Review Article
Year: 2020 | Month: June | Volume: 7 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 414-429
Doctrine of Independence of Judiciary Vis-À-Vis Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010: A Critical Analysis
M. R. Sreenivasa Murthy1, K.Syamala2
1,2Associate Professor, National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
Corresponding Author: M. R. Sreenivasa Murthy
ABSTRACT
Doctrine of independence of judiciary is a struggle to maintain the impartiality and integrity of the institution to protect the constitutional values and perform the constitutional duties. Legislative and executive interference into the judicial independence is expected to affect the checks and balances. After a long-standing debate about appointment of judges and independence of judiciary, the next is about the codification of enforceable judicial standards through legislative framework i.e., the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010. The effort of making judiciary liable to public directly by way of creating locus standi for any person to lodge complaint before the investigative mechanism involved non-judicial members is considered as a blow upon the independence of judiciary. Providing meagre penalties against frivolous complaints and divulging confidential information by the persons involved in the complaint process is raising doubts about the intention of the legislators. The recent incidence of Andhra Pradesh ruling party persons alleging the judges of High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Supreme Court of India for ruling against the State Government’s decision against painting party colours on government buildings, shows the intent of the political sympathizers about pressure building by attributing motives, caste and corruption through uncivilized comments on social media. This article attempts to inquire into the possible impact on the doctrine of independence of judiciary, if the legislature brings up the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 and then to explore the alternatives to enforce the judicial standards to ensure the independence, impartiality and integrity within the system.
Keywords: Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2012, Doctrine of Independence of Judiciary, judicial independence, impartiality and integrity
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