In bail cases before CBI or PMLA courts, we tell clients frankly they will not get bail: Kapil Sibal

Courts in India are silent about unlawful defections by elected lawmakers and are also not granting relief when political opponents are jailed by investigating agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said on Saturday. .Courts are losing the trust of the common public since special courts such as the CBI court and courts under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have predictable outcomes of political opponents not being granted bail, he said.The former union minister also revealed that when accused in bail matters before such courts approach lawyers, they frankly tell the accused that they won't get bail."How will we get justice and we are seeing what is happening in courts. Go to CBI or ED courts, you cannot even imagine what is happening there. Forget justice. We tell people frankly that you will not get bail at all. I am not speaking against judiciary but what people are thinking is that a person will not get bail. If people think like this about courts, then what remains in a democracy," the Senior Counsel demanded. Common Indians are losing faith in courts and this is something that is dangerous for a democracy, he added.Sibal was addressing a gathering at Delhi's Jantar Mantar to speak on his newly launched platform 'Insaaf ke Sipahi' to fight injustice..In his speech, Sibal also said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely taken over all independent institutions with the exception of judiciary which is also being attempted to be brought under control. "This is a vehicle which is being run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One of the wheels is the parliament which is under his control. The second wheel is election commission, which is under his control. The third wheel is executive which is under his control and the fourth wheel is judiciary which he is aiming to bring under his control. If the driver controls everything, then ED can be unleashed anywhere," said Sibal..Specifically on defection of lawmakers, Sibal said it is becoming common in Indian politics and that around eight State governments were toppled by the BJP."This is unheard of in any democracy where duly elected governments have been toppled by horse-trading. Which law prescribes this? Even courts keep silent. This is political injustice, is it not? These defectors become the ministers. Which law is this and why is this law not abolished?" said Sibal..He, therefore, said that if a lawmaker defects and joins any other party, that person should be disqualified from contesting elections for five years and should not be allowed to hold any public post."If this is done, there will be no defections from tomorrow," said Sibal. .He also suggested having four courts of appeals in four zones of India with the Supreme Court at Delhi hearing only constitutional matters."There should be four court of appeals in India. One should be in Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala etc. How will people from such far flung areas come and fight case in Delhi? India should be divided into four regions and there should be such four court of appeals and the Supreme Court in Delhi should have only 13 judges exclusively dealing with constitutional law matters. Any issue dealing with constitutional interpretation can be taken up by this court," said Sibal.