Bar Association slams Kapil Sibal over remarks on Indian judiciary

New Delhi, Aug 08: All India Bar Association (AIBA) has come down heavily on former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal's comments on losing hope in the Indian judiciary.

"Courts decide cases by applying the law to the facts presented by cases before them. They owe allegiance to the Constitution and none else," ANI quoted Adish C Aggarwala, senior advocate and Chairman of AIBA, as saying. He said, "Criminal cases which were instituted by the then governments as a political witch-hunt, where detailed investigations have been carried out but failed to disclose any evidence, had to be given a burial and if that has happened, no fault can be found with the judicial system. Courts are not to deliver judgments hanging people just to assuage the feelings of a certain community."

A robust system is insulated from sentiments and is influenced only by the law, said Aggarwala, who is former Vice Chairman of Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association.

He then further claimed that it is a trend for people to denounce court and judges when judgements go against them.

"This is wholly contemptuous and coming from someone of the standing of Kapil Sibal who was also President of Supreme Court Bar Association, it is unfortunate too. If cases have not been decided to the liking of Kapil Sibal, it does not mean that the judicial system has failed," he stated.

"Sibal is an integral part of the justice dispensation system. However, if he actually feels a loss of hope in the institution, then he is free not to appear before the courts", added Aggarwala.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal had expressed his displeasure over some of the recent judgements passed by the Supreme Court saying he has "no hope left" in the institution.

"If you think you will get relief from Supreme Court, you are hugely mistaken. And I am saying this after completing 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court," Sibal said.

Even if a landmark judgement is passed by the apex court, it hardly ever changes the ground reality, he added.

"This year I will complete 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court and 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 and ED officers come to your home... Where is your privacy?" said Sibal.

Sibal was speaking at a People's Tribunal which was organized on Saturday here in Delhi on the "Judicial Rollback of Civil Liberties" by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the National Alliance of People's movements (NAPM).