Justice must begin at Home

Unconstitutional accretion of power to itself appears to be the root cause of the judiciary's problems

Abani Kumar Sahu Delhi

Recently, a daily broke the news on its front page: Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice PD Dinakaran had been "summoned" by the Chief Justice of India to explain some alleged charges of corruption including possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He had already been cleared by a collegium of the Supreme Court for elevation to the apex court.

Subsequently, office bearers of the Supreme Court bar association and a few legal luminaries met the Chief Justice of India and the law minister. They raised objections to the proposed elevation of Justice Dinakaran pending signature with the law ministry. The judge has apparently denied these charges. Other legal luminaries did not go public with their objections even though they did not mind adding grist to the rumour mills.

After this, lawyers in the Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru, too, ratcheted up tension. In an unprecedented move, perhaps simulated self-righteousness, they demanded that Chief Justice Dinakaran must not sit on the bench until he was cleared of corruption charges.

The apex court which had earlier given its nod to Dinakaran's elevation to the Supreme Court had to backtrack as pressure mounted from eminent jurists. The likes of Soli Sorabjee, Fali S Nariman and Ram Jethmalani are up in arms against Dinakaran's promotion. "The Chief Justice of India asked Tamil Nadu authorities to submit a report on allegations of encroachment and excess land against Dinakaran. The report has been submitted. The CJI has seen some substance in the complaints and ordered an inquiry. When the enquiry report is there, he should have not taken up any work," Sorabjee had said.

What are the charges against Justice Dinakaran? Were these not known before he was cleared by the collegium of the Supreme Court? Will he now be cleared for elevation before his name is cleared of corruption charges? Will this be done through the secretive in-house procedure adopted by the judiciary for allegations of corruption concerning judges? Would it be as per the ordinary law of the land like it is in every other democracy? Are there any other corruption allegations against other judges which are not known to the bar or public as yet? These are questions that require satisfactory answers.

Over the last two-three years, beginning with the action of preventing investigation into serious documented corruption charges and initiating contempt of court proceedings against journalists who sought to expose it (the Mid-Day report of alleged corruption of former chief justice of India YK Sabharwal), the higher judiciary is gradually losing its sheen.
The secretive in-house mechanism, adopted by the judiciary to tackle corruption within, does not seem to be working. The series of corruption scandals and the absence of any punitive action are too well-known and serious to be forgotten so quickly by the public. For once, they know that the judiciary cannot blame politicians and hope to get away with their reputation intact.

Our squeaky clean Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue with his customary politeness in the presence of the Chief Justice of India on April 19, 2008. He said, "Corruption is another challenge that we face both in the government and the judiciary." Then, on September 11, 2008, he demanded "introspection" in the judiciary following a series of corruption scandals.