A Supreme Court judge on Monday quoted ‘Lakshman rekha’ between the judiciary and executive to snub a plea seeking nullification of appointment of P C Pande as DGP of Gujarat for his supposed role in the 2002 riots.

“All of us know what was done to minorities in Gujarat. The perpetrators of riots are still in power. But we cannot do anything as there has to be a ‘Lakshman rekha’ between the functioning of the executive and judiciary,” said Justice Markandy Katju hearing a plea against the appointment of P C Pande as DGP of the state.

Justice Katju further said, “We cannot direct that this person is not fit to be a chief secretary or DGP of a state. Otherwise, the minister will say that Justice Katju is not fit to be a judge of the Supreme Court. We must respect each other.”

Nevertheless, Justice V S Sirpurkar , the second judge in the bench, said, “I do not subscribe to this view. This is his (Justice Katju’s) personal view.”

He took up the issue of the relief sought by the NGO petitioner. He said that the judiciary, as a matter of policy, should not interfere with transfers and promotions effected by the executive.