Zero tolerance for black sheep judges, says CJI

With a recent case of impeachment against a judge of the Calcutta high court and a CBI inquiry into a PF scam involving several judges showing the judiciary in poor light, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan promised tough measures against "black sheep" in judicial robes. Interacting with the media on Thursday, the CJI made it clear that he would not hesitate to permit prosecution of corrupt judges if investigating agencies presented unimpeachable evidence against them. He said he was agreeable to making the impeachment process itself less tortuous, though safeguards could not be diluted. Holding that corruption in judiciary was "just not acceptable", the CJI said the collegium of judges headed by him had widened the scope of information about antecedents of a prospective candidate for judge so as to spare the judiciary embarrassment as in the case of Justice Soumitra Sen. The CJI had to recommend the impeachment of the Calcutta HC judge following his refusal to resign after being indicted for corruption. Asked whether the present process of impeachment was cumbersome and hindered swift action against judges found corrupt by the judiciary's in-house mechanism, Justice Balakrishnan said impeachment was a political decision approved by Parliament. There was scope for simplification, he agreed, but immediately clarified that "too much simplification will be counter-productive". "If it is made very simple, then the lives of judges will be rendered miserable as any aggrieved party will attempt to invoke impeachment motion," he said. So, what would happen if Parliament refused to impeach a judge, rejecting a motion initiated on the basis of a recommendation by the CJI who is fully satisfied about his unsuitability? The CJI said, "We should not undermine the understanding of Parliament, prime minister and the MPs. They are all responsible to the public as much as the judges are. Anyway, if Parliament refuses to pass an impeachment motion, the person would continue as a judge, but it is the prerogative of the Chief Justice whether or not to assign him judicial work."

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