600 lawyers write to CJI over defaming of courts
Pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption, lawyer said
PTI
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Representational photo
New Delhi, 28 March
A group of lawyers, including
senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairperson Manan Kumar
Mishra, has written to the Chief Justice of India, alleging that a "vested
interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame
courts "on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas".
"Their pressure tactics are
most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures
accused of corruption. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten
our democratic fabric," their letter, dated 26 March, addressed to CJI DY
Chandrachud said.
The letter, shared by official
sources, targeted a section of lawyers without naming them and alleged that
they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the
media at night. This interest group creates false narratives of a supposed
better past and golden period of courts, contrasting it with the happenings in
the present, the letter, signed by about 600 lawyers, said. It claimed that
their comments are aimed at influencing courts and embarrassing them for
political gains.
Adish Aggarwala, Chetan Mittal,
Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla and Swarupama Chaturvedi
are among the signatories to the letter titled "Judiciary Under
Threat-Safeguarding Judiciary from Political and Professional Pressure",
the official sources said. Though the lawyers behind the letter have mentioned
no specific cases, the development comes at a time when courts are dealing with
several high-profile criminal cases of corruption involving opposition leaders.
Opposition parties have accused the
central government of targeting their leaders as part of its political
vendetta, a charge refuted by the ruling BJP. These parties, whose ranks
include some noted lawyers, have joined hands against the recent arrest of
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi
excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Targeting critics, these lawyers
have accused them of suggesting that courts in the past were easier to
influence. This shakes the public's trust in courts, they said. "Their
antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises
the functioning of the judiciary," they said in their letter to CJI
Chandrachud.
They have also concocted an entire
theory of "bench fixing" which is not just disrespectful and
contemptuous but an attack on the honour and dignity of courts, the letter
said. "They have also stooped to the level of comparing our courts to
those countries where there is no rule of law and accusing our judicial
institutions with unfair practices," it said.
These critics have adopted the
"my way or the highway" approach at work as they hail the decisions
they agree with, but any decision they disagree with, is trashed, smeared and
disregarded, they said. "This two-faced behaviour is harmful to the
respect a common man should have for our legal system," the letter said
and claimed that this cherry picking has been visible in very recent judgments
too.
"Some elements are trying to
influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to
put pressure on them to decide in a particular way," they alleged in the
letter.
Questioning the timing, the lawyers
said it is all happening when the country is headed for the elections. "We
are reminded of similar antics in 2018-2019 when they took to their 'hit and
run' activities, including fabricating wrong narratives. These efforts to
belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be
allowed under any circumstances," they said. They urged the Supreme Court
to stand strong and take steps to protect courts from these alleged attacks.
"Staying silent or doing
nothing could accidentally give more power to those who mean to do harm. This
is not the time to maintain dignified silence as such efforts are happening
since few years and too frequently," they said, adding that the CJI's
leadership is crucial in these "tough times".
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