More than 700 lawyers from across India have written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde criticising the "recent trend of browbeating and intimidating the judiciary".
"We the undersigned lawyers want to register our concerns with regard to the trend that has emerged in recent times to browbeat and intimidate the judiciary. India has witnessed a series of attacks by institutional disruptors against judges who are unwilling to agree with them and toe the line drawn by them," said the letter signed by 772 lawyers.
"It is unfortunate that when political ends of lawyers are not served by a decision of the court, they vilify the court by making scandalising remarks. The Supreme Court of India as well as the judges are subject to both scurrilous language, malicious attacks and scandalising remarks. Legitimate criticism of both judgements and the functioning of the institution has always existed, however, when the criticism is calculated and actuated by malice, it is the authority of the court which is undermined," it added.
The signatories said it is essential to "protect the dignity and authority of courts if the judiciary is to perform its duties and functions effectively".
Referring to "institutional disruptors", the signatories said the foundation of the judiciary is the confidence of the people in its ability to deliver justice.
"The actions of these institutional disruptors through name calling and usage of certain phrases such as ‘Supreme Court has destroyed democracy’; ‘the Supreme Court is killing the Constitution’ have the tendency to destroy the faith of the public in the judiciary," they added.
On August 14, the Supreme Court held advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court and fixed the date of hearing for his sentencing on August 20. A statement was issued by 'Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms' (CJAR) the next day, condemning the judgment and calling upon the Supreme Court and every judge to reconsider their decision. The CJAR includes a retired judge Justice PB Sawant, former law minister and senior advocate Shanti Bhushan and others as their patrons.
The lawyers have urged the CJI to "uphold the edifice of the judicial system and protect the third pillar of
democracy from those who peddle falsehood to destroy the institution".
"We sincerely hope that the Supreme Court of India ensures that such persons are dealt with in an exemplary manner,
even if such actions are taken 13 years later or else such trends will only accelerate and strike a blow to the guardian of the rule of law," they added.
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