Judicial-Accountability Bill

Kashmir Times. Dated: 2/17/2017 12:42:43 PM

Dear Editor,
It refers to response from sitting Kolkata High Court Justice CS Karnan to Supreme Court, requiring his case to be sent to the Parliament after an unprecedented contempt-notice was issued to him by Supreme Court. It is indeed a peculiar situation because a sitting judge of higher courts including of High Court can only be removed through impeachment motion passed against the concerned judge by both Houses of Parliament. It may be recalled that first ever such impeachment motion could not be passed in Lok Sabha because the House was politically divided. Same situation may now repeat because no political party is likely to take any political risk of opposing Justice CS Karnan because he has now alleged of being victimised because of his being ‘Dalit’.
It is time that Legislature and Judiciary may at least now co-ordinate to induce accountability in Judiciary by inducing a practical system to probe and punish judges of higher courts. Best is to have a permanent National Judicial Commission (NJC) with retired Supreme Court judges as member-nominees of Prime Minister, Leader of largest opposition party in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India and Bar Council of India with Chief Vigilance Commissioner as member-secretary of the Commission. This Commission may be the sole authority to look into complaints against judges of higher courts with power to order punishment and-or removal of guilty-found judges, replacing existing non-practical and cumbersome procedure to remove judges only through impeachment by Parliament. Sitting judges will not have to be over-burdened in looking into complaints against judges which otherwise also adversely affects their judicial task.
Rather such a Commission can be constituted even for appointments in higher judiciary which will induce a judicially-refined say of legislature in appointment of judges. Enquiry-commissions set up by political rulers even though headed by retired judges are usually an eye-wash with panels usually giving findings in tune with requirement of political rulers having appointed them. National Judicial Commission should be the only authority to suggest names of retired judges in all judicial panels/commissions appointed by the centre and-or states.
—Madhu Agrawal,
1775 Kucha Lattushah Dariba Delhi.

 

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