‘Balakrishnan tarnished image of judiciary’

The stubbornness with which Justice K.G Balakrishnan, who retired as Chief Justice of India last month, opposed the implementation of the Right to Information in the judiciary has damaged the image of the institution, according to rebellious judge D.V. Shylendra Kumar.

The stubbornness with which Justice K.G Balakrishnan, who retired as Chief Justice of India last month, opposed the implementation of the Right to Information in the judiciary has damaged the image of the institution, according to rebellious judge D.V. Shylendra Kumar.

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In one of the strongest attacks by any judge across the country on Justice Balakrishnan, who is set to take over as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chief on Monday, Justice Kumar held him responsible for further eroding the faith of the people in the judiciary.

“Justice Balakrishnan, in an adamant manner, not only refused to divulge information on the functioning of the Supreme Court on the administrative side, but also tried to stonewall the judicial opinion expressed by the Delhi High Court in holding it (SC) amenable to part with information under RTI,” he wrote on his blog.

“This stubborn attitude greatly damaged the image of judiciary in the country, and the already eroding faith and confidence of the people in the judicial system only got further reduced in the wake of such an attitude on the part of the former CJI,” Justice Kumar wrote.

The only active blogger judge in the country’s higher judiciary, Kumar, in an open letter to the country’s citizens, has also taken a dig at Supreme Court judges, saying the top court of India is one of the most powerful in the world but not necessarily correct.

Known for voicing his views on transparency in the higher judiciary, Kumar has questioned the two-month delay by Supreme Court judges in declaring their assets after making announcing their decision.

The judge wanted to know if Justice Balakrishnan had the details of judges’ assets since 1997, when the judges of the top court passed a resolution to do so, and what prevented him from making these public the day after the announcement.