'I was not the one who was approached; why should I quit NHRC'

With a series of cases of gross professional impropriety surfacing against former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, his continuation as the chief of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has become untenable. A day after Firstpost revealed that KGB was “approachable”, many in the legal community have asked him to quit his NHRC post and come clean on the allegations.

Justice PK Shamsuddin, retired justice of the Kerala High Court, had said that he was approached by a Bangalore-based person to reach Balakrishnan’s son or son-in-law in connection with a case pending in Supreme Court. While Shamsuddin refused to name the person, his claim has raised questions on whether cases could be fixed during the tenure of Balakrishnan.

“I am of the view that a detailed and comprehensive inquiry must be initiated against all the allegations against Justice Balakrishnan. I feel he should resign as the NHRC chief and establish that he is innocent. All judges have a moral obligation to ensure that relatives do not misuse their position and use their names in illegal and dubious matters,” Shamsuddin had told Firstpost.

Former Justice of the Delhi High Court RS Sodhi, speaking to CNN-IBN, sought a probe into the allegation and wanted the NHRC chief to quit his post and face a probe. Others in the legal fraternity accused the government of protecting him. Some others stressed on making the impeachment process simpler to deal with such cases.

Former Supreme Court Justice Krishna Iyer said, “There should be a commission to investigate Balakrishnan and his family.”

However, KG Balakrishnan, says the charges are baseless. “Somebody approached him (Shamsuddin), not approached me or my son-in-law or any relative… Then he must say who approached him and which case disposed by me was this related to…  there is no allegation against ‘me’. If somebody approached Shamsuddin, why should I resign from NHRC,” he said.

The country’s first Dalit chief justice and his relatives are under scanner for amassing wealth grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income. The Firtspost interview had also revealed how dabbling in politics had led Balakrishnan into corrupt ways.

KG Balakrishnan reacts: