THE NATIONAL LAWYERS’ CAMPAIGN FOR JUDICIAL
TRANSPARENCY AND REFORMS
304, Hari Chambers, 3rd Floor, 54/68 SBS Marg, Near Lion Gate, Fort Mumbai- 400 023 E-Mail: aminrohini@gmail.com, mathewsjnedumpara@gmail.com
Cell # +91 98205 35428
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Mathews J. Nedumpara
President
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Mrs. Rohini M. Amin
Vice President
Mumbai
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Ms. Sophia Pinto Vice
President
Bangalore
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K. Lingaraja
Vice President Delhi
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A. C. Philip
Vice president, Cochin
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Navaneetha Krishnan T
General Secretary
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PRESS RELEASE
The National Peoples Campaign for
Judicial Transparency and Reforms and the National Lawyers Campaign for
Judicial Transparency and Reforms, first ever in the history of independent
India, conducted a three-day campaign in New Delhi seeking –
a)
video-recording
and simultaneous telecast of proceedings of all Courts and Tribunals in the
country and in particular of the Supreme Court and High Courts, which could be
done with least effort and expenditure and in no time, which could readily
obtain an end to the misbehaviour from the Bench, its excessive interruption,
threatening lawyers and litigants and all sorts of abuse, not merely by the
Judges, but by lawyers and litigants too who do not behave well. If video-recording and its simultaneous
telecast is introduced, the stampede for the lawyer who wears silk, for the
litigant public believe that a lawyer designated as a Senior Advocate alone has
some chance of being heard and others are treated as underdogs, except for a
couple of noble Judges, will come to an end.
There will thereafter be no lobbying by lawyers with 20/25 years of
standing at the bar for designation as a Senior Advocate, which requires
majority of votes of the Judges of the High Court or the Supreme Court, as the
case may be;
b)
Open
selection of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts by advertisement of
the vacancies, receipt of applications, scrutiny thereof and selection in a
most open and transparent manner, so that the vast majority of eligible lawyers
will have a fair opportunity to be considered, except of the current cabal
system where kith and kin of Judges and senior lawyers alone are considered;
c)
Restoration
of freedom of speech by scrapping the most abused offence called scandalizing
the Court;
d)
Introduction
of an effective mechanism for dealing with complaints of corruption,
misbehaviour, incompetence etc., against Judges of the higher judiciary in
which lay people have a participation, instead of whatever is the mechanism
being reduced to a body of Judges and lawyers;
e)
Transfer
of Judges of the High Courts, re-introduction of the system where 1/3rd
of the Judges of a High Court are from outside the State; even 1/3rd
is not enough, it ought to be at least ½;
f)
Bringing
an end to the uncle Judges syndrome; make it mandatory that a Judge, who has
his son or daughter or immediate relative practising in the High Court where he
functions, is liable to be transferred to another High Court;
g)
Repeal
the concept of absolute impunity to Judges, and even for lawyers, and the
impunity be confined to where they act bona fide;
h)
Enact a
law to make it expressly clear that Judges like other citizens are liable for
prosecution and that a First Information Report is liable to be registered when
Judges commit a cognizable offence which has nothing to do with discharge of
their judicial function, like where they commit an offence under the Motor
Vehicles Act or outraging the modesty of a woman or indulging in rave party,
without least intending to suggest that Judges indulge in such offences.
i)
Abolition
of Tribunals and revitalizing and strengthening the institution of Civil
Courts;
j)
A common
dress code for all lawyers and abolition of the concept of designation of
lawyers as Senior Advocates;
k)
Declaration
of assets by Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts; etc.,
to bring an end to a ridicule of the law that no FIR
can be lodged against Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, creating a
special class of privileged citizens to whom criminal law is not applicable. President
of the National Peoples Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms, Shri
Mathews J. Nedumpara, President of the National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial
Transparency and Reforms, and ordinary lay people coming from different parts
of the country, such as, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Pune, Mumbai, Gujarat, Assam etc.,
met the Hon'ble Law Minister who was kind enough to agree with the campaigners
almost on all issues. The Law Minister
made it clear that the demands of the campaigners are acceptable in principle
and that all that he requires is some time to make the said demands to be
implemented, some which may require a legislation. Shri Mathews J. Nedumpara and Mrs. Rohini
Amin, President and Vice-President of the President of the National Lawyers
Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms were given audience by the
Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, who too was very receptive to the campaigners
and their ideas and said that video-recording cannot be put to practice
immediately, but sound-recording could be thought of for which he needs to
consult other Judges, the Bar etc. The
Hon'ble Chief Justice also agreed that there is a need for greater diversity in
the appointment of Judges.
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