The Bar Council of India (BCI) today urged Indira Jaising to "withdraw" her reported statement against the apex court judges who had passed the SC/ST verdict on March 20 but the senior advocate asserted that she neither attributed motives nor questioned the integrity of the judges.
BCI Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, in a statement, said that the courts and the judges are the breath and soul of democracy, but it has now become a fashion to degrade them.
He also said that the judiciary is the only institution in which the people have "blind faith and trust" and no judge acts with any feeling of casteism or with any other extraneous consideration.
"Our judiciary is the only institution on which the people have blind faith and trust and we must safeguard it at all costs. No judge acts with any feeling of casteism or with any other extraneous consideration.
"Indira Jaising is a person known to me. She is a seasoned and learned senior advocate and I would urge her to withdraw the statements issued by her against our judges. Our fearless and bold judges deserve the appraisal from the member of Bar and the people of the country, we should not try to politicise the institution," Mishra said in the statement.
He also said that there seems to be no fear, no thinking, no bar in the minds of people issuing such statements and the sanctity of the institution and the judges must be protected at all costs.
"The courts, the high courts and the Supreme Court and the judges are breath and soul and they are one of the most important pillars of our democracy, yet day by day it is being seen that it has become a fashion so as to say to degrade them, defame them and to belittle them for every action, order, judgement they make.
"We may still expect statements to be made by novices, by the ones who are ignorant, but when it comes from members of the Bar, who are learned and who are the hands and tongue of litigants, it is unexpected and painful," Mishra said.
He also said that certain advocates are doing such things either with some vested interest or to gain cheap popularity.
He appealed to the members of the Bar to realise the "extent of damage occurring to the institution and the irreparable injury to the people of the country by levelling bias of caste or gender against a judge of the apex court".
Jaising had cast "upper caste" bias on the apex court judges while accusing them of diluting the Act to "protect Brahmins". She had also lamented the absence of "SC/ST judges" in the top court.
However, in a tweet this evening, Jaising responded to the BCI chairperson's letter and said that she has never attributed motives nor questioned the integrity of the judges.
She said that an independent Bar is required for the existence of an independent judiciary.
"Mr Manan, as you are well aware there can be no independent judiciary without an Independent Bar, The BCI must lead in ensuring that the independence of the Bar is maintained at all costs," she tweeted.
Jaising also asked Mishra, in another tweet, to consider social inclusion in to the judiciary and not to attribute motives on her.
"I've neither attributed motives nor questioned the integrity of the judges. I have pointed to their social background. I appeal to the Chairman BCI to request the Supreme Court to appoint SC/ST judges & more women. "Nothing about us without us" is the guarantee of equality," she said.
"The Chairman BCI is also a friend , he knows that lawyers collective was the first to challenge the entry of foreign lawyers , a battle which he brought to successful conclusion, I appeal to him to consider social inclusion in to the judiciary and not attribute motives to me," Jaising said in her twitter handle.
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