New Delhi: Over 1,600 complaints were received in the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) on the functioning of the judiciary, including judicial corruption, during the last five years, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
These 1,622 complaints were forwarded to the Chief Justice of India or concerned chief justices of the respective high courts as per the established in-house mechanism , Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply.
Accountability in higher judiciary is maintained through in-house mechanism , he said.
The Supreme Court, in its full court meeting on May 7, 1997, adopted two resolutions — The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life” which lays down certain judicial standards and principles to be observed and followed by the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, and in-house procedure for taking suitable remedial measure against judges who do not follow the universally accepted values of judicial life, including those included in the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, he noted.
As per the established in-house mechanism for the higher judiciary, the Chief Justice of India is competent to receive complaints against the conduct of judges of the Supreme Court and the chief justices of the high courts, Rijiju said.
Similarly, the chief justices of the high courts are competent to receive complaints against the conduct of HC judges. The complaints or representations received are forwarded to the Chief Justice of India or to the chief justice of the high court concerned, as the case may be, for appropriate action.
Administrative control over the members of the subordinate judiciary in the states vests with the high court concerned, he observed.