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Sunday, Jan 14, 2007
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Call to High Court CJs

Legal Correspondent

Sabharwal writes to CJ's of High Courts

NEW DELHI: The outgoing Chief Justice, Y.K. Sabharwal, on Saturday said he had written to the Chief Justices of High Courts, asking them to give top priority to high-profile cases so that they could be disposed of expeditiously within a time frame.

Talking to presspersons, he said the High Courts and the Supreme Court were giving the highest priority to such cases. He did not agree with the view that the courts were letting off politicians, particularly in criminal cases, and were convicting only the poor. "There had been some such instances, but the judiciary cannot convict someone who is entitled to acquittal."

On delays

On delays in disposal of criminal cases, he said that one way of cutting down the delay would be to have a video recording of the statements of witnesses (given under Section 164 Cr PC) by a magistrate, so that in the event of their turning hostile they could be prosecuted for perjury. But "you need more magistrates at the lower levels, for which the number of judges must be increased and necessary infrastructure created for that.

On tackling corruption in judiciary, Mr. Sabharwal said: "We must be tough in dealing with corruption in all institutions including judiciary. Actions are being taken wherever required."

Performance

Asked whether he was satisfied with his performance, he said: "There is utmost satisfaction. See the working of the Supreme Court. There is transparency at all levels. Similarly, in the disposal of cases and cutting down the delays, a lot has been done. It is an on-going process and nothing can be done overnight. I hope Justice Balakrishnan will successfully complete the task as he has a tenure of over three years."

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