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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Strict scrutiny

Strict scrutiny

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published Published on Dec 22, 2009   modified Modified on Dec 22, 2009

There are two reasons why the Indian Supreme Court is considered the world’s most powerful. First, Supreme Court judges self-appoint, with no inter-institutional checks and balances. Second, dismissing a judge is so difficult that it has not been done so far. Many of the recent criticisms of the apex court’s perceived opacity have focused on these procedures for appointment and dismissal. The proposed Judges Standards and Accountability Bill is one such attempt, aiming to streamline the mechanism to discipline serving judges. Will it work?

Currently the only way judges can be disciplined is by parliamentary impeachment, a long drawn out process that made it to the floor of the House only once (in the Justice V. Ramaswami case), to be finally rendered unsuccessful. Under this impeachment process, there is no formal way for citizens to complain against serving judges. Besides, the in-house complaint mechanism is shrouded in secrecy and armed with discretion. The Judges (Inquiry) Bill 2006 sought to change this by setting up the National Judicial Council, consisting of senior judges. Citizens could file complaints to the NJC against sitting judges, who could provide a range of punishments or recommend impeachment to Parliament. But the bill ran into rough weather before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which wanted the NJC to consist of more than just serving judges. That bill lapsed, but its latest version — renamed the Judges Standards and Accountability Bill — reportedly does just that, creating Oversight as well as Scrutiny Committees, in which both judges and non-judges would look into complaints against serving judges.

That such a law is necessary is a no-brainer. As the Justice Dinakaran episode demonstrates, in the absence of a clear-cut mechanism for citizens to complain against sitting judges, rumours and innuendos grow, leaving no one happy — including the concerned judge himself. The latest draft of the bill is even more welcome. While every effort must be made to preserve the independence of the judiciary, broad-basing the inquiry mechanism will increase transparency and, more importantly, be seen to be more transparent. At the same time, by penalising errant complainers, the proposed bill has in-built protection against misuse. But the proposed bill only deals with disciplining judges, not appointing them. As the Justice Dinakaran episode shows, that is an area in equal need of reform. It is hoped that Parliament and the higher judiciary reach a consensus on making judicial appointments more transparent without transgressing on the independence of our higher judiciary.


The Indian Express, 22 December, 2009, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/strict-scrutiny/557544/
 

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