A group of lawyers has written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud alleging that efforts were being made ‘to belittle and manipulate courts for personal and political reasons’ and urged the Supreme Court to take action in this regard.

The lawyers expressed ‘deepest concern’ about the actions of a ”vested interest group” which they alleged was ”trying to pressure the judiciary, influence judicial process and defame…courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas”.

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The letter said, ”Their antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the judiciary. Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption and are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric.”

The signatories, numbering around 600, alleged that ”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 courts for certain political gains.”

The letter said ”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, dated 26 March, added that the group ”has also concocted an entire theory of ‘bench fixing’ – which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous but an attack on the honour and dignity of our courts and at times, it also leads to slanderous attacks and insinuations on respected judges.”

The lawyers said that the members of the ”vested interest group 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 of 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 stated that there is 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.”

According to the letter, the lawyers were equally worried about political flip-flopping. ” It is strange to see politicians accuse someone 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 through media,” the lawyers said, adding that this two-faced behaviour was harmful to the respect common man should have for the country’s legal system.

Reacting to the letter, Bar Council of India Chairman, senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra said that they have told the Chief Justice of India that the manner in which the election season has been chosen by a few lawyers and attempts were being made ”to defame a pious institution such as our judiciary – the only goal behind this is to put pressure on judiciary and judges”.

”They want a decision to their liking. When an accused involved in a corruption case doesn’t get relief from the courts, pressure tactics are done through the misuse of social media so that they get a verdict to their liking. I feel that the people of the country and more than 99 per cent of the responsible lawyers will not tolerate any of this.

”So, all of us – the sensible lawyers – have written to the CJI that whatever is ongoing on social media should not be taken note of and the judiciary should do its work,” he added.