Bill to deal with corruption complaints against judiciary

The Centre plans to bring a “state-of-the-art” legislation in the winter session of Parliament to deal with complaints of corruption against judges and ensure accountability in higher judiciary.

The Judges Standards and Accountability Bill will cover the “entire judiciary” and would not be a “one sided affair”. It would also provide appropriate protection to the judges so that “it will not be misused,” says Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily.

He said the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968 would be repealed once the proposed bill is adopted. “The Judges Inquiry Bill deals only with the impeachment process of judges. We want to replace it with a comprehensive Judges Standards and Accountability Bill,” he said in an interview.

The government’s plan assumes significance in the context of growing complaints of misconduct against judges of the higher judiciary and a feeling that redress system was not effective.