Come clean, Mr Balakrishnan

Former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan must be an incredible man. His ability to land in controversies is amazing but the more astounding part about him is his ability to maintain a straight face despite so much muck being flung at him.  Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion, goes the saying. It’s intriguing why Balakrishnan should not make efforts to come clean.

In the two days after former justice of the Kerala High Court, Shamsuddin, hinted at Balakrishnan being approachable for fixing of cases, the former CJI has not reacted with great indignation. It’s  justice Shamsuddin who was approached, he is the one who should be probed, he said.

“He (Shamsuddin) must say who approached him. He must say in which case I favoured anybody in any case… Somebody approached Shamsuddin so why should I resign,” he said. He was responding to the demand from the senior members of the legal fraternity seeking his resignation as the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and face a probe.

While Shamsuddin has done no great justice to himself or anybody by not revealing more on the person who approached him, Balakrishnan does not look any better by not offering himself to probe. He has to come clean for the sake of the “majesty of the law’’ and the dignity of the judiciary.

“Considering the number of cases in the country and the number of judges, the instances of corruption in the judiciary are minuscule,’’ he had said in an interview earlier. But the fact that he would be suspected to be part of that minuscule is disconcerting.

“ Corruption is identified with any person or institution who misuses the power and discretion conferred on the same. Ordinary citizens face unnecessary problems in their routine interactions with governmental agencies. Practices such as the acceptance of favours or misappropriation of public funds have actually come to be described as ‘perks’ of holding public office and employment…

The long-term solution (to corruption) lies in the realm of education at all levels — whereby the importance of personal integrity and the spirit of public service will be imbibed in our citizens. Such an education has to take place not only in classrooms but in a variety of social settings — namely, the family, the workplace and the public discourse shaped by the mass media..’’

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Balakrishnan had said in his keynote address at a national summit organised by the Foundation for Restoration of National Values last year.

Ironically, it is the family which has proved to be the former CJI’s undoing.

The charges against him are just too many to be ignored. VR Krishna Iyer , former Supreme Court judge, said recently that a former judge of the Kerala High Court had requested him not to write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the subject of the family members of Balakrishnan amassing wealth disproportionate to their sources of income.

“I think he should face inquiry… I had demanded a commission of inquiry, not merely against Balakrishnan but also against his family members — brother, son, sons-in-law, daughters,” Iyer said. He, however, has put on hold the letter to the prime minister. Senior lawyer Fali S Nariman has also backed Iyer’s demand for an investigation into the assets of the former CJI and family members.

At present, t he Income Tax department is probing how the assets of Balakrishnan’s son-in-law PV Sreenijan multiplied from Rs 25,000 to crore during his tenure as the CJI. Sreejan had to resign from the Youth Congress after allegations that he had built assets grossly disproportionate to his income as a lawyer.

Balakrishnan’s brother KG Bhaskaran, a former special government pleader in the Kerala High Court, is under scrutiny for his land dealings. The former CJI was in controversy for being reluctant to part with details on his income between 2005-2006 and 2009-10 sought by an RTI activist.

He was seen to be a staunch backer of PD Dinakaran, the controversial former chief justice of the Karnataka who had amassed property disproportionate to his sources of income. Balakrishnan had cleared his elevation to the Supreme Court despite so many allegations of corruption against him. He is also believed to have played a dubious role in the infamous case where Union minister A Raja made a call to a judge of the Madras High Court seeking to influence a judge.

Balakrishnan has the ability to wriggle through tough situations, but that ultimately serves no purpose. He has to convince the country that he is clean.