The Supreme Court must wake up show its teeth to such judges.

The Division Bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra issued snide and ranting remarks on corruption smudging the judicial system and said that “something is rotten in the State of Denmark, said Shakespeare in Hamlet, and it can similarly be said that something is rotten in the Allahabad High Court, as this case illustrates”.

The bench further said that “we are sorry to say but a lot of complaints are coming against certain judges of the Allahabad High Court relating to their integrity. Some judges have their kith and kin practising in the same court, and within a few years of starting their practice, the sons of relatives of the judge become multi-millionaires, have huge bank balance, luxurious cars, huge houses and are enjoying a luxurious life. This is a far cry from the days when the sons and other relatives of judges could derive no benefit from their relationship and had to struggle at the Bar like any other lawyer.”

The Bench further said: “We do not mean to say that all lawyers who have close relations as Judges of the High Court are misusing that relationship, some are scrupulously taking care that no one should lift a finger on this account. However, others are shamelessly taking advantage of this relationship”.

The Bench stated in explicit terms that it did not intend to accuse all lawyers’ who are close relatives of Judges of the High Court to have gained fame out of nepotism.

However, most definitely, it was felt that some of them are unabashedly using this relationship to their advantage and within a few years of their onset, the sons or relatives of the Judge/Judges become deep-pocketed, scaling new heights of opulence, having an enviable bank balance, luxurious limousines, sprawling bungalows, and are basically blessed with all the ingredients of high and plushy life.

This, sadly, is a godforsaken wail from the good old ethics oriented days, when the sons and other relatives of the judge(s) could not embark on the prowess of their sugar daddies and have to struggle hard at the Bar like any other lawyer.

However, the fact remains, that corruption is so intricately intertwined with everyday living in this country that each day is laced with the news of some or the other scam. Many of which still remained unexposed also those exposed are only a tip of the iceberg.

Furthermore, experience exhibits completely, incontrovertibly and without any shred of doubt that not only in Government departments but also in Judiciary, barring with notable exceptions. The corruption is spiralling upwards at a high level and justice righteousness in the system has given way to cruelty, sycophancy, indifference, arrogance and nepotism.

In fact this menace of corruption has embraced every walk of life and there is progressive deterioration. Resultantly, the common man is losing his faith in the system.

Ironically, the public at large has reconciled to settle the issue by succumbing to the evil hold of corruption, resulting in exploitation either at the hands of the police or at the hands of those dispensers of justice who indulged in corrupt practices and are eroding the otherwise most enviable Indian judicial system.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s scathing and searing remarks pertaining to corruption are not just confined to Allahabad High Court but more or less every High Court is inflicted with the same disease. It is high time, that we stir-out of our slumber and do something drastic and not let this leech eat the system, for if we don’t act immediately, the justice delivery system will collapse and it would be difficult to salvage its well-founded pride.

The first woman Chief justice of Delhi High court, namely, Jus

tice Leila Seth, in her autobiography has stated way back in 2003 that “when I was a lawyer and later a judge, I never wanted to believe the stories people told me about corruption in the lower judiciary. Nowadays, some people say it is totally correct. I don’t agree with them.

I think that earlier there were a few officers who were corrupt and the numbers have been steadily growing. However, it would be wrong to tar everyone with the same brush. But that there should be one dishonest judicial officer is indeed a matter of great shame, for honesty and justice go hand in hand.

Worse, there has been, for some time past, a nagging feeling that corruption is slowly creeping into the higher judiciary. Though it is difficult to find absolute proof, circumstantial evidence is often clinching. But the process of the removal of a judge by something akin is so difficult that it has just not happened.

There are many kinds of corruption, and the Bar is no less to blame. When I started off as a lawyer in Patna, a number of sons, brothers, nephews and other relatives of the judges were also practising there. I heard people talking about ‘Uncle Practice’ and ‘Lal Jhanda’. I wondered what all this was about.

I learnt that, since a son was not permitted to practice in his father’s court, if you did not want the matter to be heard by that court, you brief the son and thus stop the matter from going before the father; you had put out a warning ‘Red Flag’.

This misuse of a rule, that had been incorporated to prevent partisan decisions was apparently quite prevalent and some young lawyers even managed to make a living out of it. It was also rumoured that certain judges favoured the sons of their brother judges, and so the ‘Uncle Practice thrived’.

Both the Bar and Bench have to make a conscious and consistent effort to change their ways and to wipe-out corruption. It is impartiality with which the matter is heard and decided i.e. the foundation of justice.”

