JOIN USCivil society wants judiciary in ambit of Jan Lokpal Bill
Referring to a roundtable discussion on the JLB – the draft framed by the civil society - held on Sunday under the banner of Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA), the activists said while JLB was for continuation of the impeachment mechanism against judges, it was also in favour of changes in the system of registering cases. Some speakers felt that the judiciary should not be covered under the Bill as it would interfere with the Judicial Accountability and Standards Bill.
A press release said under the existing system, in the event of an allegation of corruption against a high court or Supreme Court judge, an ordinary policeman could register an FIR against that judge provided he obtained permission from the Chief Justice of India.
“The JLB proposes that rather than the Chief Justice of India deciding whether to give permission or not for registering a case, a full Bench of Lokpal having a majority of members with legal background should decide this. Lokpal, being an independent and sufficiently senior body, would be expected to take a more unbiased decision. The JLB also proposes that rather than a policeman being able to register a case, a proper investigation and prosecution of a judge be done by a special investigative team of the Lokpal headed by a senior officer. The release added: “This would also ensure a more professional and honest investigation. After the completion of investigations, a full bench of Lokpal would decide whether to initiate prosecution or not. Lokpal will not have any powers to award punishment or to remove judges. The case would go to the normal courts for trial and punishment.”
The release said the JLB proposal would not make the Judicial Accountability and Standards Bill redundant because the Judicial Bill dealt with professional misconduct of judges and not criminal misconduct like bribery. At the round table, eminent jurists and others saw the provision to include the prime minister – as in the official Lokpal Bill draft - as a source of political instability in the country which could have both domestic and international implications. Former Chief Justices of India M N Venkatachaliah and J S Verma said it would not be proper to bring the prime minister under the purview of the Lokpal Bill.