A group of 600 lawyers, including jurist and senior lawyer Harish Salve, on Thursday expressed “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”.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the lawyers said: “Their antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the judiciary.”

The signatories, which include BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and SCBA president Adish C. Aggarwala, said: “Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption.”

According to the letter, such alleged tactics are damaging to “our courts” and threaten the country’s democratic fabric. This vested interest group operates in various ways by creating 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 for certain political gains. It’s troubling to see some lawyers defend politicians by the day, and then try to influence judges through the media at night”, thus trying to shake public confidence in the judiciary.

The letter alleged that “the said group has also concocted an entire theory of ‘bench fixing’ — which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous — but is 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 added.

“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.”