Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Corruption at judiciary level?' that was published in Newsband

Corruption at judiciary level?

There is a move to remove Justice Narayan Shukla, a judge of the Allahabad High Court. The reason stated is that he had committed judicial impropriety serious enough to warrant his removal. Now this could be the case of corruption in the higher judiciary.

The Supreme Court observed that the Bench headed by Justice Shukla had violated judicial propriety. The CJI formed a three-member committee to examine his conduct. The committee has now found substance in the allegations.  

Someone passed the information that there was a plot to influence public servants to obtain favourable orders. Some orders related to medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh were also passed by Supreme Court Benches headed by Chief Justice Misra himself.

There was a press conference at which four senior-most judges alleged the CJI had departed from convention. The process of removing a judge is too elaborate and somewhat cumbersome. The removal of a serving judge is undoubtedly a sad development.

Now this might be the case of Justice Shukla's deviation from the "values of judicial life." If it is true then J Shukla seems to be adamant in sticking to his post. Maybe that, as an insider of the "judicial life", he is struggling to make a larger point: that he hasn't done anything.

The four senior SC judges went public, not merely on the routine issue of 'corruption', but on the more ominous issue that our democracy itself is in peril.

Can we deny the fact that at the age of 18 itself the system around them presents an atmosphere to make students consider 'shortcuts' are 'quite normal' such as reservation, management-quotas with just pass marks, faculty favoured ones to even secure internal assessments, VIP recommendations, minority quotient and constitutional, political and 'vibrant civil society' (hell) and NGOs to stand by them and pounce on any effort to stall any measure to right them? Having sown the seeds of dishonesty everywhere is one entitled to expect 'an honest' judge, from such students' stock?