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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Cut Red Tape

Cut Red Tape

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published Published on Dec 17, 2009   modified Modified on Dec 17, 2009


A formal move to consider the removal of a sitting judge is extremely rare. In 1991, impeachment proceedings began against Justice V Ramaswami, but were later dropped due to lack of support in Parliament. More recently, a judge of the Calcutta high court is facing impeachment. Now, 76 Rajya Sabha MPs - all from the opposition ranks - have put their signature to a petition seeking the removal of Karnataka chief justice P D Dinakaran. He has been accused of land-grabbing, illegal constructions and abuse of judicial office.

While formal proceedings have begun against Dinakaran, they may not amount to anything. The reason for being sceptical is the cumbersome process of impeaching a judge. According to current laws, impeachment can be initiated after a motion is signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. A committee will then investigate the allegations and eventually a majority of both Houses of Parliament would have to support the motion for the impeachment to go through. This complicated process has meant that impeachment motions against judges are usually non-starters. And even when they are initiated, as in the case of Ramaswami, they fall through.

There is thus a compelling case to make the investigation and impeachment process more transparent. The Judges (Inquiry) Bill, 2006, which has since lapsed, proposed establishing a National Judicial Council (NJC) to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misbehaviour by high court and Supreme Court judges. If the allegations are proven, the NJC could impose minor measures or recommend the removal of the judge. However, the NJC was to consist only of judges. The parliamentary standing committee that looked into the Bill suggested that investigation into impropriety by judges should be investigated not by the judiciary alone but by a more "broadbased committee" with representatives from the executive, Parliament and the Bar. Noted jurist Fali Nariman has also mooted the idea of a judicial ombudsman. These are good suggestions since there is no reason why judges should be investigated only by their colleagues, which could very well lead to allegations of cronyism. Moreover, there are instances of such oversight mechanisms in other countries.

A new legislation, the Judicial Accountability and Standard Bill, is scheduled to be placed before Parliament. It is meant to fine-tune the process of appointment of judges and investigations into allegations of impropriety. We hope that it will touch on the issue of penalising corrupt judges and making their removal less complicated.


The Times of India, 17 December, 2009, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Cut-Red-Tape/articleshow/5344698.cms
 

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