Demand for enquiry into corruption allegation against CJIs

TCN News; 1 October 2010;

Patna: The corruption allegation against the Chief Justices in the Supreme Court raised by the former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan should be enquired by an independent committee, demanded the IRDS and the National RTI Forum, two social organizations based in Lucknow. The demand was made in a memorandum submitted before the His Excellency Governor of Uttar Pradesh (intended for the President) and copies of which are submitted before the Prime Minister and UPA president Sonia Gandhi.

The memorandum reportedly says that Mr Shanti Bhushan, former Law Minister and one of the most prominent lawyers of the country, is said to have submitted a list of corrupt Chief Justices of the Supreme Court before one of the benches in the court. The list submitted in a sealed cover reportedly includes the names of 16 CJIs among which he has said that eight were ‘definitely corrupt’ and six ‘definitely honest’ while definite opinion could not be made against the other two. The IRDS and the National RTI Forum says that the enquiry be conducted by an independent committee consisting of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a senior Union Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and two eminent and universally respected social activists like Sri Anna Hazare and Ms Medha Patkar. The enquiry should be completed in six months. The memorandum adds that the matter was very important and, if ignored, would have a permanent negative impact over the image of the judiciary in the country and the loss would be irreparable. It also says that if the allegations of Mr Shanti Bhushan were proved wrong, he should be given the harshest punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act.

The two organizations made the demand for enquiry as it was reportedly essential to adhere to the Principles of Natural Justice that ‘no man should be permitted to be judge in his own cause’ and that ‘Proceedings should be conducted so they are fair to all the parties’.

Mr Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan had last month reportedly alleged that several of the judges in the apex court were corrupt.