Cabinet clears amendments to judicial accountability Bill

The Indian Express had reported earlier this month that the government had moved a cabinet note to this end. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill has been already cleared by the Lok Sabha in March 2012 and is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The Cabinet note states it was decided to remove the provision  since it would be “very difficult to define and determine what comment or observation would be warranted or unwarranted, and may consequently generate unnecessary controversy”. It also argues that it would be “appropriate to abide by the ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ which represent universally accepted norms, guidelines and conventions reflecting the high values of judicial life, and which has already been adopted by the Judiciary”.

The inclusion of the controversial clause had come against the backdrop of remarks against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet during the hearings of alleged scam cases. In 2011, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had recommended that the Bill have a provision for judges to restrain themselves from making “unwarranted comments on Constitutional functionaries”. Following this, the provision was inserted in the Bill and it is that version of the Bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha.

The Cabinet note cleared on Wednesday also sought to correct the omission of the explanation of “relative” by incorporating it in the schedule of the Bill.