MPs Write To President Complaining About Trolling Of CJI On Social Media, Say It Is Interference With Course Of Justice

Several opposition Members of Parliament including Dr. Amee Yajnik, Raghav Chadha, Ram Gopal Yadav, Pramod Tiwari, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Jaya Bachchan, and have written a letter to President Droupadi Murmu against alleged trolling of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on social media after his comments on the governor's role in Maharastra. 

The letter says, "While the matter is sub judice, the troll army, presumably sympathetic to the interest of the ruling party in Maharashtra, has launched an offensive against the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India. The words and contents are filthy and deplorable, which has garnered views in lakhs on social media platforms".

The letter on the letterhead of Senior Advocate and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha says that such conduct, while a matter is pending, is only possible if such people enjoy the support of the ruling dispensation. 

"Your excellency and the Constitutional and Statutory authorities in India are dutybound to protect the dignity and decorum of the Indian Judiciary. As Justice J.S. Verma in his famous dictum in Vineet Narain lucidly stated, 'Be you ever so high, the law is always above you'", the letter says.

It is alleged in the letter that the alleged trolling on social media is a "brazen case of interference with the course of justice".

MPs have said that they expect action "not only against the persons indulging in troll but also against people behind it, i.e., supporting and sponsoring it" and they warn- "failing which the matter may have to be escalated to higher levels".

Yesterday, the Constitution bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice PS Narasimha reserved its judgment on the batch of cases concerning the Maharashtra political crisis. 

Earlier, Chief Justice Chandrachud himself had voiced concerns about "trolling" on social media that judges have to face. "For every little thing that we do, and believe me, as judges we are no exception to this, for everything that you do, you face the threat of being trolled by someone who does not share your point of view," the CJI had said.

However, Chief Justice Chandrachud's remarks were not taken well by Twitter users, who alleged that the CJI is trying to stifle criticism of judges.

Last week, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had spoken against criticism of judges of social media.