Government Trying To 'Capture' Supreme Court, Have Complete Faith It Won't Happen: Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal alleged that the Union Government has taken control of various institutions, including the media, but the Supreme Court remains one institution that has not been captured.

Speaking at a press conference on the government's response to the recent protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR, Sibal expressed complete faith that the government would not succeed in capturing the Supreme Court.

He alleged that the government has pursued a strategy of capturing institutions since 2014. He said that the government first took control of the media to prevent ground-level news from reaching the public, before turning to other institutions.

Sibal said that mainstream media coverage has been affected by this takeover and social media has emerged as an alternative source of information for the public. He also accused the government of attempting to influence institutions and undermine people's voting rights.

“So first they took over the media. Then after taking over the media, they took over other institutions. One institution is still there, that is the Supreme Court of India. They are trying to do this, but I have complete faith that this cannot happen. Then they thought, even if no one is captured, how can we capture our voter list?,” Sibal said.

Referring to the arrests of protesters and restrictions on demonstrations in Delhi, Sibal emphasised that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right under the Constitution and cannot be curtailed without constitutionally permissible grounds, such as public order.

He also questioned the imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), arguing that the authorities must establish why such restrictions were necessary.

“We will discuss this in the Supreme Court,” Sibal said, referring to the pleas challenging the legality of the prohibitory orders.

“Ever since 2014, their policy has been to capture institutions. And the first one they captured was the media. And they did capture most other institutions, including universities, governors, and all those things. But the one thing they have not been able to capture is the Supreme Court of India. And we're absolutely certain that the Supreme Court ultimately will take all this into account and ensure that people's rights to protest are protected”, Sibal said.

Also read – 'Tired Of Going To Supreme Court, Lost Faith' : Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal