Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 15: Over 20 retired judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts have written to the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud conveying their “shared concern” about the escalating attempts by “certain factions to undermine the judiciary through calculated pressure, “tactics of misinformation” and public disparagement.
These critics are motivated by narrow political interests and personal gains and are striving to erode public confidence in the judicial system, the writers said who included four retired judges from the Supreme Court and the remaining from different high courts.
The letter follows a recent missive by 600 lawyers voicing the same concerns about a “particular vested interest group” pressurising the judiciary, influencing judicial process, and defaming the courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas.
“This behaviour, we observe, is particularly pronounced in the cases and causes of social, economic and political significance, including the cases involving certain individuals, wherein the lines between advocacy and manoeuvring are blurred to the detriment of judicial independence,” the retired judges said, drawing their insight from their years on the Bench.
Though the retired judges did not specify the incidents which prompted them to write to the CJI, their letter came amid a war of words between the ruling BJP and opposition parties over the actions against some opposition leaders in corruption cases. With affected leaders and their parties moving courts to seek relief, the BJP has often accused them of using judicial decisions selectively and cited any lack of relief for several arrested leaders to rebut the opposition’s criticism.
Commenting on the letter of the 21 retired judges, the Congress on Monday alleged it was part of an “orchestrated campaign of the prime minister” to “threaten, browbeat and intimidate” the judiciary that has flexed its muscles in recent months.
The retired judges, including justices (retired) Deepak Verma, Krishna Murari, Dinesh Maheshwari and M R Shah, accused the critics of having insidious methods with clear attempts to sway judicial processes by casting aspersions on the integrity of courts and the judges. “Such actions not only disrespect the sanctity of our judiciary but also pose a direct challenge to the principles of fairness and impartiality that judges, as guardians of the law, have sworn to uphold,” they said in the letter titled “Need to safeguard judiciary from unwarranted pressures.”
The strategy employed by these groups is deeply troubling, ranging from the propagation of baseless theories intended to malign the judiciary’s reputation to engaging in overt and covert attempts to influence judicial outcomes to their favour, they said. “This behaviour, we observe, is particularly pronounced in the cases and causes of social, economic and political significance, including the cases involving certain individuals, wherein the lines between advocacy and manoeuvring are blurred to the detriment of judicial independence,” they added.
The letter writers said they were particularly concerned about the tactics of misinformation and the orchestration of public sentiment against the judiciary. “The practice of selectively praising judicial decisions that align with one’s views while vehemently criticising those that do not, undermines the very essence of judicial review and the rule of law,” they said.
“Their methods are manifold and insidious, with clear attempts to sway judicial processes by casting aspersions on the integrity of our courts and the judges… The strategy employed by these groups is deeply troubling — ranging from the propagation of baseless theories intended to malign the judiciary’s reputation to engaging in overt and covert attempts to influence judicial outcomes to their favour,” the letter said.
They urged the judiciary led by the Supreme Court to fortify against such pressures and ensure that the sanctity and autonomy of the legal system are preserved. “It is imperative that the judiciary remains a pillar of democracy, immune to the whims and fancies of transient political interests,” they said.
Asked about the letter at a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the “greatest threat” to judicial independence come from the BJP. “Please see the fourth name on that list and it will give away the whole objective, background and authorship of the letter,” he said in an apparent reference to former Supreme Court Judge M R Shah.
“This letter is a part of an orchestrated campaign of the prime minister to threaten, browbeat and intimidate a judiciary that has flexed its muscles in recent months. A judiciary that has called out India’s biggest corruption scandal, the electoral bonds scam…A Supreme Court which said there is a breakdown of constitutional machinery in Manipur, that is the target,” Ramesh alleged.
The Congress leader also claimed that the Supreme Court in which a very distinguished lady judge was highly critical recently of demonetisation was the target. “So this letter of the 21 Modi-friendly former judges has to be seen along with that letter of 600 Modi-friendly lawyers. This is all an attempt to intimidate, frighten and browbeat an independent judiciary,” Mr Ramesh alleged.
“The greatest threat to judicial independence comes not from the Congress party but from the BJP, it come from Mr Modi. Mr (Amit) Shah…you see the comments made by the jurist who is the fourth signatory in that letter and the comments made about the PM when he was a serving judge, you will know where this letter has come from,” he added.
Earlier, Mr Ramesh tagged a post on that letter and said on X, “This G21 is not at all surprising. #4 on the list is a give-away. The gravest threat to the judiciary is coming from the Modi regime on whose behalf this letter has been put out.”