Bar Opposes Panel To Probe Punchhis Conduct
The controversy over the judicial conduct of the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, Justice M M Punchhi, took another turn yesterday when the bar association opposed the appointment of a three-judge committee by the Chief Justice to enquire into the allegations.
In a resolution passed with majority, the general body stated that such an in-house proceeding was unconstitutional. The only procedure to be followed was the one provided in the Constitution, which is that of impeachment under Article 124 (4) and (5), the resolution said.
A group of lawyers had accused Justice Punchhi of bribery and corruption. Justice Punchhi is scheduled to succeed the Chief Justice J S Verma in mid-January. The lawyers, calling themselves the Committee on Judicial Accountability had submitted a memorandum to the President containing the allegations. The President is said to have sent it to the Chief Justice. He in turn has asked a three-judge committee to investigate into the allegations. The allegations have appeared in the press.
Sources say the committee consists of Justice S P Bharucha, Justice M K Mukherjee and Justice Suhas Sen. The bar association, through a resolution on September 9, had condemned the memorandum to the President and asked the Chief Justice to ignore it. The Chief Justice recently sent a note to the association appreciating its anxiety to protect judicial institutions.
However, the committees appointment has now been opposed by the bar. The bar asked the Chief Justice to meet its leaders to resolve the issues through a constructive dialogue. It also decided to arrange a meeting of bar association president Kapil Sibal and other leading lawyers with the President and the Prime Minister to devise a statutory mechanism to solve such problems in future.
Speaking at the meeting, Sibal said it would be dangerous precedent if the Chief Justice set up a committee of judges on mere allegations by certain lawyers. It would lead to the destruction of the judiciary, he said. The main speaker who opposed the resolution was senior counsel F S Nariman, who said there was no escape from in-house procedures in such circumstances. The resolution of the bar association would foreclose all future action against sitting judges, both in the Supreme Court and the high courts, he warned.