NEW DELHI: A full bench of the Lokpal headed by former Supreme Court judge A M Khanwilkar appears to have wasted its time in rediscovering that sitting judges of constitutional courts are public servants, for the issue had been settled by a five-judge SC bench in 1991 in the K Veeraswamy judgment.
In holding that sitting constitutional court judges come under the ambit of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the Lokpal full bench also went against the majority judgement of the SC, which had ruled that no criminal case can be registered against judges of HCs or SC without prior consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The constitution bench of SC had said, “If the CJI himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received, the govt shall consult any other judge or judges of the SC”.
“There shall be similar consultation at the stage of examining the question of granting sanction for prosecution and it shall be necessary and appropriate that the question of sanction (for prosecution) is guided by and in accordance with the advice of the CJI,” SC had ruled.
SC had unanimously ruled that all judges are public servants. Since the ruling is a pre-collegium-era verdict, when judges were appointed or transferred by the govt after consulting the CJI, SC had laid down the procedure to allay the apprehension that such proceedings may get initiated against judges for collateral purposes.
“The CJI being the head of the judiciary is primarily concerned with the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Hence, it is necessary that the CJI is not kept out of the picture of any criminal case contemplated against a judge. He would be in a better position to give his opinion in the case and consultation with the CJI would be of immense assistance to the govt in coming to the right conclusion,” it had said.
Discussing the possible erosion of faith of people in the judiciary if the inquiry by CBI against a sitting judge is made public, SC had said, “Any complaint against a judge and its investigation by CBI, if given publicity, will have a far-reaching impact on the judge and the litigant public. The need, therefore, is a judicious use of taking action under the (Prevention of Corruption) Act. Care should be taken that honest and fearless judges are not harassed. They should be protected.”