The chief Justice of
India (CJI) should put in place a permanent mechanism to probe
corruption allegations against judges on the lines of judicial councils
in the United States and Canada, the government said on Wednesday.
The mechanism in form of a committee, with five senior-most judges of
the Supreme Court as its members, could provide a solution to the
decades-old problem of how to initiate an inquiry into allegations
against the judges, the Law Ministry said.
Relying on nearly four decade-old successful functioning of judicial
council systems in US and Canada, the Law Ministry wants the Indian
judiciary to have a similar body, on its own initiative without any
external interference.
Judicial councils in these countries allow common people to file
complaints against judges. If chief justices of respective courts find
merit in these complaints, they ask the judges committee to investigate
the allegations and give a verdict in the matter.
The Law Ministry also studied the complaints procedure in the United
Kingdom, where a specially appointed Judicial Conduct Commissioner
looks into allegations of corruption and misconduct against judges.
The ministry has gone public with its views on corruption in judiciary
at a time when the Supreme Court is struggling to find a solution on
what kind of a probe should be ordered into the multi-crore Ghaziabad
provident fund scam, allegedly involving 36 judges.
“The government does not favour a situation where police could be given
permission to investigate the judges. This would lower judiciary’s
credibility and undermine its independence. A judges committee should
be formed at the earlies,” ministry sources said.
The CJI is empowered to take an initiative to form a permanent
mechanism for judicial accountability by forming the judges committee
without waiting for the government to suggest such a step, sources said.
Law Minister HR Bhardwaj said transparency in judicial functioning and
conduct could not be introduced from outside.
“Parliament had set an example by expelling 10 MPs found guilty of
accepting cash for asking questions. It is high time now that the
judiciary also sets its house in order by setting up an internal
mechanism”, he said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=bf4bf4c5-bcd1-4f8e-
a400-0bcb76381ec8&MatchID1=4739&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=
1195&PrimaryID=4739&Headline=Judicial+corruption%3a+Learn+from+US%2c+Canada%2c+says+
Govt&strParent=strParentID
Copyright @ Hindustan Times.
