'Time To Stand Up For Our Courts...:' Over 500 Lawyers Urge CJI Chandrachud To Safeguard Judiciary

‘time to stand up for our courts…:’ over 500 lawyers urge cji chandrachud to safeguard judiciary

New Delhi: Over 600 lawyers have written to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to raise their concerns regarding “political pressure in the judiciary”. The lawyers have written to the CJI to seek intervention and to safeguard the Indian judiciary.

In the letter, the group of lawyers expressed their concern “on the manner in which a vested interest group is trying to pressure the judiciary, influence the judicial process and defame our courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas”.

In their letter, the lawyers have raised their concerns about the “concocted theory of bench fixing” in the courts. The 600 lawyers raised two major areas of concern with the CJI – political flip-flopping and underhand tactics and false information.

The lawyers allege that some elements have been trying to influence judges on specific cases and spread lies via social media to pressure the judges to deliver a verdict favouring a particular side. The lawyers have also raised their concerns regarding the timing of such antics.

“The timing of their modus operandi also merits close scrutiny – they do it at very strategic timings when the nation is all set to head into elections,” the lawyers stated, recalling similar tactics in 2018-2019 before the Lok Sabha Polls.

The lawyers have alleged that such antics are “vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony,” the two major pillars of the judiciary.

“Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption,” the lawyers stated, adding that such practices will damage Indian courts and the democratic fabric of the country.

The lawyers have urged CJI Chandrachud to stand strong and “protect the courts” from these efforts which aim to “belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons”.

“Staying silent or doing nothing could accidentally give more power to those who mean to do harm,” adding that it is “time to stand up for our courts and speak out against these underhanded attacks”.

(With inputs from ANI)