The Supreme Court Bar Association, apex body of SC lawyers whose President is Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal has passed a resolution objecting to some “radical changes” brought in by the top court of the country “unilaterally” like changes in its flag, emblem, alterations in statue of Lady Justice “without consultation with the Bar”.
SCBA also objected to the move to turn the erstwhile Judges’ library into a museum while the Bar demanded a Library, Cafe cum Lounge in its place for the members of the Bar as the present cafeteria is inadequate to cater to the needs of the members of the Bar.
The statue of lady justice traditionally depicted a blindfolded woman and a sword. But a 6 feet tall statue unveiled in the judges library in April 2023 by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud features her with open eyes and the constitution in place of the sword. This became news when its video went viral recently.
Sources in Supreme Court said the changes were made to send a message that the law is not blind in the country, and nor does it symbolise punishment. It was also being seen as an attempt to leave the colonial legacy behind.
The new flag and emblem of the Supreme Court feature the Sanskrit verse "Yato Dharmastato Jai," which translates to "Where there is Dharma, there is victory." The dark blue emblem symbolises the Court's prestige, with the Supreme Court building at its center, topped by the Ashoka Chakra.
The SCBA resolution signed by all 21 members of its Executive Committee said: “It is observed by the Executive Committee of Supreme Court Bar Association that recently some radical changes have been brought in by the Supreme Court unilaterally like change of its emblem, change in the statue of Lady Justice without consultation with the Bar. We are equal stakeholders in the administration of justice but these changes when proposed, were never brought to our attention. We are totally clueless on the rationale behind these changes.”
“Now a museum has apparently been proposed in the erstwhile Judges Library whereas we had demanded a Library, Cafe cum Lounge for the members of the Bar as the present cafeteria is inadequate to cater to the needs of the members of the Bar. We are concerned that despite our objection raised against the proposed Museum in the erstwhile Judges library, work has started for the museum.”
“We unanimously oppose the proposed museum in the High Security Zone and press our demand for a Libarary and a Cafe cum Lounge for our members instead.” said the resolution.