In a meet convened by the Law Ministry, jurists on Monday will consider revamping the lapsed Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill to provide for a mechanism to deal with complaints against and removal of judges.
The previous Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha by the UPA government, has lapsed as it could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha for lack of consensus among political parties. The NDA government will consider reintroducing the Bill with modifications. Once revamped, the Bill will replace the Judges Inquiry Act.
The new law will set judicial standards and makes judges accountable for their lapses. It also mandates that judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court declare their assets and liabilities, as well as those of their spouses and dependents, and file an annual return in this regard.
Under this new law, a National Judicial Oversight Committee will be set up under a former Chief Justice of India, enabling the public to lodge complaints against erring judges including the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justices of High Courts. At present, there is no legal mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges. The judiciary has adopted the ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ as a code of conduct without any statutory sanction.
