“To Browbeat And Bully Others”: PM Modi Attacks Congress After 600 Lawyers’ “Threat To Judiciary” Letter

After 600 lawyers including senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud raising concerns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed their view and said “to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture”. In the letter, what they perceive as a threat to the judiciary integrity, lawyers in the letter stated that the actions of a “specific interest group” are tainting the image of the judiciary.

“To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them,” Prime Minister Modi wrote after sharing the details about the letter, as the country is heading for the general elections from next month.

The letter addressed to the Chief Justice says that a special group is employing pressure tactics to influence judicial outcomes, particularly in cases involving political figures and corruption allegations. As per the letter, the tactics are being used in cases that involve political figures accused of corruption. They allege that this is in motive to sway court decisions and discredit the judiciary most pronounced.

One of the main alleged accusations in the letter is the fabrication of false narratives aimed at portraying a skewed view of the judiciary’s functioning, with comparisons to a purported ‘golden age’ of the courts.

“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,” the letter reads.

They have accused the interest group of creating a false narrative about judges and the court. The other accusations stated also include “bench fixing”, “comparisons of domestic courts to those in lawless regimes”, and “attack on judges’ honour”.

The lawyers also stated in the letter that the interest groups are involved in selective criticism or praising of the court based on their political agenda and they described this as a “My way on the highway” approach.

In the letter, the lawyers also raised their concern regarding the timing of such antics. Recalling the similar tactics used in 2018-19 before the Lok Sabha polls, the lawyers wrote, “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 have urged the Chief Justice to stand strong and “protect the courts” from these efforts which aim to “belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons”.

They also reminded the court to take action against “these underhanded attacks” as “staying silent or doing nothing could accidently give more power to those who mean to do harm”.