New Delhi, Nov 26: As demands for judicial accountability continue to grow, Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia today said if any judge is believed to be corrupt he should be named in public but putting all judges in "one basket" should be avoided.
 Justice Kapadia said the entire judicial system cannot be brought to disrepute because of few erring judges.
 "If you feel that a judge is corrupt then take a stand and name him in public and tell the Chief Justice instead of making a generalisation.
 But do not put all judges in one basket. Do not bring the entire judiciary in disrepute. Please do not dismantle the established system and institution unless and until you have something better to offer," Justice Kapadia said on the occasion of the Law Day celebration here.
 The CJI said anybody coming out with allegations against any member of the the judiciary should keep in mind that they have solid material to back it instead of painting everyone with the same brush.
 "We do not mind studied and fair criticism but attempt should not be made to generalise the wrong doings by few," he added.
 Kapadia stressed the need for uplifting the integrity, excellence and competence of the judiciary, saying this would enable them to maintain the confidence and trust of the people.
 "People have faith in judges and because of the wisdom of judges they rely in judiciary," he said, adding the integrity of the judges is more important than the accountability.
 "If judges are of integrity, they will not worry on accountability and the Judicial Accountability Bill," he said.
 He said he wanted to put the record straight and gave the figure of 56,383 the number of cases pending in the Supreme Court till November 1 this year.
 Kapadia said arrears in High Courts and subordinate courts are to the tune of 3.19 crore of which 74 per cent of the cases are less than five years old.
 He said awareness of rights have gone up and the nature of litigations particularly the PILs have undergone complete change which required a careful handling as the consequences of the judicial orders have far reaching consequences.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST