New Delhi: The family of eminent jurist and former chief justice of India, late Justice J S Verma, has decided not to accept the Padma Bhushan awarded to him posthumously on the eve of Republic Day this year.
Verma, who headed a government committee set up in the wake of the Dec 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape to frame a tough law for crime against women, has been awarded Padma Bhushan in the public affairs category.
But family of the eminent jurist has decided not to accept the award as they believe Verma being given just a Padma Bhushan has hurt their sentiments.
Verma's wife Pushpa Verma wrote a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and said “We do not want to accept what we know Justice Verma himself would not have accepted.”
Pushpa Verma has written that she is yet to receive any official communication but is responding after reading reports in the media that her late husband has been given the Padma Bhushan.
She has written she does not think it “appropriate” to accept the award on his behalf as he “never hankered or lobbied for any acclaim, reward or favour”.
“He always and strictly, put India first before any personal profit or gain. He will always be remembered as one of India's most pre-eminent jurists and with a legacy of alleviating substantive injustice through the forging of globally acclaimed new legal tools,” she has said.
