The GenZ Lawyers Association alleges that Justice A. P. Shah falsely portrayed the agitation as consisting only of peaceful protests and suggested that criminal FIRs were registered merely against peaceful demonstrators, while allegedly ignoring widely reported and video-recorded incidents of violence, attacks on police personnel, destruction of public property and injuries suffered by police officers. According to the notice, the speech presented a false, incomplete and misleading narrative on issues pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, undermined the rights of victims, including injured police personnel, created unwarranted public sympathy for persons accused of violent acts, and therefore calls upon Justice Shah to tender an unconditional public apology and issue a written clarification to be circulated to all print, electronic and digital media organisations.
New Delhi, August 1: The GenZ Lawyers Association (GZLA) has issued a legal notice to former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A. P. Shah objecting to his recent public speech delivered at the Goa High Court Bar Association on July 31, 2026, which was subsequently reported by The Indian Express under the headline, “All kinds of laws and tools being used to silence activists, dissenters”: Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice.
In the notice, the Association alleges that Justice Shah’s speech presents a selective, incomplete and misleading account of the recent student agitation by describing it as peaceful while allegedly omitting reference to incidents of violence, damage to public property and injuries reportedly suffered by nearly 250 police personnel during the protests.
According to the notice, such one-sided public commentary fails to acknowledge the constitutional rights of victims, including injured police personnel, and portrays lawful police action against alleged acts of violence as suppression of democratic dissent. The Association contends that while peaceful protest is constitutionally protected, violence, vandalism and attacks on law-enforcement personnel cannot receive constitutional protection and must be unequivocally condemned.
The notice further states that the controversy is presently pending before the Supreme Court of India and argues that public speeches by former constitutional functionaries on issues awaiting judicial determination should be balanced and factually complete. It asserts that the speech has the tendency to influence public opinion regarding issues that are sub judice and therefore raises concerns under the principles governing criminal contempt, relying upon the Bombay High Court judgment in Nilesh Navalakha & Ors. v. Union of India, 2021 SCC OnLine Bom 56, and other judicial precedents discussed in the notice.
In Shyni Varghese v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), 2008 SCC OnLine Del 204 the Hon’ble High Court held that;
“52. …. The very fact that the petitioners took part in the press conference and gave incorrect facts to the media prima facie shows that they were a part of the conspiracy to conceal the offence and screen the offenders. As observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in State v. Nalini and Ors. reported as, the existence of a conspiracy has to be inferred from proved circumstances, as in an offence which is shrouded with secrecy no direct evidence of common intention of the conspirators can normally be produced before the Court nor had the stage for production of such evidence if any, arisen.”
The Association has also expressed the view that retired judges continue to carry substantial institutional credibility and are expected to maintain the highest standards of constitutional objectivity, judicial restraint and intellectual honesty while commenting upon matters pending before constitutional courts.
Through the notice, the GenZ Lawyers Association has called upon Justice Shah to issue an unconditional public apology and to publish a written clarification through print, electronic and digital media setting out what it describes as the complete factual and constitutional position. The proposed clarification, according to the notice, should acknowledge that the matter is sub judice, condemn violence during the protests, recognise the rights of victims including injured police personnel, and affirm that all allegations against both protesters and police must be determined exclusively through judicial proceedings based on evidence.
The Association stated that the notice has been issued in the interest of preserving public confidence in the administration of justice and maintaining constitutional neutrality in public discourse concerning matters pending before the Supreme Court.
