Rajya Sabha Member & Senior Lawyer Kapil Sibal has expressed his displeasure with some of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions, stating he has “no hope left" in the institution.
“If you think you will get relief from Supreme Court, you are hugely mistaken. & I am saying this after completing 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court," Sibal said, according to a report by the news agency.
Even if the Apex Court issues a landmark decision, it rarely changes the ground reality, he added.
“This year I will complete 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court & after 50 years I feel I have no hopes from the institution. You talk about progressive judgements delivered by the Supreme Court but there is huge difference of what happens at the ground level. Supreme Court gave judgement on privacy & ED officers come to your home… Where is your privacy?" Kapil Sibal was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The Senior Lawyer was speaking at a People’s Tribunal organised on Saturday in Delhi by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Reforms (CJAR), the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), & the National Alliance of People’s Movements on the “Judicial Rollback of Civil Liberties" (NAPM).
Kapil Sibal criticised the Top Court for dismissing a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of Ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to PM Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots; upholding provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that give the Enforcement Directorate vast powers; & dismissing a 2009 petition seeking an independent investigation into alleged incidents of extra-judicial killings of 17 tribals during anti-naxal operations in Chhattisgarh by security forces.
All of these decisions were handed down by a bench led by retired Justice AM Khanwilkar. Sibal had appeared on behalf of Zakia Jafri & petitioners who were challenging provisions of the PMLA Act. He also said that “sensitive cases" are assigned to only a few judges, & that the legal community usually knows ahead of time what the outcome of the judgement will be.
He said that “… I do not want to talk like this about a Court where I have practised for 50 years but the time has come. If we don’t speak it, who will? The reality is such that any sensitive matter which we know has a problem is placed before certain judges & we know the outcome".
“Jis court mein judge bithaye jaate hain (where judges are instituted) through a process of compromise, a court where there is no system to determine which case will be presided over by which bench, where the Chief Justice of India decides which matter will be dealt with by which bench & when, that court can never be independent," he said, adding that the situation would not change if people did not change their mindset.
“In India we have mai-baap culture, people fall at the feet of the powerful. But the time has come for the people to come out & demand protection of their rights," Sibal said.
He added that “independence is only possible when we stand up for our own rights & demand that independence".
Commenting on his remarks, Dr Adish C Aggarwala, Chairman of the All India Bar Association (AIBA) said Sibal is an integral part of the justice dispensation system but if he actually felt a loss of hope in the institution, then he was free not to appear before the Courts.
“This is contemptuous & coming from someone of the standing of Kapil Sibal who was also President of Supreme Court Bar Association, it’s unfortunate too. If cases haven’t been decided to liking of Kapil Sibal, it does not mean that the judicial system has failed," he was quoted as saying by the news agency.
BJP leader Amit Malviya also commented, saying, “Kapil Sibal, who it is widely believed presides over a caucus that manages cases in the top court, questions SC’s latest judgment on PMLA, a law he signed off on as a minister in the UPA. He also questions powers of the CJI & other decisions of the SC. Will SC invoke contempt?"
“He must be speaking for small group of people who expect SC to give decisions as per them. He’s a senior lawyer, I’m surprised he made such remarks. Judgements can be criticised but institutions shouldn’t be denigrated," Senior Lawyer & Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani said.
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(With input from news agency language)
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