Law

SC rejects petition on alleged judges bribery scam, calls it ‘contemptuous’, reprimands lawyer who filed petition

A Supreme Court bench rejected on Tuesday a petition seeking a court-monitored investigation into an alleged bribery racket that is said to have attempted to sway members of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court said that the CBI’s inquiry into alleged bribe-taking by judges is sufficient and there is no need for it to order a team to investigate the matter.

Three judges today who heard the case said that the petition that sought a Special Investigation Team or SIT to study alleged judicial corruption made allegations against judges that were not based in fact.

The petition was seen to have divided members of the top court last week, when a constitutional bench passed a ruling saying only the chief justice was authorised to assign cases — overturning a fellow judge’s order that would have sent the petition to a 5-judge bench.

The petition was filed by lawyer Kamini Jaiswal. Arguing on her behalf, Prashant Bhushan said that the CBI could not be counted on for a fair inquiry because it is susceptible to pressure from the government and other authorities.

Mr Bhushan drew strong reproach from the court yesterday for linking the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, to the CBI’s inquiry.

According to the investigation being carried out by the CBI, Lucknow-based Prasad Education Trust allegedly paid money to middlemen who promised to secure a favourable ruling regarding its medical college licences.

The trust’s colleges had been banned from admitting students by the Union health ministry, a ban against which it went to court.

Retired Orissa high court judge Ishrat Masroor Quddusi is one of the key accused.

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