Lawyers shouldn't discuss on public forums cases in which they are appearing: SG Tushar Mehta

New Delhi: Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta on Thursday said lawyers should not discuss on public forums the cases in which they are appearing, warning of narratives being built on them.

The remark was aimed at senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who runs a YouTube channel and often conducts discussions and podcasts on Supreme Court judgments and other legal issues.

The Supreme Court was hearing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED's) plea alleging interference and obstruction by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during raids at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office in Kolkata.

As lawyers were making submissions during the hearing on ED's plea regarding the raids at the I-PAC office, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi reminded them of a circular issued by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant regarding adherence to the schedule.

At this juncture, Mehta said, "The CJI should also issue a circular. Lawyers who are appearing in cases should not discuss them on public forums like press conferences."

Sibal responded to this, saying a circular should also be issued for ED officials not to leak details to journalists of their liking.

He said the solicitor general seems to be "very upset with my programme as he mentions this in every hearing".

"I am entitled to discuss the cases," Sibal said.

"This is not the place for this," the bench said.

Sibal runs a YouTube channel called "Dil Se with Kapil Sibal", where he hosts discussions on important societal issues.