More than 1,000 advocates of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have sought the intervention of President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to make public the report on PPSC scam that former HC Chief Justice Arun B. Saharya had sent to Chief Justice of India Justice B.N. Kirpal, who had promised to act on it.Hoping that Justice Kirpal would initiate action before his retirement on November 8, the memorandum signed by the 1,000-odd lawyers led by Tahar Singh states that the inquiry conducted by Saharya had confirmed the alleged involvement of three judges in the cash-for-job-scam.And now action should be initiated against them as per the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court. Citing the President’s efforts to make the general polls more meaningful following the May 2, 2002 judgment, the lawyers hoped that he would also take the initiative of making elevation to the bench more purposeful.The advocates further said the close relatives of judges should not be allowed to practice law in the same courts in order to make the judicial set-up more accountable.Referring to the observation made by former CJI Justice Bharucha that at least 25 per cent of the lower judiciary is corrupt, the advocates said corruption was abetted by the opportunity granted to subordinate judicial officers to resign or retire prematurely before completion of any inquiry against them. Later, they get licences to practice in High Courts, or even the Supreme Court.Speaking to The Express, Tahar Singh, who led this campaign, expressed the hope that the CJI would act on the report since he had himself asked Justice Saharya to inquire into the allegations against the judges in the PPSC scam.
