NEW DELHI: Taking a swipe at judges who resign to contest polls, as Calcutta HC’s Justice Abhijit Ganguly did last year, or take govt posts after retirement, CJI B R Gavai said such decisions raises “significant ethical concerns” and could undermine public trust in judiciary’s integrity.Delivering a lecture at a round table organized by the UK Supreme Court on Tuesday evening, CJI Gavai said, “If a judge takes up another appointment with the government immediately after retirement, or resigns from the bench to contest elections, it raises significant ethical concerns and invites public scrutiny.”“A judge contesting an election for a political office can lead to doubts regarding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, as it may be seen as a conflict of interest or as an attempt to gain favour with the government,” he said.“The timing and nature of such post-retirement engagements could undermine the public’s trust in the judiciary’s integrity, as it could create a perception that judicial decisions were influenced by the prospect of future government appointments or political involvement,” Justice Gavai said.Flagging this tradition of judges accepting post-retirement assignments, roles and positions from the government, which is as old as the institution, Justice Gavai said, “In light of this, many of my colleagues and I have publicly pledged not to accept any post-retirement roles or positions from the government. This commitment is an effort to preserve the credibility and independence of the judiciary.”The first of the SC judges to accept the post of governorship was Justice S Fazl Ali, whose appointment as Governor of Orissa (now Odisha) was announced by Jawaharlal Nehru government in 1952 when he was still a judge of the Supreme Court. It had raised ethical issues in the legal circles. Since then, many SC judges – Fathima Beevi, P Sathasivam and S Abdul Nazeer – have accepted gubernatorial posts after retirement.Justice Ganguly’s plunge into politics immediately after resigning from Calcutta HC and contesting elections on a BJP ticket was dramatic as he had judicially castigated TMC govt in many cases, including the teachers’ recruitment scam. But there were many such precedents involving SC judges.The much-admired Justice V R Krishna Iyer epitomized the politician-turned-judge-turned-politician. Justice Baharul Islam, an out and out congressman was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1962 and re-elected in 1968, in between unsuccessfully contesting Assam Assembly elections. Islam resigned from RS in 1972 to become a judge of Gauhati HC and retired in 1980 to immediately return to active politics. Nine months after his retirement, the Indira Gandhi govt appointed him as a judge of the SC. He resigned in 1983, weeks after giving a verdict favouring Bihar COM Jagannath Mishra in a corruption case, to contest for the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. When the elections got countermanded, the Congress elected him to Rajya Sabha in 1983.Even Justice K S Hegde was a congressman and was elected to RS in 1952 for a two-year term and then again in 1954. In 1957, he resigned to become a judge of Mysore HC and became a SC judge in 1967. He, along with Justices J M Shelat and A N Grover, resigned in 1973 when they were superseded by Indira Gandhi govt in 1973 to appoint Justice A N Ray as CJI.Hegde contested and won from Bangalore North constituency in 1977 on a Janata Party ticket and became Speaker of LS. He later joined BJP and was one of its vice-presidents from 1980-86. He had unsuccessfully contested the 1984 LS elections. There are many former judges of the Sc and HCs who gleefully accept govt roles or positions after retirement. Some of the statutes require retired constitutional court judges to head certain institutions.Justices A M Thipsay, Vijay Bahuguna, M Rama Jois, Rajinder Sachar had plunged into politics after retiring as HC judges. Former CJI Ranganath Misra became NHRC chief and then was elected to RS on a congress ticket. Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi was nominated to RS.