Judges should be above reproach

According to news reports which are yet to be contested by the aggrieved judiciary, at least 12 judges of the Allahabad high court and a sitting supreme court justice are involved in a scam relating to withdrawal of Rs7 crore from the unclaimed general provident fund account at Ghaziabad treasury and utilising the money for their own benefits or for their family members.

Police have already a registered case and the special judge has also recorded the statement of the main accused, who withdrew the money at the behest of a sessions judge. In other words, his statement is admissible in law.

The law enforcement machinery is awaiting chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan’s nod for questioning the judges concerned.

The undue delay in allowing the investigating officer to do so has done more damage to the reputation of the judiciary than allegations of corruption levelled by a well-meaning news channel and a morning tabloid.

Whatever may be the outcome of the investigations into the scam, there has been increasing disgust over the government’s apathy towards putting in place an apex judicial council to independently select the judges purely on merits and also probe allegations against the delinquent top judiciary. In fact suspicion does more harm to any institution or individual rather facing a probe. Reports suggest one HC judge was paid Rs2 lakh for beauty treatments of his family members.

When JS Verma was chief justice of India, the all-India HC and SC judges’ conference adopted an exhaustive 16-point code of conduct. Called ‘reinstatement of values’, the charter had taken into account all possibilities of corruption in the higher judiciary. Had it been codified and translated into a law of Parliament, the old saying “Be you ever so high, the law is above you” would apply to everyone in the country.
b_rakesh@dnaindia.net