New Delhi:
This is the bill that the government says will make the judiciary more accountable and will ensure that Judges do not have to come under the purview of the Lokpal. A Parliamentary Standing Committee has submitted its report on the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill and suggested that judges do not make "unwarranted comments" in open court.
The bill seeks to lay down judicial accountability for judges.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, headed by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, has also suggested in its report that the government set up a mechanism to scrutinize the declaration of assets by judges.
In a recommendation that seeks to address concern voiced by Anna Hazare's team of anti-corruption activists, the panel has also suggested that two MPs, one each from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, find place on a committee that investigates corruption allegations against judges.
The bill provides that a five-member Oversight Committee - headed by a former Chief Justice of India and with a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a High Court, an eminent person nominated by the President and the Attorney General of India as an ex-officio member - would look into such allegations of corruption. Team Anna has argued that this would mean a probe by judges against their "brothers".
The Standing Committee's main suggestions are:
Judges should restrain themselves from making "unwarranted comments" in open court.
The government should set up a mechanism to scrutinise the declaration of assets by judges.
One MP each from both Houses should find a place in bodies like - the National Oversight Committee and Complaints Scrutiny Panel - that probes allegations of corruption against judges.
Strongly recommends the dilution of a five-year imprisonment clause in case of frivolous complaints. The committee says it should not be more than one year and complaints made in "good faith" should be exempt from any punishment.
The committee has argued for a regulation of the media in the way cases of judicial corruption are reported.
And, finally, the committee has called for a better system for appointment of judges.
(With inputs from PTI)