Ahmedabad, April 22: SPEAKING at a convention of delegates from the Indian Association of Lawyers on Sunday, former judge of Gujarat High Court Justice B J Sethna said corruption had started raising its ugly head even in the judiciary of our country. He went on to say that earlier there were ways to keep tabs on judiciary but unfortunately today there are none and the ratio of people misusing the judiciary has only been escalating.

Talking about the dismal situation he said, “Sometimes there are cases wherein two benches of judges take contradictory decisions in a case which only leads to confusion. There are also times when one judge remains common in both benches and the judges end up questioning the judgement and saying they will not follow it. This is a serious issue and must be considered.”

Discussing his transfer to the Sikkim High Court awarded to him by the Supreme Court, he said, “I want to know why was there no formal enquiry conducted against me, was it not the duty of the government to do so?” Sethna also said SC did not take his consent or the Chief Justice of Sikkim’s in the matter even though its mandatory.

Discussing the reservation issue in the country, he said, “Reservation is being implemented everywhere these days so why leave out the judiciary?” He also praised Lok Adalats for their quick disposal of cases. He said, “The highest cost of fighting a case in Bihar is Rs 853 while in Gujarat its merely 64 paise, which is affordable.”

He raised fingers at the media for highlighting the his scuffle with Justice PB Majumdar by Sethna on January 11. He said, “Many people in the media are playing into the hands of a few.”