Certain lawyers defend politicians during day, try to influence judges through media at night: Lawyers write to CJI DY Chandrachud

A letter has been written by around 600 lawyers to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud expressing concerns over the troubling trend of some lawyers defending politicians by the day and attempting to influence judges through the media at night..The letter signed by lawyers including Senior Advocates Harish Salve, Manan Kumar Mishra, Adish Aggarwala, Chetan Mittal, Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla and Swaroopama Chaturvedi has expressed concern over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity."We, the undersigned, are a group of lawyers who are writing to you expressing our deepest concern on the manner in which 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," the letter stated..Such lawyers' antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the judiciary, it further said.They create false narratives about golden period of courts in the past and contrast it with the present, it was claimed. "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. This heated interest group operates in various ways. They create false narratives of a supposed 'better past' and 'golden period of the courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present. These are nothing but intentional statements, made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the court's for certain political gains," the letter stated..Further, the letter also alleged that such lawyers have concocted theory of bench fixing."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. 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," the letter said. .There is a clear "my way or the highway" approach at work, it added."Any decision they (lawyers supporting a particular political party) 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.".These efforts to belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be allowed under any circumstances, it was stated."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," the lawyers urged..[Read Letter].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.