Kapil Sibal calls out the apex court, says ‘No hope left’

Parliamentaran and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal has expressed their disapprobation over certain recent judgements of the Supreme Court, saying ‘he has no hope left’ in the institution.

Expressing his displeasure, he said, “If you think you will get relief from the Supreme Court, you are hugely mistaken. And I am saying this after completing 50 years of practise in the Supreme Court.”

He asserted that none of the landmark judgements changed the ground reality.

He further added, “This year I will complete 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court and, after 50 years, I feel I have no hope from the institution. You talk about progressive judgements delivered by the Supreme Court, but there is a huge difference between what happens at the ground level. The Supreme Court gave judgement on privacy and ED officers came to your home… Where is your privacy? “

Sibal criticised the Supreme Court for dismissing the appeal brought by Zakia Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who questioned the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) “clean chit” given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots; upholding the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which grant the Enforcement Directorate broad authority; and dismissing an appeal brought in 2009 calling for an independent investigation into the extra-judicial killing of 17 tribal people

All these decisions were made by a panel headed by retired Justice AM Khanwilkar. Sibal had appeared on behalf of petitioners who were contesting the terms of the PMLA Act as well as Zakia Jafri.

He added that only a few judges are chosen to hear “sensitive cases,” and the legal community typically learns the verdict’s conclusion in advance.

“I do not want to talk like this about a court where I have practised for 50 years, but the time has come. If we don’t speak it, who will? The reality is such that any sensitive matter which we know has a problem is placed before certain judges and we know the outcome,” stated Sibal.

He also brought up the Dharma Sansad case that is currently before the Supreme Court, claiming that it has been heard and the governments have been asked for their reply. According to him, the accused were not detained and, even if they had been, they had been released on bail within one to two days. After a two-week break, they resumed attending Dharma Sansad meetings.