'Judiciary Under Threat': Over 500 Prominent Lawyers Including Harish Salve Write To CJI: Here Are The Key Highlights Of The Letter

Over 500 prominent lawyers including Harish Salve have written a letter to the Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, expressing concern over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity.

In the letter, titled 'Judiciary Under Threat- Safeguarding Judiciary from Political and Professional Pressure', the lawyers point out that 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 agendas".

"Their antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the judiciary," the letter reads.

The letter alleged that the "pressure tactics" by the vested interest group 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," it added.

Here are the key highlights of the letter:

Creation of Misleading Narratives:

The lawyers highlighted the strategic narrative manipulation by these groups, emphasising, "They create false narratives of a supposed 'better past' and 'golden period of the courts', contrasting it with the happenings in the present," to erode confidence in the current judiciary.

"These are nothing but intentional statements, made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the court's for certain political gains. 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," the letter said.

Allegations of Judicial Manipulation and Disrespect

The letter further alleges that the vested interest group is engaged in an orchestrated attack on judicial integrity.

"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," the letter said.

"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 with 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," it added.

"My way or the highway" approach

The lawyers allege that the vested interest group has 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," the letter said.

Expressing worry on the 'political flip-flopping', the letters said some politicians accuse others of corruption and then defend them in court.

"If the court's decision doesn't go their way, they quickly criticise the courts inside the court as well as through media. This two-faced behaviour is harmful to the respect a common man should have for our legal system," it said.

Further, it accused some "elements" of resorting to underhand tactics and false information in an attempt to get favourable verdicts.

"Some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way. This threatens the fairness of our courts and strikes at the heart of our legal principles," the letter said.

Closer scrutiny of the timing of modus operandi

The lawyers urged the CJI that the timing of the modus operandi of these vested interest groups also "merits closer scrutiny"

"The timing of their modus operandi also merits closer scrutiny- they do it at very strategic timings, when the nation is all set to head into elections. We are reminded of similar antics in 2018-2019 when they took to their 'hit and run' activities, including fabricating wrong narratives," it said.

These efforts to belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be allowed under any circumstances, the letter added.

Urgency for Supreme Court's Action

The lawyers stressed the need for the Supreme Court to address these undermining efforts actively.

"We request the Supreme Court to stand strong and take steps to protect our courts from these 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," it said.

Call for Unity and Defense of Judicial System

The letter culminates with a strong call to the legal community and the judiciary to unite against these challenges, stating, "We need to come together and speak out against these underhanded attacks, making sure our courts stay strong as pillars of our democracy, untouched by these calculated attacks."