The experience shared by the most renowned woman Chief Justice is now echoed by none else but the Supreme Court itself and it requires some drastic measures to control and curb this menace for the reason that, those Judges who are indulging in such activities are wilfully oblivious of the fact that the Constitution by virtue of the Providence of Article 227 has imposed upon them a pious duty of ‘supervisory jurisdiction’ and their shady discharge of duties, crassly and grotesquely contravenes their allegiance to the oath which they have taken in terms of clause 219 of the Constitution of India, that they will duly and faithfully and to the best of their ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of their office without fear or favour, affection of ill will and they will uphold the Constitution and laws.

The uncalled for favour or nepotism bestowed by the tainted judges upon their respective kith and kin, with a vitiated view to promote their practice sans the merit etc., mars the legal rights of other litigants. Thus by virtue of the oath, it appears that they have been granted a license to administer injustice to one of the litigant (s) when not represented by their son (&) or relatives and if the justice would be administered in this way, it would tantamount to the fact that the fence is eating the crop. In this situation, what will happen to the scheme of justice dreamed by the our founding fathers?

The Indian justice delivery system is based upon the theme that the ‘Goddess of justice’ is blind, what does it mean indeed that whether she is actually blind? No she is not blind but she has become blind while imparting justice to the litigants and has put a veil around her eyes only with a view and the dominant intention to not see as to who is the litigant before her, lest the justice gets affected.

Unfortunately, the unscrupulous judges who are blatantly violating their constitutional-cum-official oath or are not paying allegiance to the oath are though not seeing the litigant but have started seeing the counsel representing the litigant by removing the veil. This sort of their unbecoming conduct has polluted the very fountain of justice and in all sum and reality is causing death to justice delivery system by a thousand cuts.

In relation to on going rampant corruption in the judiciary either emanating from the ‘uncle judges syndrome’ or otherwise also, the respective Bar Associations and the Bar Councils also owes a moral and great responsibility to take up the cudgels by exposing the unscrupulous Judges as well as the members of the Bar who have colluded with them to the hilt and must pursue the matter with the concerned quarters, then only the unscrupulous judges and the members of the Bar who indulge in such unethical practice will think twice before polluting the justice delivery system and before the effective action is initiated by the competent authority. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court should not assign the judicial work to such judges.

I feel that the name of justice emeritus, namely, S. Rangarajan former Justice of Delhi High Court is not unheard of by anybody, whosoever, is even remotely connected with the Bar and Bench.

The S. Rangarajan was known for his ethics and sublime life and for the simple reason that nobody could raise any accusing finger against him, like Caesar’s wife, as virtue demands that the judge should always remain over the board, he did not bring his son into this profession and he is also known for his courageous discharge of judicial functions as he quashed the detention of eminent and veteran journalist, namely, Kuldeep Naiyyar and later on paid the price for that too.

It is no more res integra by a long trail of uninterrupted judicial pronouncement not only nationally but also globally that judges of the higher judiciary should be like Caesar’s wife – they have to be above suspicion come what may. The dispensation of justice delivery system in consonance with the constitutional mandate has to be insulated from all external and obnoxious forces. Then and then only the judiciary would be admired as originally it was and instil the confidence among the public at large that the injustice would not go unnoticed and unpunished.

This turbulent times when faced with the criminal contempt in relation to the lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, warrants, forthwith, that the Supreme Court must wake up and smell the coffee not only by showing its teeth to such judges who are not paying allegiance to the Constitutional oath.

But also to rein in the unscrupulous members of the bar who dare to pollute the fountain of justice. Immediate remedies to control this menace from spreading its tentacles any further, for faith, is to be restored in the sanctity of judiciary, a rational approach calls for measures such as – those judges whose sons and daughters are practising in the same High Court, where they are posted be transferred to some other High Courts in the larger interest of maintaining not only the high standards of the Indian judicial system but also for holding the scales of justice shake corruption off.

And at the same time the Bar Associations/Bar Councils must act as a catalyst to identify the unscrupulous judges and advocates. The respective Bar Associations must rise to the occasion and leave no stone unturned to highlight the corruption.

In this context the role of Bombay High Court Bar Association in the early nineties merits to be commended. The respective members of both Bar and Bench must be exposed for their unbecoming conduct, unreservedly and, whosoever, is found guilty even prima facie must be punished exemplary so that it may be an object and deterrent message to one and all.