'No Hope Left In Supreme Court': Kapil Sibal Alleges 'Sensitive Cases' Being Assigned To Certain Judges

Kapil Sibal, a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and senior counsel, has expressed his disappointment with some of the Supreme Court's recent decisions, stating he had "no hope left" in the institution, news agency ANI reported.

"If you think you will get relief from Supreme Court, you are hugely mistaken. And I am saying this after completing 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court," Sibal was quoted by ANI in its report.

Even if the Supreme Court issues a landmark decision, it seldom affects the ground reality, he added.

"This year I will complete 50 years of practising in the Supreme Court and after 50 years I feel I have no hopes from the institution. You talk about progressive judgements delivered by the Supreme Court but there is huge difference of what happens at the ground level. Supreme Court gave judgement on privacy and ED officers come to your home... Where is your privacy?" said Sibal.

Sibal was talking at a People's Tribunal convened on Saturday in Delhi by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and the National Alliance of People's Movements on the "Judicial Rollback of Civil Liberties".

Sibal criticised the Supreme Court for dismissing a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots; upholding provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that give the Enforcement Directorate vast powers; and dismissing a 2009 petition seeking an independent investigation into alleged corruption.

All of these decisions were handed down by a bench led by retired Justice AM Khanwilkar. Sibal had appeared on behalf of Zakia Jafri and petitioners who were contesting elements of the PMLA Act.

He further stated that "sensitive cases" are given to only a few judges, and that the legal community typically knows ahead of time what the outcome of the ruling will be.

“… 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," he said. 

(With Inputs From ANI)