Thursday, November 3 2005 09:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal preferred to keep mum on the controversial Judges Accountability Bill aimed at setting up National Judicial Council saying that his predecessor Justice R C Lahoti must have incorporated the suggestions of other judges in his reply to the draft bill.

"A proposal on the NJC had come and Justice Lahoti (then CJI) must have given his reply to the Government. He had sought my suggestion and I had given my views and if he had not sought that I would not have given. I hope that he must have incorporated my view point in his reply," he told reporters.

Justice Sabharwal was replying to a question that his predecessor Justice Lahoti and Law Minister H R Bhardwaj have different views on NJC, which envisages to look into complaints of corruption against Supreme Court and other judges.

Declining to deliberate any further on the controversial draft bill, which also proposes to incorporate a provision for inquiry against the CJI, he said, "framing of laws falls in the domain of legislature and the judiciary has to examine its validity if and when it is challenged before a court of law."

Justice Lahoti had disagreed with Bhardwaj that he has given his agreement to the Bill saying that the Law Minister's comment was a 'very generalised statement'. "I expect government to be very careful in bringing this legislation," the former CJI had said.