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.
New Delhi: 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”. In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the lawyers expressed concerns against mounting political and professional pressure through the actions of an interest group, which they alleged was aimed at “undermining the judiciary’s integrity.”
“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 March 26, addressed to CJI D Y Chandrachud said.
The letter, 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.
“They have also concocted an entire theory of ‘bench fixing’ – which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous – it’s an attack on the honour and dignity of our courts. At times, it also leads to slanderous attacks and insinuations on respected judges.
“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 of unfair practices. These aren’t just criticisms, they are direct attacks meant to damage the public’s trust in our judiciary and threaten the fair application of our laws,” the letter added.
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.
According to reports, the group of lawyers, who are behind the letter titled ‘Judiciary Under Threat-Safeguarding Judiciary from Political and Professional Pressure’, number around 600 and also include Adish Aggarwala, Chetan Mittal, Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla and Swarupama Chaturvedi.
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