Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has expressed his displeasure over
the tendency of members of Bar Association’s to comment on cases which were pending before the court and of commenting on judgments delivered by the court.
Speaking at the three-day centenary celebration of the High Court Bar Association at Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, the CJI said lawyers were the first and foremost officers of the court, and the dignity and truth in legal discourse was in your hands.
Stating that there was a close link between the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the bar, the CJI said the verdicts of constitutional courts were the culmination of rigorous proceedings, thorough legal analysis, and a commitment to constitutional principle.
However, once the judgment was pronounced, it was public property. As an institution, the shoulders of the lawyers should be broad.
They should be ready to receive both praise and criticism, bouquets and brickbats through journalistic pieces, political commentary, or on the social media, but as members and office bearers of Bar Associations with years of training and experience, they must distinguish themselves from the layperson while reacting to judgments of the court and engaging in legal discussion, he added.