Of late, there has been a lot of demand for judicial reforms and judicial accountability. A bill proposed to make judges declare their assets spawned a debate on whether details of judges’ assets should be put in public domain under the Right to Information Act.
Amid the brouhaha, Karnataka high court chief justice PD Dinakaran was accused of having amassed assets, mostly land, disproportionate to his income. YS Sadashiva Reddy, former chairman of the Karnataka State Bar Council and convener of Forum for Judicial Accountability, tells Srikanth Hunasavadi that all judges and their relatives should declare their assets to retain public’s goodwill for the judiciary.
CJ Dinakaran continues to hear cases despite being surrounded by controversy. Any comment?
The CJ should not continue in his seat until he gets a clean chit. The Bangalore Advocates’ Association has told him not to conduct proceedings, but he continues to. The chief justice should go on leave till his name is cleared of the allegations. It is not right on the part of a tainted judge to conduct proceedings.
Do you think the Supreme Court collegium is deliberately delaying a decision on his elevation?
Yes, the Supreme Court collegium is unduly delaying a decision. A judge whose integrity is under scrutiny cannot be elevated to the apex court. The judge in question certainly has no right to continue as chief justice as well. I will urge the law minister to do away with the collegium system.
Is the delay causing any harm to the image of the judiciary?
There was a time when the Indian judiciary was considered better than any other judiciary. But, now, corruption has eroded the credibility it enjoyed. The latest controversy over chief justice PD Dinakaran’s assets has given the judiciary a bad name. If the SC collegium delays a decision on Dinakaran, it will further destroy the image of the judicial system.
What is your next plan of action?
We expect the Supreme Court to take a decision immediately. If there is no decision by October 30, advocates will protest against chief justice PD Dinakaran’s continuation as a judge in Karnataka High Court on November 3 in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on MG Road.
Should the SC and HC judges declare their assets?
Karnataka high court Judge DV Shylendra Kumar set the ball rolling by declaring his assets. Kerala high court judges have also declared their assets. Even the Supreme Court was in favour of the idea. But, till today, nobody has disclosed his or her assets. To avoid any damage to the image of the judiciary among public, not only judges, but their wives, fathers and mothers, and other relatives should also disclose their assets.
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