Justice denied

SC panel falters on transparency and fairness test

The procedure through which the three-judge committee’s findings exonerated Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi raises more questions than answers. One of the anomalies in the apex court is that the CJI’s permission is required to proceed with any complaint against an employee. Since he himself is outside the purview of this rule, minimum propriety demanded he followed the highest standards of due process and allowed the formation of an investigation committee that included an external member — Justice D Y Chandrachud had suggested the names of several retired Supreme Court justices. Instead, a three-member panel of judges was set up which