The Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru (AAB) has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud after a ransom threat was received, which threatened to kill six judges of which four are presiding while two have been Karnataka High Court judges.
According to media sources the public relations officer of the High Court, K Muralidhar received a message over WhatsApp on July 12 demanding ₹50 lakh as ransom and threatening to kill the six judges if the money is not deposited in Allied Bank in Pakistan.
The judges subject to threat are Justices Mohammad Nawaz, HT Narendra Prasad, HP Sandesh and K Natarajan as well as former judges Justices Ashok G Nijagannavar and B Veerappa.
The letter by the AAB said that these incidents, if allowed to proliferate, will allow outside forces to interfere with judicial institutions and would be a threat to the independence of courts.
It explained that bold and fearless judgeship is very important as it an essential facet of independence of judiciary.
In this context, the association requested a review of the system of protection to judges to ensure it meets modern day challenges. It stressed that if the judiciary can be threatened in this manner, people will lose confidence in it.
The AAB also asked the CJI to initiate a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) to bring the offenders to book and to ensure protection for judges.