Senior advocate Harish Salve among 600 lawyers who write to CJI Chandrachud over 'attempts to undermine' judiciary’s integrity

The lawyers accuse vested interest group of employing pressure tactics to influence judicial outcomes, particularly in cases involving political figures and corruption allegations

The lawyers request the Supreme Court to stand strong and take steps to protect courts. Representative image/iStock

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, March 28

More than 600 lawyers, including senior advocate Harish Salve, Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and SCBA president Adish C Aggarwala, have written to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressing serious concern over direct attacks being made by a vested interest group to damage the public’s trust in the judiciary.

In a letter addressed to the CJI, the lawyers accused the vested interest group of employing pressure tactics to influence judicial outcomes, particularly in cases involving political figures and corruption allegations.

Noting that the timing of their modus operandi merited a “closer scrutiny” as the nation was all set to head into election, the lawyers requested the Supreme Court to stand strong and take steps to protect courts.

They expressed “deepest concern over the manner in which a vested interest group is trying to pressure the judiciary, influence judicial process and defame our courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agenda”.

“Their (vested interest group’s) antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the judiciary. 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,” read the letter.

“They create a false narrative of a supposed ‘better past’ and golden period of the courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present. These are nothing but intentional statements made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the courts for certain political gains,” the letter alleged.

“It’s troubling to see some lawyers defend politicians by the day, and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Implying that the courts in the past were easier to influence shakes the public’s trust in them,” it further read.

Accusing the “vested interest group” of concocting a theory of ‘bench fixing’, the letter stated that it was “not just disrespectful and contemptuous but also “an attack on the honour and dignity of our courts”.

It said, “There is a clear “My way or the highway” approach at work - any decision they agree with is hailed but any decision they disagree with is trashed, smeared and disregarded. This cherry picking has been visible in very recent judgments too.”

“These efforts to belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be allowed under any circumstances,” they wrote to the CJI.

These actions posed a significant threat to the democratic fabric and the trust placed in judicial processes, the lawyers, including senior advocates Pinky Anand and Swaroopama Chaturvedi, alleged in the letter.

“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 for a few years and too frequently....Sir, in these tough times, your leadership is crucial. We trust you and all Hon'ble Judges to guide us through these issues and keep our courts strong...,” the lawyers wrote.

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