Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Judiciary and media

Sir, — In your editorial "Judicial excesses" (Dec. 9), you have rightly raised questions about the role of the media in reporting the conduct of the judiciary. It is certainly the duty of the media to highlight the issue. Recent incidents call for an effective mechanism to oversee the functioning of the superior judiciary.

The Chief Justice of India has demonstrated that he will not tolerate any misconduct on the part of the judicial officers by ordering probe into allegations. He may also make public the findings of the committee which will further strengthen the independence of the judiciary and enhance people's faith in it.

R. Muralikumar,

Chennai

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Sir, — Your Editorial "For greater judicial accountability" (Dec. 7) has come not a day too soon. The fact that no judge has been removed from office, after having been found guilty of corruption or misuse of authority, underlines the need for putting in place a credible mechanism to deal with errant members of the judiciary. The in-house committees, as envisaged to probe the alleged misconduct of judges, may not be effective to check this.

It is unfortunate that the integrity of the judges has been impaired of late, leading to the serious erosion of public faith in the judicial system.

Time has come to judge the judges and fix accountability for their omissions and commissions. The judiciary should also be brought within the purview of the Central Vigilance Commission. The suggestion made by a Karnataka High Court judge to constitute a National Judicial Commission comprising legal luminaries for proceeding against errant judges is a step in the right direction.

P.K. Varadarajan,

Chennai

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