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Offcourt...
What ails the justice delivery system? Is corruption rampant in dispensation? What’s its strength? These are some of the mind-boggling issues that noted constitutional experts such as Fali S Nariman, Soli J Sorabjee and Harish Salve besides leading corporate lawyer Rajiv Luthra recently pondered over.
The discussion was forthright. People’s expectations from the dispensation regardless of their perception of the judiciary duly attracted the legal eagles’ attention. There was unanimity on many scores. It’s the rule of law that’s the strength of the Indian system. “Rule of law and not rule by law,” clarified Nariman, while referring to the happenings in some nearby countries but without naming Pakistan for instance.
“It’s because of constitutional mandate that there shall be rule of law. Judiciary in India is highly respected,” Soli said, adding, “Otherwise by an executive order we could have been told to stop this discussion.” It is because of the rule of law that citizens right to travel and free movement has been restored, Salve argued.
Be that as it may, the then Chief Justice S P Bharucha had, over a decade ago, said in Pune that at least 25 per cent of judges were corrupt. Sorabjee doesn’t agree with that but Nariman defines the term ‘corruption as “something that one can smell that it’s there.” Salve gave a clean chit to the Supreme Court judges but had reservations on high court judges. Luthra reveals that a HC judge take home salary is about Rs 25,000 a month.
If 25 per cent of judges are corrupt, one shouldn’t forget that 75 per cent are upright. “It’s indeed a great thing in this country,” Nariman said. Others asserted that corruption in judiciary isn’t possible without lawyers. There is also nexus between judges and lawyers, lawyers would add. That’s why adjournments are granted. Otherwise lawyers would be annoyed. People are concerned with corruption in judiciary but there hasn’t been any government attempt in providing a strong judicial infrastructure system to infuse confidence among people.