Over 600 Lawyers Write To CJI Alleging 'Vested Interest Groups' Trying To Pressure Judiciary, Defame Courts

A group of 600 lawyers, including senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India, alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to pressure the judiciary and defame courts "on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas".

The letter, dated March 26 which was made public on Thursday targetted a particular group of lawyers without explicitly identifying them and claimed that they represent politicians during the day, but later attempt to sway judges through the media during the night.

What was written in the letter?

The letter written to CJI contained allegations made by a group of lawyers against another anonymous group and it mentioned, "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."

The letter stated that this interest group fabricates untrue stories about a supposedly superior past and a glorious era of courts. They compare this to the current situation, with the intention of influencing the courts and causing them embarrassment for political purposes.

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, the official sources said.

The lawyers who wrote the letter did not mention any specific cases, but this development is happening during a period when courts are handling multiple high-profile criminal corruption cases that involve opposition leaders.

Opposition parties have alleged that the central government is deliberately going after their leaders as part of a political vendetta.

The ruling BJP, however, has denied these claims.

These parties, which include some prominent lawyers, have united in response to the recent arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi and the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy.

The lawyers in the letter, have accused the government of targeting critics and suggesting that the courts were previously more susceptible to influence. According to them, this undermines the public's belief in the judiciary.

"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".