Date:04/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/04/stories/2007110461161400.htm

National

Yechury seeks President’s help

Vinay Kumar

“Apex court’s stand on Sabharwal issue disappointing”

NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and MP Sitaram Yechury has urged President Pratibha Patil to intervene on the issue of alleged misconduct against the former Chief Justice of India, Y.K. Sabharwal, as it concerned the credibility of the judiciary in the country.

In a letter to the President on Friday, Mr. Yechury said the Supreme Court had refused to order a judicial enquiry into the allegations against Mr. Justice Sabharwal. He termed the Supreme Court’s stand as “disappointing.”

“The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Judicial Reforms has for some months been raising allegations against Mr. Justice Sabharwal. These were rebutted by him after his retirement, in the print media. Hence, it was clear that the truth behind these allegations could have been established through either an enquiry or through a judicial process like a defamation suit. This, however, has not been done,” Mr. Yechury said.

Scribes’ arrest

The CPI(M) MP said it was “strange” that the Delhi High Court took upon itself the responsibility to defend the Supreme Court and sentenced four mediapersons who raised these allegations to four-month imprisonment.

He said the High Court order appeared to negate an amendment brought to the Contempt of Court Act in 2006, following a long campaign by lawyers and sections of the media, allowing truth to be used as a defence in contempt cases.