Every one is equal before law

As corruption pervades through all spheres of society, judiciary is not bereft from it. Even the Chief Justice has reportedly expressed concern over corruption in judiciary. As also the rot begin from the head, so higher echelon of judiciary is also not bereft of corruption. Now the question arises is that how to check corruption in judiciary. When it is compulsory on the part of Executive and Legislative to declare assets and put in public domain to enable the public know through RTI about the assets amassed by them , why judiciary is not put in the same category as legislative and executive. The news about corruption involving the judge of the Punjab and Haryana High court hogged the headlines of the daily newspapers three years back. One former Chief Justice is also reported to have accepted how the time changed when he started practising law in 50s, it was held by the public in the highest esteem. He also accepted reportedly the fact that corruption is also rampant in supreme court, let alone the High Courts. As far as the question of disclosing assets of the judges is concerned, what prevents them from declaring their asset when their conscience is clean and their honesty is beyond any scruitny. The judiciary may enjoy other privileges that could keep them apart from legislative and executive that could also satisfy their ego of being above them. But when the question of equality arises, the judiciary must not be condoned.The public must be given the right to know through RTI about the assets of judges of all law courts in the country. The Government had to hastily defer the Judges (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) BiIl in the face fierce opposition in the Upper House.But if the news paper report is anything to go by, the corruption is rampant in judiciary also at all levels. From the District and Session court to the Apex court of the country, the news about the judges being influenced pour in frequently from all corners . The judgements are on sale mostly in sub-divisional and district courts of the country. In the given scenario of degeneration setting in every sphere of life, the citizen has no right to lodge complaint against the judges. Are they immune to the law of the land? The judiciary does not enjoy this type of privileges in any democratic country of the world, except India. In the US, which is considered as the champion of democracy, all citizens have right to lodge complaint against the judge. In Canada, corruption in judiciary is probed by a commission. In the same way, the accountability must also be fixed about judges also in India. Judiciary must be made accountable . The opposition in the Parliament has rightly forced the government to withdraw the Bill because it empowered judges not to declare their assets public scruitny. The opposition parties objected to the bill, which allows judges not to make their assets public, by calling it a violation of the right to equality.When the people in this country are sovereign and they are the masters in democracy, why they can not know about the asssets of judges.Judges Assets Bill at the introduction stage itself in the Rajya Sabha withdrawn in the face of a combined Opposition threatening to vote out the very introduction of the Bill. If this bill goes through, high court and Supreme Court judges will be the only people exempted from public scrutiny of their assets, a privilege not extended even to the President and the Prime Minister. Barring judges’ assets, only strategic and security issues are outside the purview of the RTI Act. Law Minister M Veerappa Moily who piloted the Bill has said the Government would prefer the Bill to be deferred for finding a consensus among the political parties and the House.The Bill seeks to exempt the contents of the assets declarations made by Judges of the superior courts from disclosure. The Opposition has rightly forced Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to withdraw the Bill because it is discriminatory in nature at first glance. When there is nothing to hide from public gaze, why are the judges hesitant to disclose their assets ? There must be transparency in the functioning of judiciary also so that the perception amog the public developed these days about rampant corruption in judiciary could be removed. The citizen must have the right to know the functioning of all pillars of the government- Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. There must not be iron curtain on judiciary and it must not made immune to public scruitny.