The Hindu : National : Small section of judges corrupt: Justice Thomas

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Friday, Mar 23, 2007
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National

National

Small section of judges corrupt: Justice Thomas

Staff Reporter

KOLLAM: Justice K.T. Thomas, retired judge of the Supreme Court, has said that a totally honest judiciary will be a Utopian notion.

Addressing a talk series, "Maarunna Malayali," organised by the Press Club here on Thursday, Mr. Justice Thomas admitted that a small section of judges was corrupt. "But when it comes to international statistics on judicial corruption, India ranks ninth. That is some relief." At the same time, compared to other States, the judiciary in Kerala was a model and, by and large, free of corruption.

Mr. Justice Thomas said media sensationalism did influence the judiciary. Most judges did find it difficult to give a verdict in a case that went contrary to media sensationalism. Judges were part of society but they needed to be trained to give a justified verdict.

Language

On recent moves to make the regional languages the language of the High Courts, he opined that the language used by the Supreme Court should be the language of the High Courts.

People had the right to criticise judgments but the judge who passed that verdict should not be criticised. If a judge was criticised, he became helpless when it came to responding to it.

"Judges cannot behave like politicians by organising public meetings to hit back at personal criticisms. If such a thing happens, it will be bad for the judicial structure."

All legislation should be subject to judicial scrutiny, as the Constitution was paramount in India, Mr. Justice Thomas said.

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