Congress culture is to bully others: Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that it is a “vintage Congress culture” to “browbeat and bully” others. The PM’s strong remarks came in response to a letter written by over 600 lawyers to the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud alleging that a “vested interest group” is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, especially in cases of corruption involving politicians.

In a post on X, Modi said, “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,” Modi said, tagging a post by verified X handle LawBeat that carried the letter written by the lawyers.

Over 600 lawyers, including senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI Chandrachud, asserting, “These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric.” The letter dated March 26 and signed by lawyers from across the country said Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these “tough times” and the apex court should stand strong.

Questioning the timing of the assertions by the “interest groups”, the lawyers said it is all happening in the run-up to the general election.

“The timing of their modus operandi also merits closer scrutiny -- they do it at very strategic timings, when the nation is all set to head into elections. We are reminded of similar antics in 2018-2019 when they took to their 'hit and run' activities, including fabricating wrong narratives,” the letter asserted.

"These efforts to belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be allowed under any circumstances," the lawyers said.

One important court case with political implications in the run-up to the 2019 polls was the demand for a probe into the purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft over alleged corruption, but the Supreme Court had dismissed the batch of pleas in November 2018, saying there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the deal.

Asserting that it is not the time to maintain dignified silence, the letter, shared by official sources, targeted a section of lawyers without naming them and alleged that "they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night".

This interest group creates false narratives of a supposed “better past” and “golden” period of courts, contrasting them with the happenings in the present, the letter said, adding that their comments are aimed at influencing courts and embarrassing them for political gains.

The letter, with the subject line "Judiciary Under Threat - Safeguarding Judiciary from Political and Professional Pressure", is also been signed by Supreme Court Bar association president Adish Agarwala and senior lawyers Chetan Mittal, Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla and Swarupama Chaturvedi.

Though the letter has not mentioned any specific cases, the development comes at a time when courts are dealing with several high-profile criminal cases of corruption involving the Opposition leaders.

The Opposition has accused the Centre of targeting its leaders due to political vendetta, a charge denied by the ruling BJP.

These parties, whose ranks include some noted lawyers, have joined hands against the recent arrest of Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Targeting the critics, the signatories of the letter accused them of shaking the public's trust in courts, they said.

"We are writing to you to express our deepest concern about the manner in which a vested interest group is trying to pressure the judiciary, influence the judicial process and defame our courts on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas. 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. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric," the letter read.

The critics have also concocted an entire theory of "bench fixing", which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous but an attack on the honour and dignity of courts, the letter said, adding that 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 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," it said.

These critics have adopted the "my way or the highway" approach at work as they hail the decisions they agree with, but any decision they disagree with is trashed, smeared and disregarded, they said, adding, “This cherry-picking has been visible in very recent judgments too.”

"This two-faced behaviour is harmful to the respect a common man should have for our legal system," the letter said, claiming that this cherry-picking has been visible in very recent judgments too.

"Some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on them to decide in a particular way," they alleged in the letter.

Noting that the CJI’s leadership is crucial in these “tough times”, the letter said, "Staying silent or doing nothing could accidentally give more power to those who mean to do harm. This is not the time to maintain dignified silence, as such efforts have been happening for a few years and too frequently."

“As people who work to uphold the law, we think it's time to stand up for our courts. We need to come together and speak out against these underhanded attacks, making sure our courts stay strong as pillars of our democracy, untouched by these calculated attacks,” the lawyers added.