The All-India Lawyers Union (AILU) has condemned the recent letter by 600 lawyers to the Chief Justice of India alleging attempts by some lawyers to pressure the judiciary, terming the initiative “crocodile tears in the name of safeguarding judiciary”.

“...The present regime has been making a direct onslaught and subtle subterfuge against the basic structure of the Constitution, including independence of the judiciary, and ridiculing the judiciary for exercising power of judicial review on legislations,” the AILU said in a statement.

“The scathing criticism and attack made by none other than the Vice-President of India and the law minister against ‘judicial review’ and ‘basic structure’ in the name of supremacy of Parliament, claiming it as sovereignty and demanding a determining role and power for the executive government for selection of judges was part of this well-orchestrated plan,” the letter added.

The AILU statement, issued by its president Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya and general secretary P.V. Surendranath, both senior advocates, alleged direct intervention by the executive in the transfer of high court judges. It said the government had interfered with the transfer of two such judges “on extra-judicial-extraneous political reasons”.

“The Modi government has been indulging in post-retirement appointments to judges to manipulate and interfere with the independence of the judiciary. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on retirement was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Modi regime. Within six weeks of Justice Abdul Nazeer’s retirement as judge of the Supreme Court, he was appointed as governor of Andhra Pradesh,” the statement said.

“The Union government has been dishonouring the collegium resolution on transfer/ appointment of Chief Justices of various high courts by splitting up the resolutions of the collegium of the Supreme Court, selectively. The same thing happens in the matter of the candidates recommended for appointment (as) judges of the high courts by the collegium.

“There had been instances that even after reiteration of the recommendation of the candidates by the collegium the regime protracted the matter and ultimately refused to appoint the candidates. These are all instances of severe violation of independence of the judiciary,” the AILU said.

Referring to the recent joint letter written by senior advocate Harish Salve and others, the AILU noted: “The ‘Group of Lawyers’ never raised voices at these violations and to safeguard the judiciary. This ‘Group of Lawyers’ have been vociferously supporting this undemocratic anti-constitutional idea against the independence of the judiciary.”

The AILU alleged that this group had been behind attempts to overreach the judgment of the Supreme Court in the electoral bond case in collaboration with big corporate monopolists and other vested interest groups.

“They are instrumental to the letter to the Hon’ble President of India to withhold enforcement of the electoral bonds judgment and the letter to the CJI to suo motu review the judgment. Ultimately, they are exposed before the court; the constitutional bench presided over by CJI has deprecated the author of the letter in strongest terms,” the AILU said.

“The fact that the Supreme Court has stayed the Modi government’s authoritarian and undemocratic Fact-Check Unit (FCU) notification under the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, also irritates the disgruntled vested interest Group,” it said.

“The baseless, bald allegations-canards in the letter are not the general opinion of the advocates and legal fraternity across India at all. The ‘Group of Lawyers’ do not represent advocates and legal fraternity in India. The Group’s attempt in the name of safeguarding judiciary is only a camouflage and veiled browbeat against the judiciary.... It is also an attempt to misguide the people with a false narrative projecting themselves — masquerading as the saviour of the judiciary.”