New Delhi, April 3: A Supreme Court judge has written to the Prime Minister after his letter to the Chief Justice of India to postpone a conference on account of Good Friday did not yield results but a retired judge has pointed out that "implementing justice" on sacred day is also a "holy act".

In his April 1 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Justice Kurien Joseph expressed anguish over a three-day conference of high court judges that began today in New Delhi. Modi is scheduled to address the concluding session on Sunday.

But Justice K.T. Thomas, a widely respected former judge who served in the Supreme Court, told The Telegraph from Kottayam in Kerala: "On a previous occasion in 2007, the conference of chief justices was held (on a Good Friday), nobody even bothered. This is because today there are people who want to show that there is Christian persecution in India, to which I don't agree. There is no persecution of Christians in India. I am a church-going Christian. For the last 12 years, I am delivering sermon on Good Friday. That is my personal thing and belief."

Justice Thomas, who had presided over the Rajiv Gandhi assassination trial in the Supreme Court and turned out a request from the Centre to head the Lokpal selection committee, added: "What the chief justices are doing is also a holy act. They are implementing justice for the people on a Good Friday. Jesus Christ will bless them. The criticism only shows that some people have become intolerant."

Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu had earlier rejected Justice Kurien Joseph's plea, pointing out that it was not the first time the conference was being held on a public holiday. The objective was to avoid disrupting normal working days of the courts in the country with a huge backlog of cases.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Justice Kurien Joseph said: "Irrespective of the religion, Diwali, Holi, Dussehra, Eid, Bakrid, Christmas, Easter etc. are great days of festival celebrations in the neighbourhood. Your good self would kindly appreciate that no important programmes are held during sacred and auspicious days of Diwali, Dussehra, Holi, Eid, Bakrid etc., though we have holidays during that period as well."

While recalling the rich secular and cultural history of India, Justice Kurien Joseph further said: "The reason for writing this letter... is that of late, the world is in the midst of sectarian and communal violence, and brothers are turning on one another in the name of religion. Even the countries of Europe who claim to be the bastion of religious liberalism are entering a period of uncertainty. The Middle East is facing large-scale conflicts on religious lines. In the midst of this crisis, India shines as a beacon and a model of religious harmony.... The whole world jealously looks at the beauty of the secular image, communal harmony and cultural integrity of our great nation. India must in these trying times, safeguard her credentials and be a model that other nations must follow.

"I know it is too late to reschedule the events. But being the guardian of Indian secularism, I request your Honour to kindly have in mind these concerns also while scheduling events and benevolently show equal importance and respect to the sacred days of all religions which are also declared as National holidays. I have shared these concerns with the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India as well."

In his earlier letter to Justice Dattu, Justice Kurien Joseph had said: "Please do not think I am striking a communal note only since I see institution like ours which are otherwise bound to protect secular ethos and project the secular image as per the mandate of the Constitution are slowly drifting away from the Constitutional obligation I thought of putting this concern in writing. I am afraid the conference which we are holding now on the holy and national holidays gives a wrong message to other Constitutional institutions and public bodies who may feel compelled not to give equal importance and respect to all the holy days."

But Justice Dattu replied: "... Had I or any of my other brother judges been in your place, if I may say so, we would have valued institutional interests more than family commitments...."

Justice Dattu said: "Now the question that I have to ask myself, perhaps I cannot ask you, is whether it is the institutional interest or the individual interest that one should give preference to. As far as I am concerned I would give priority to the former and not to the latter." Serving judges usually do not speak to the media, especially on issues being discussed at the highest echelons of the judiciary.

Justice K.T. Thomas, the former judge, pointed out that Australia, which has a high Christian population, had conducted the recent World Cup cricket final on a Sunday, which is also considered holy for Christians. "I have not heard any Christian protesting about it. Second, this is a country, where only 3 per cent of the population are Christians. In America the Christians constitute 97 per cent, but Good Friday is not even a holiday there."

"Millions of Christians live in Gulf countries (where the weekly holiday falls on Friday) but I have not heard any Christian raising any grievance (that Sunday is not a holiday). On the other hand, they agreed to adjust on a Friday for church worship," Justice Thomas said.