By IANS
New Delhi : Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury has sought President Pratibha Patil’s intervention in the Supreme Court’s refusal to order a judicial probe into allegations of misconduct against former chief justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal.
In a letter written to the president on Nov 2, Yechury has said the credibility of the Indian judiciary “is something that needs to be strengthened and any allegation or accusation against it must be dispelled with urgency in order to consolidate modern India further”.
He said the apex court’s refusal to order an enquiry into the case is “indeed, disappointing and undermines the credibility of judicial accountability”.
The Leftist leader pointed out that the campaign for judicial accountability and judicial reforms has for some months been raising allegations against Justice Sabharwal, which he has rebutted, after his retirement.
“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,” Yechury noted.
Referring to the Delhi High Court’s action of sentencing four media persons for reporting the matter, Yechury in the letter to the president has also raised certain constitutional issues.
“There are two serious problems here. First, the Indian Constitution through Article 215 empowers a high court to deal with contempt of itself.
“The Delhi High Court, thus, appears to have transgressed its jurisdiction since under Article 129 of the constitution the apex court alone has the power to deal with contempt against itself,” Yechury said.
“Secondly, the order appears to negate an amendment brought to the Contempt of Court’s Act in 2006, following a long vigorous campaign by well-meaning lawyers and sections of the media, allowing truth to be used as a defence in contempt cases,” the letter says.
Yechury has quoted a judgement delivered by an apex court bench headed by Justice R.V. Raveendran that reads: “It should be remembered that exercise of such power results in eroding the confidence of the public rather than creating trust and faith in the judiciary.”
According to the CPI-M leader, it is this trust and faith that the judiciary needs to further strengthen in India today.
Yechury has asserted that invoking the provision of contempt of court to silence critics of possible judicial misconduct would appear particularly indefensible in this context.
Yechury has requested the president to have examined the matter pertaining to Justice Sabharwal, and intervene in the interests of India and its democratic future.