The Division Bench of the State High Court has very rightly ordered the Government to mount adequate security at the residences of former Chief Justice and Judges of the State High Court. It has a very strong point to pass such an order. Ever since militancy broke out in Kashmir, the judges are required to deal with numerous militancy- related cases. In a situation that we have, the judges, after their retirement, continue to remain vulnerable to various kinds of threats. We know that militant organizations are in the habit of issuing threats of kidnapping and causing damage to the person or the residence of the judges. As such it is the duty of the State to provide adequate security to the retired judges. We strongly support the order of the Division Bench. The question of the status of the judges in regard to the category of security in which they fall has been raging for some time. The Government said that it had no policy regarding fixing the status of security category for the judges. Now the Division Bench has made it clear and the State will have to provide at least 1 – 4 security guards at the residence of each retired judge. In regard to the security of the retired District and Session Judges, the DB said that the security of these judges shall be extended to one year on retirement and thereafter as per the report of Security Review Coordination Committee. Whether security to the judges will be extended beyond one year will depend on the nature of the report of the Review Committee. This order will be received with a sense of relief by the retired judges, who, otherwise, had to apprehend untoward thing happening to them at any time.
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