1.
· It allows for anyone to complain against a judge
· This effectively allows impeachment procedure to be initiated even by one person’s complaint unlike the current rule of atleast 100 MPs of lok sabha or 50 MPs of rajya sabha
· The complaint needs to be submitted to a judicial oversight committee
· Judicial oversight committee comprises of
o 2 sitting judges
o A retired judge
o An eminent person
o Attorney general
· But work of judicial oversight committee is effectively like a post office . hence it is a waste of time
· Also attorney general may have to plead in front of a judge against whom there is a complaint. This creates a conflict of interest
· Further the complaint is forwarded to a scrutiny panel to investigate the complaint and determine the future course of action
· Scrutiny panel will comprise of 3 members of which 2 have to be from same court as that of accused judge
o It is difficult for the members in scrutiny panel to pass an impartial judgement on their own colleague
· The future course of action can either be
o Minor punishment
o Ask for voluntary resignation
o Impeachment
· Minor punishments will dent the credibility of judiciary
· Another drawback is that composition and tenure of investigation committee is not defined in bill
· The bill list out 18 judicial standards
o This will impede the freedom and independence of judiciary
· The entire process is kept out of scope of RTI. This will encourage a secret and regressive system
WAY AHEAD
· Strike balance between accountability and independence of judiciary
· Start with making the selection process transparent
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