New Delhi: The government on Friday agreed with
outgoing Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah that there
were instances of corruption in judiciary but said it has "not
reached dimension of great concern".
"We have kept the independence of judiciary as
sacrosanct. If any instances of corruption... don't say
totally ruled out...but we cannot magnify it and none of us
should do anything to tarnish the image of judiciary," Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily said when asked to react to
Justice A P Shah's comment that corruption in judiciary was a
"reality".
The Minister said corruption in judiciary has not reached
the dimension of "great concern".
"If any instances of corruption (in judiciary), the
judiciary itself will take appropriate steps to correct it. I
am confident. It has not reached the dimension of great
concern," he added.
A day before his retirement, Justice Shah had said "I will
not tell you the truth if I say no corruption is there in
judiciary. It is a reality, corruption does exist, but minimal
corruption is there in higher judiciary."
Moily said despite instances of corruption, judiciary
stands out for its integrity "when compared to other fields".
He said the proposed Judges Standards and Accountability
Bill will take care of concerns over corruption in judiciary.
"While the power of Parliament to impeach a judge will
remain, the proposed bill will provide a road map to deal with
cases of omission and commission," he added.
PTI
First Published: Friday, February 12, 2010, 21:37