Most judges honest: CJI

The Chief Justice of India denies there is widespread corruption in the higher judiciary, reports Shekar Iyer.

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has denied there is widespread corruption in the higher judiciary. Only a few judges face charges of impropriety, Justice KG Balakrishnan has said in a TV interview.

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Asked how he responded to statements by former Chief Justice SP Bharucha that perhaps 20 per cent of judges were corrupt, and surveys by Transparency International that showed 63 per cent of India perceived the judiciary as being corrupt, the CJI said: "I don’t agree that there is so much percentage of corruption amongst the sitting judges… Only against a handful of judges, there are allegations."

The CJI rejected accusations, made by politicians, of judicial over-activism with regard to legislation. He re-asserted the right of the courts to review laws passed by parliament.

"We are aware of the Keshavanand Bharti decision. The basic structure of Constitution cannot be amended," he told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN.