'To bully others is vintage Congress culture': PM Modi on lawyers' letter to Chief Justice of India

After hundreds of lawyers, including some prominent ones such as top advocate Harish Salve, in a letter to Chief Justice of India wrote on the subject of "Judiciary Under Threat- Safeguarding Judiciary from Political and Professional Pressure", Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture."

This comes as over 600 lawyers in a letter dated March 26 to CJI expressed worry over "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."

While reacting to that, PM Modi wrote, "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."

The letter penned by the lawyers expressed regret that some lawyers are aligning themselves with politicians to influence the court's rulings.

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"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.

'Some lawyers defend politicians,' says letter

"It's troubling to see some lawyers defend politicians by the day, and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Implying that the courts in the past were easier to influence shakes the public's trust in them," it added.

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The letter also expressed dismay by saying that these groups "have also concocted an entire theory of 'bench fixing' - which is not just disrespectful and contemptuous - it's an attack on the honour and dignity of our courts."

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The lawyers said that these issues are posing a challenge as sometimes it ends up with "slanderous attacks" on honourable judges.

The letter went on to point out that some of these "elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way."

It also urgedthe CJI to safeguard courts against these assaults and not to remain silent. "Staying silent or doing nothing could accidentally give more power to those who mean to do harm," the letter read.

After the PM's comments on the letter, theIndian National Congress PresidentMallikarjun Kharge said that it is "not proper" for the prime minister to made remarks on the judiciary.

(With inputs from agencies)