Key Points:
Two SC advocates seeked permission the Attorney General of India to initiate contempt proceedings against Sanjeev Sanyal.
This comes after Sanyal's comment calling the judicial system the "biggest hurdle to becoming Viksit Bharat".
A seperate request has been made to the AGI on the same issue, along with a letter adressed to Sanyal criticising his comments.
Two Supreme Court lawyers have sought permission to initiate contempt proceedings against Sanjeev Sanyal for his recent comment asserting that the Indian judiciary is “the single biggest hurdle to becoming Viksit Bharat.”
The two advocates, Rohit Pandey and Ujjawal Gaur, associated with the Supreme Court Bar Association, submitted their request in a letter addressed to the Attorney General of India (AGI) R. Venkataramani, dated 25 September 2025. They alleged that the comments made by Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, were “sweeping attack on the judicial system and crossed the permissible boundaries of fair criticism under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution,” according to Law Beat.
The request follows Sanyal’s comments earlier this month at an event organised by the General Counsels’ Association of India (GCAI). In his speech Sanyal called the judiciary the “biggest hurdle to becoming Viksit Bharat” which has been the main point of contention. The letter also listed a number of other remarks made by him during the speech: termed the legal profession a “medieval guild”, referring to that stratification of the different levels of lawyers; he pointed out that the language necessitated in court – like referring to a judge as ‘my lord’ – was outdated for a modern nation; he questioned the custom of months-long vacations taken by the judiciary; and he called mandatory pre-litigation mediation a ‘failed system’.
In their letter, the advocates stated that constructive criticism of the judicial system is acceptable, but Sanyal’s comments undermined the dignity of the institution. They argued that due to his position in the government, Sanyal’s comments carry significant influence and run the risk of being interpreted as the government’s position.
“Lack of appreciation of the judiciary’s constitutional role and the professional responsibilities of lawyers, coupled with the derisive tone of his repeated statements, if left unchecked, may weaken one of the last institutions in which the people of India continue to repose trust,” the letter read. The lawyers submitted their request to the AGI as the first official step in initiating criminal contempt proceedings against Sanyal.
A separate contempt request against Sanyal was made on the same day, 25 September 2025. Advocate Shashi Ranjan Kumar Singh requested consent from the AGI to initiate proceedings against Sanyal on the grounds that his comments “scandalize the Supreme Court and undermine public confidence in India’s judicial system,’ according to Law Beat.
On 23 September 2025, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa wrote a letter to Sanyal regarding his comments. “The judiciary does not obstruct progress, it ensures development within the framework of Constitutional values, liberty and fairness. To call it the biggest hurdle is extremely unfortunate,” the letter read, “A nation’s progress cannot be measured merely by the speed of contracts or clearances; it must be judged by whether liberty, justice and equality are preserved along the way.”
This was not the first time Sanyal made such comments – over the past year he has repeatedly referred to the judiciary as a ‘hurdle’ to becoming Viksit Bharat, while pointing to the slow speed of justice delivery, problems with the collegium system, and unnecessary conventions as part of the legal processes. [Rh/DS]
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