme Court on the basis of very weak evidence ( retracted 'confession' of co-accused and so called 'recoveries' ), probably because the Court wanted to send a message that it is ' tough on terror '.
I am afraid that if judgments are given on such populist and extraneous considerations instead of by strictly following the law dark days are ahead for the Indian judiciary, and the Judges are inviting trouble for themselves. No amount of security can protect them, even if they turn the Court premises into a fortress, as has been done by the Supreme Court
