LS Welcomes Suspension Of CBI Judge

The suspension of T Pattabhirama Rao, the First Additional Judge for CBI cases, over corruption charges, and in granting bail to Obulapuram mining case accused Gali Janardhana Reddy, merely reflects the precipitous decline in judicial standards, commented Lok Satta Party Working President D V V S Varma on Friday.

In a media statement, Varma pointed out that democracy has remained intact so far because the judiciary has enjoyed credibility among people when both elected representatives and officials lost it with their corruption.

It is time that a National Judicial Commission is constituted to safeguard the judiciary and ensure its credibility, he said.

Varma recalled that at the initiative of the Lok Satta, 3 former Chief justices of the Supreme Court - Justice J S Varma, Justice M N Venkatachalaiah and Justice Krishna Iyer - drew up a National Judicial Commission Bill and submitted it to the government.

Varma said that there have been no instances in Andhra Pradesh of elected people's representatives and bureaucrats who indulged in massive corruption by squandering away finite natural resources being sacked and jailed and their ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It is only because of judicial intervention that scams in Jalaygnam, land allotment and liquor distribution have come to light, he said.

Even at the national level, it is the Supreme Court's intervention in issues like the 2G scam, caste reservations, the Rama Janmabhoomi - Babri Masjid dispute, and inter-State water issues, that has preserved the country's integrity, he said.

If even the judiciary becomes corrupt against such a backdrop, democracy ceases to work, and paves way for military rule, he pointed out.

Therefore, Varma said, all democrats must strive for the constitution of a National Judicial Commission to ensure an independent and strong judiciary.

Varma said the Judicial Commission would have powers to appoint competent and honest judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts, and to weed out corrupt elements.

Varma also called for making the CBI, ACB and CB CID autonomous and bringing them under the purview of strong and independent Lokpal and Lokayukta institutions. Once such institutions are in place, the regular courts can be spared the bother of ordering inquiries into corruption scams, he said. (INN)