New Delhi: With allegations of corruption echoing in the higher echelons of the judiciary, the government for the first time this year sought to draw a legislative line bringing judges within the purview of legal scrutiny.

The Judges Inquiry Bill is still being vetted as the Law Ministry and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice disagreed whether the top judicial office of Chief Justice of India (CJI) should be kept out of it.

The debate over how far the judges can be kept immune from public inquiry was triggered by Justice Jagdish Bhalla's elevation as Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court. Charges of corruption flew thick and fast as former President A P J Kalam returned his file asking for a review of Justice Bhalla's promotion.

The disagreement over the top judicial office accountability was further aggravated as another controversy surfaced later in the year, former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal was caught in allegations of nepotism in allotment of plots in Noida.

The proposed law provides for setting up a National Judicial Council (NJC) to probe any misconduct by a judge of the Supreme Court or high courts. It also seeks to spell out a procedure through which one can make a complaint to the NJC.
Source : PTI