Systematic attack to malign judiciary, nobody can remote control us: SC

Anguished over "systematic attack" to malign the judiciary, the Supreme Court Thursday said time has come to send a message to the country that the top court was "not vulnerable" and nobody can "remote control" it either by money or political power.

The apex court, during the hearing on a lawyer's affidavit claiming "larger conspiracy" to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on sexual harassment allegations and fixing of benches in the top court, warned that if such attempts were not stopped the institution "will die".

Observing that the apex court cannot be run by money or political power, a three-judge special bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that the day has come for them to rise and tell the country's rich and powerful that they are "playing with fire".

The bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman and Deepak Gupta, said people are trying to fix the court registry by money power and when somebody try to improve these things, he is "killed" or "maligned".

"Do not think that the Supreme Court can be remote controlled by anything on the earth, whether money power or political power," the bench said.

"We are anguished with the way this institution is being treated in the last three-four years and we must say that it will die and it will not survive if this will happen. There is systematic attack, systematic game to malign this great institution," the court said.

The bench said letters were being written and books were being printed in matters pending in the court and this practice has to be stopped.

"Do the rich and powerful of this country think that they can remote control the Supreme Court," the bench said.

The hard hitting observations by the bench came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there should be a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) on the allegations levelled by advocate Utsav Singh Bains in his affidavit as he has claimed a larger conspiracy which concerns the administration of justice.

"You (Mehta) are provoking us to speak. We are not inclined to say but now listen. So many things are going on. There are serious allegations that need to be probed. The Supreme Court cannot be run by money power or political power," Justice Mishra said.

"It is an institution of you people and not ours. Judges come and go but if these things will happen then it (institution) will die and it will not survive," the bench said.

In an apparent reference to the controversies that plagued the top judiciary last year, Justice Mishra observed that truth has not come out yet.

"Whether truth has come out about the last year's incident? It has not come out yet. People should know the truth. This has to stop," he said, without elaborating any specific instance.

The observation assumes significance as four senior-most judges of the apex court -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- had held an unprecedented presser on January 12 last year and raised a litany of problems, including assigning of cases in the top court by the then CJI Dipak Misra, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court.

During the hearing on Thursday, the bench said, "We cannot mention several things. People are trying to manage the court registry by money power. When somebody tries to improve things, he is killed and maligned? We have come to this extent of blackmailing."
"A message has to be sent to the country that this court is not vulnerable."