Pledging "zero-tolerance" against corruption, Chief Justice of India YK Sabharwal on Saturday promised to come down heavily on "unscrupulous elements" in the judiciary and weed out the "deadwood".
"The topic of corruption is a burning issue in all spheres of public life. The judiciary is committed to continue cleansing itself by coming down with a heavy hand on unscrupulous elements that may exist within, and also by removing the deadwood," he said.
He was speaking at the conference of Chief Justices and Chief Ministers here.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his speech, raised the issue of corruption and the need to eliminate it as part of judicial reforms.
He specifically asked the higher judiciary to address "instances of corruption" in the system.
According to the CJI, however, the main problem staring the judiciary in its face was that of mounting arrears as a result of delays in the justice delivery system.
The root of India's over-loaded judicial system lay in three causes: manpower shortage, infrastructural constraints and procedural delays, he said.
"The growing feeling of disillusionment and frustration amongst litigants on account of delayed justice looms large as a threat of erosion of confidence of the people," he said.
The problem of pendency of cases could be dealt with by increasing the Judge-population ratio, providing financial autonomy to High Courts and introducing legal reforms, among other things, he said.
{{/usCountry}}The problem of pendency of cases could be dealt with by increasing the Judge-population ratio, providing financial autonomy to High Courts and introducing legal reforms, among other things, he said.
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