Justice Katju drops a bombshell

New Delhi: The Press Council of India Chairman and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, has made shocking allegations of corruption in the judiciary. Katju has alleged that a District Judge in Tamil Nadu was elevated to an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court despite charges of corruption against him.

Katju has alleged that the tainted judge had been directly appointed as a District Judge in Tamil Nadu and during his career as the district judge, there were as many as eight adverse entries against him recorded by various portfolio judges of the Madras High Court.

Katju has alleged that one acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, by a single stroke of his pen, deleted all those adverse entries and consequently he became an Additional Judge of the High Court. He has said that the corrupt judge had solid support of a very important political leader of Tamil Nadu.

This was when UPA was in power with DMK, its ally, in power in Tamil Nadu. “This is a glaring example of political interference in the appointment of judges,” Katju said.

Katju has also alleges that the former Chief Justices of India allowed the tainted judge to continue despite complaints against him. Katju has said that as a judge was elevated to the High Court while being a District Judge, he had granted bail to that political leader.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Katju said, “I got information when I was the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court about the corruption of this judge. I wanted the Chief Justice to do an IB inquiry. I got a call from the CJI that the chargers were correct. After this two-year term as Additional Judge, he should not have got extension.”

When asked why he has come up with the allegations now, Katju said, “Better late than never. It is not important if I have disclosed this now. What is important is that the information is correct.”