The All India Bar Association has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud urging him to deal with the recent incidents of ‘judicial misconduct’ which it says has had a major impact on the legal profession.
The letter said there is an “urgent need to take action to deal with the disrespect and misconduct” of senior lawyers, advocates and litigants by Supreme Court judges.
It specifically mentions an incident involving Justice R Subramanian of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, where he was allegedly seen disrespecting a senior advocate, a Member of Parliament and a Record Advocate “without justification”.
The Chairman of the Bar Association, Adish Aggarwala, in a letter, expressed his disappointment that, despite various efforts, including representation by the Association, no strong action has been taken in this regard.
“As the Chief Justice of India, it is very important that you ensure that Senior Advocates and other lawyers are treated with utmost dignity and respect by the Honorable Judges of the Supreme Court during the proceedings. With a deep sense of urgency and concern, I address this issue as it continues to negatively impact the legal community and jeopardizes the foundation of our justice system,” the letter reads.
The letter noted that since the so-called Madras High Court incident took place during the tenure of Justice Chandrachud, failure to act would certainly reflect badly on his commitment to the reputation of lawyers.
“Why has no action been taken against the erring judge of the Madras High Court, including his transfer?,” asked the publication, adding, “recent cases of lawyers’ misconduct are neither isolated nor exaggerated”.
“The absence of action against these unruly judges and the lack of accountability they face shows that such behavior can continue unchecked, which encourages other cases of disrespect, intimidation, and humiliation of lawyers by members of the law,” the letter from the president of the Bar Association continued to say. .
He added that this “doing nothing” risks a dangerous foundation, encouraging other “degrading behavior and weakening the relationship between the Bar and the bench”.
Aggarwala also pointed out that mutual respect between the Bar and the Bench is not only the foundation of the law, but is essential for the proper functioning of our justice system.
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