======================================================================== Goa's phone numbers change from Nov 10, 2002. Prefix old number with a 2. New numbers will be seven-digit 2XXXXXX (where XXXXXX is the old number). ========================================================================
The Judiciary is the one institution many people still have faith in and it is imperative that the image of these sacred temples that impart justice should be preserved. After being sworn in on November 8, the new Chief Justice of India, G.B. Pattanaik, said that corruption had dented the image of the judiciary. Amidst the continuing debate on the menace of corruption in public life, the majority in a recent survey were of the opinion that not only have anti-corruption drives by various agencies failed but also that the judiciary has proven ineffective in curbing corrupt practices. A debate is on whether it is time judges should be judged in view of serious allegations of misconduct. Just three years ago the Conference of Chief Justices resolved to adopt a code of conduct for the higher judiciary and the recent charges of misconduct by judges of various high courts has once again called for immediate strong steps to ensure judicial accountability. The charges against some of India's High Court judges are of a very serious and alarming nature. They range from sexual harassment to rampage in a restaurant to nepotism. This sorry state of affairs has even prompted Supreme Court Chief Justice G.B. Pattanaik to conduct independent inquiries into all the allegations. Chief Justice Pattanaik has announced that if he is personally satisfied that there is a prima facie case, he may even ask the concerned judges to resign. Judges are human and like any other humans are bound to socialise. It has to be ensured that socialising does not cross the limits by which the Judges may be prejudiced in arriving at decisions. Judges should never treat genuine Public Interest litigants as a nuisance. On the contrary, the Courts should encourage citizens championing public causes, as long as it’s not a private cause under the guise of Public Interest Litigation. Any wrong or misconceived judgement should always be challenged by the advocate or the litigant fearlessly. The only person to be feared is God and we are all as close to Almighty as any Judge is. Merit and merit alone should be the sole deciding factor for a Judge in reaching decisions. The looks or likes of the advocate or the litigant should never be a consideration. A judge should also never be pro or anti- government. He should always maintain safe distance from all the parties to a case. It is also expected that a good judge will never be revengeful and try to intimidate or harass a lawyer or litigant whose face he may not like. Former Chief Justice of India S.P. Bharucha had estimated the extent of corruption in the judiciary as being 20 per cent. Justice Michael Saldanha of the Karnataka High Court says it is 33 per cent. It has to be ensured that the public faith and perception of the judiciary does not waver. With the media having widely reported that in the Punjab & Haryana HC case, three judges got personal favours from the Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission, the common man is bound to believe that something very outrageous and scandalous has rocked the judiciary. It is necessary that a mandatory code of conduct be in place in view of the latest allegations of judicial misconduct: 1. A Rajasthan HC judge, now transferred, sexually molests a male constable. 2. A Rajasthan HC judge and a court staffer offer to settle a litigant's case if she "obliges" them. 3. Three Punjab & Haryana HC judges use their positions to get their nominees selected by Punjab Public Service Commission ex-chief and scam-accused Ravi Sidhu. 4. A drunken Madhya Pradesh HC judge uses foul language in an exclusive club in Bhopal. 5. Three Karnataka HC judges, accompanied by women, get into a brawl in a Mysore restaurant In the Mysore scandal involving three High Court judges, their names, though in circulation, have not been published. They had reportedly created a ruckus at a resort on the outskirts of Mysore on the night of November 3. Accompanied by three women, they celebrated late into the night, until one of the judges allegedly had a quarrel with another couple. A middle-aged lawyer from Mysore, who was present at the resort, helped the couple lodge a complaint with the police. On arrival the police found the legal bigwigs on the wrong side of the law. When they failed to register a case, details of the incident were leaked to the media. It was later revealed that the three women companions of the judges were practicing advocates who had recently been selected for appointment to judicial positions. To add to it all three judges were on the selection panel. The case of public nuisance was given the aroma of a sex scandal. Judges who are currently under a cloud for public misconduct should be suspended. This is because if the allegations against them are true, it would erode the faith of the bar and litigants, making it impossible even for the other judges to continue dispensing justice. There has to be a laid down procedure for handling complaints against the judiciary. Disgruntled litigants should not be allowed to make allegations that can dent the image of a judge. If the charges are proved baseless, it is imperative that the person who has levelled the charge be held accountable. Credibility is a judge's greatest asset and to preserve it, all allegations must be probed. Currently the Government has no role to play, either as investigator or enforcer, because of the immunity enjoyed by the higher judiciary. None of its members can be investigated without the sanction of the Chief Justice. The Central government is once again contemplating setting up of a National Judicial Commission, as recommended by the Constitution Review Commission. It will be chaired by the Chief Justice of India but it is yet to be decided whether it will deal with appointments alone or whether it will have stringent powers to deal with instances of misconduct by judges. Until such time that some mechanism, and that too a credible one, is put in place, it is the judges who will have to judge themselves. Aires Rodrigues Ribandar ---------------------------------------------------------- What's On In Goa (WOIG): Nov 06 Children's book exhibn opens, Walkabout, Anjuna... (all weekdays) Nov 06 ArtHouse, Calangute: Chaitali's acrylics on canvas till 19.11 Nov 07 Revision of electoral rolls (till Nov 30) See schedule. Dec 01 Two day conference, Goa Agenda. IT For Society. (Ends 2.12) Every Sunday: Music therapy sessions at Moira, 5 pm. 278, N.Portugal ----------------------------------------------------------
