Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Monday the 2nd Feb’09, Union Law Minister H.K. Bharadwaj, for the first time in an open criticism of Chief Justice of India (CJI) K.G.Balakrishnan’s move to refer at least two cases of sitting judges of High Courts to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said that sitting judges can only be prosecuted after they (judges) are removed from their office by impeachment.
Mr. Bharadwaj was answering questions from journalists who were referring to the nod given by the CJI to CBI to pursue two cases of corruptions of sitting judges. One of the cases relates to Provident Fund (PF) Scam wherein crores of rupees were siphoned off from Ghaziabad Treasury to purchase gifts for judges and in the other involving Rs.1500000 meant for one judge was delivered to the doorstep of another judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In the PF Scam case, CBI has already submitted a report to the CJI and in the second case the CJI is believed to have given permission to the CBI to file an FIR against the sitting Punjab and Haryana High Court judge.
Elaborating the issue raised by the journalists, Mr. Bhardwaj said that CBI and police has no power to prosecute a sitting judge and they can be inquired for ‘misconduct’, only as per the constitutional provision of Judges Inquiry Act. Would it be proper to make a sitting judge of a high court to appear before a Magistrate, he asked? He categorically said that investigation against a sitting judge is ‘Bad in Law’ and cannot be resorted to unless the judge is denuded of his position and then prosecuted as a normal person.
On the issue of CJI’s recommendation to impeach Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen, the law minister said that CJI’s inquiry has no role in the impeachment of a judge. An impeachment motion against a sitting judge has to be initiated by Members of Parliament and then the Speaker (or the presiding officer) of the house sets up a peers committee- comprising a sitting judge, a retired judge and a jurist- to reinvestigate the charges again.
He assured the journalists that he is examining the issue and would soon take a decision in this matter (of CJI initiating investigation proceedings).