Retired judges write to CJI against attempts to 'undermine' judiciary

A group of 21 retired judges of the Supreme Court and high courts have written to the Chief Justice of India on the escalating attempts by certain factions to undermine the judiciary through calculated pressure misinformation and public disparagementThese critics are motivated by narrow political interests and personal gains and are striving to erode public confidence in the judicial system they saidThough the retired judges including four from the apex court did not specify the incidents which prompted them to write to the CJI their letter came amid amid a war of words between the ruling BJP and opposition parties over the actions against some opposition leaders in corruption casesWith 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 oppositions criticismThe 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 judgesSuch 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 pressuresThe strategy employed by these groups is deeply troubling ranging from the propagation of baseless theories intended to malign the judiciarys reputation to engaging in overt and covert attempts to influence judicial outcomes to their favour they saidThis 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 addedThe letter writers said they are particularly concerned about the tactics of misinformation and the orchestration of public sentiment against the judiciaryThe practice of selectively praising judicial decisions that align with ones views while vehemently criticising those that do not undermines the very essence of judicial review and the rule of law they saidThey 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 preservedIt is imperative that the judiciary remains a pillar of democracy immune to the whims and fancies of transient political interests they saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever