The Uncle Judges syndrome has hit again, with the Supreme Court observing that something terribly wrong is taking place in the name of justice at the Allahabad High Court..The Uncle Judges syndrome has hit again, with the Supreme Court observing that something terribly wrong is taking place in the name of justice at the Allahabad High Court..The Hindu reports that a Supreme Court Bench on November 26, comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra said, “something is rotten in the Allahabad High Court and the High Court really needs some house cleaning”. This in turn has led to an outburst of complaints from all the State level lawyers, including citizens who have faced the wrath of the “Uncle Judges”. Copies of the Supreme Court order have been sent to all High Courts..The Telegraph reports that the State Bar Councils are organizing meetings to write to the Chief Justice to seek transfer of judges, who have relatives and kith and kin practicing in the same High Court as the judges themselves. Bihar was quoted as one of the examples of the Uncle Judges syndrome, with eight judges and twelve advocates against whom complaints have been received..Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh too are reacting with similar complaints to the Chief Justice of India (CJI)..According to media reports the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council representative Chief Vinod Bhardwaj said, “the Bar Council has already written this year to the CJI about half-a-dozen judges and their relatives. We plan to move a fresh petition to the CJI..Uttar Pradesh Bar Council Chairperson Arun Kumar Tripathi has stated an emergency meeting has been called next week to move a resolution. He added on to say, “We want to work with the court administration to restore the dignity of High Courts by stripping some advocates of the undesirable power they wield thanks to their family ties with some Allahabad High Court judges. However, we know that not all the relatives are taking advantage of the uncle judges..Same is the story with the Lucknow Bench, where twenty of its judges have some relative or cousin practicing in front of the Uncle Judges..The Law Commission in its report last year had stated that, as a matter of practice, a person who has worked as a District Judge or has practiced as a lawyer in a High Court for many years is appointed as a judge, he is bound to have colleagues and kith and kin there. Even in Government services, particularly, Class II and upwards, officers are not given postings in their home districts. In the same way, judges whose kith and kin are practicing in a High Court should not be posted there. This will eliminate uncle judges..The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, has made a specific reference to address the issue of ‘uncle judges’. “No judge shall permit any member of his immediate family (including spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law or any other close relative) who is a member of the bar to appear before him or be associated in any manner with any case to be dealt by the judge,” states Section 3 of the bill..Further the definition of close relative includes brother or sister of the judge, brother or sister of the spouse of the judge and brother or sister of either of the parents of the judge, according to the proposed law. It also debars any practicing lawyer who falls in the family and relative category of the judge to use his residence “for their professional work..Bar & Bench had previously reported of Punjab & Haryana High Court sending the lists of Uncle Judges to the Ministry of Law and Justice along with lists from Delhi, Bombay and Rajasthan High Courts..A mass judicial transfer of judges took place by the CJI in public interest in the months of September and again in October, with some judges who had been transferred because of their linkage to their relatives practicing in the same courts as them..The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 is waiting for its approval. In October, Minister of Law and Justice Veerappa Moily said, “the Judges Accountability law will hopefully be passed in the winter session”.. (picture source: longislandbankruptcy blog)
The Uncle Judges syndrome has hit again, with the Supreme Court observing that something terribly wrong is taking place in the name of justice at the Allahabad High Court..The Uncle Judges syndrome has hit again, with the Supreme Court observing that something terribly wrong is taking place in the name of justice at the Allahabad High Court..The Hindu reports that a Supreme Court Bench on November 26, comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra said, “something is rotten in the Allahabad High Court and the High Court really needs some house cleaning”. This in turn has led to an outburst of complaints from all the State level lawyers, including citizens who have faced the wrath of the “Uncle Judges”. Copies of the Supreme Court order have been sent to all High Courts..The Telegraph reports that the State Bar Councils are organizing meetings to write to the Chief Justice to seek transfer of judges, who have relatives and kith and kin practicing in the same High Court as the judges themselves. Bihar was quoted as one of the examples of the Uncle Judges syndrome, with eight judges and twelve advocates against whom complaints have been received..Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh too are reacting with similar complaints to the Chief Justice of India (CJI)..According to media reports the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council representative Chief Vinod Bhardwaj said, “the Bar Council has already written this year to the CJI about half-a-dozen judges and their relatives. We plan to move a fresh petition to the CJI..Uttar Pradesh Bar Council Chairperson Arun Kumar Tripathi has stated an emergency meeting has been called next week to move a resolution. He added on to say, “We want to work with the court administration to restore the dignity of High Courts by stripping some advocates of the undesirable power they wield thanks to their family ties with some Allahabad High Court judges. However, we know that not all the relatives are taking advantage of the uncle judges..Same is the story with the Lucknow Bench, where twenty of its judges have some relative or cousin practicing in front of the Uncle Judges..The Law Commission in its report last year had stated that, as a matter of practice, a person who has worked as a District Judge or has practiced as a lawyer in a High Court for many years is appointed as a judge, he is bound to have colleagues and kith and kin there. Even in Government services, particularly, Class II and upwards, officers are not given postings in their home districts. In the same way, judges whose kith and kin are practicing in a High Court should not be posted there. This will eliminate uncle judges..The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, has made a specific reference to address the issue of ‘uncle judges’. “No judge shall permit any member of his immediate family (including spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law or any other close relative) who is a member of the bar to appear before him or be associated in any manner with any case to be dealt by the judge,” states Section 3 of the bill..Further the definition of close relative includes brother or sister of the judge, brother or sister of the spouse of the judge and brother or sister of either of the parents of the judge, according to the proposed law. It also debars any practicing lawyer who falls in the family and relative category of the judge to use his residence “for their professional work..Bar & Bench had previously reported of Punjab & Haryana High Court sending the lists of Uncle Judges to the Ministry of Law and Justice along with lists from Delhi, Bombay and Rajasthan High Courts..A mass judicial transfer of judges took place by the CJI in public interest in the months of September and again in October, with some judges who had been transferred because of their linkage to their relatives practicing in the same courts as them..The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 is waiting for its approval. In October, Minister of Law and Justice Veerappa Moily said, “the Judges Accountability law will hopefully be passed in the winter session”.. (picture source: longislandbankruptcy blog)
