Complaints against Balakrishnan made public

The Prime Minister's Office has made public the large number of complaints received by it, including those from two MPs and veteran jurist VR Krishna Iyer, demanding removal of the former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan from the post of NHRC chief on charges of corruption. Nagendar Sharma reports.

The Prime Minister's Office has made public the large number of complaints received by it, including those from two MPs and veteran jurist VR Krishna Iyer, demanding removal of the former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan from the post of NHRC chief on charges of corruption.

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During the first five months of this year, at least 15 complaints filed against Justice Balakrishnan have been received by the PMO, according to a RTI reply given to Delhi-based activist, Subhash Chandra Agrawal.

The complaints have been sent to the department of justice, the specialised arm of the law ministry which deals with all issues related to the judges, the PMO stated in the reply.

Iyer, a former Supreme Court judge, in a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister in February, slammed Justice Balakrishnan, calling him "unparalleled in the judicial world."

The 96 year-old Iyer wrote: "Inspite of the fact that worst has been said about the highest judicial office occupied ignominiously by Balakrishnan, who not only is said to have amassed a corrupt fortune, he is neither resigning from NHRC no agreeing for a probe."

This followed a letter from Janata Dal (United) Lok Sabha MP, Jainarayan Prasad Nishad on March 14 to the PM on corruption in judiciary. "To our great shock, Justice KG Balakrishnan was allegedly caught involved in multiple judicial scams..."

Nishad's complaint also names two sitting SC judges, whom he alleged "have connived with Justice Balakrishnan in different matters."

A letter by BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, Purshottam Rupala, written to law minister M Veerappa Moily has also been forwarded to the PMO. Rupala has referred to "rampant corruption in higher judiciary," which according to him peaked during Justice Balakrishnan tenure as the CJI.

An organisation of lawyers and former judges — Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform, in a detailed complaint to the PM, cited six grounds seeking Justice Balakrishnan's removal from the NHRC post.