JD(U) to raise CJ Y K Sabharwal issue during winter session

New Delhi, Nov 1 (UNI) The Janata Dal (United) today said it would raise the issue of allegations against former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament as it wanted a CBI inquiry into the charges.

Party President Sharad Yadav, while speaking to mediapersons today, said it was ''strange'' that the judiciary had adopted different parameters in its own cases and was maintaining silence on the issue.

'' Even the UPA Government is maintaining silence on this issue for reasons best known to them, '' he said.

He said it was expected that the Supreme Court would take up the case on a suo motu basis for maintaining a clean image of the apex court.

He said by not doing so, the apex court had left the field open for procrastination on this important matter which concerned the credibility of the entire judiciary of the world's largest democracy.

Mr Yadav also accused the UPA Government of adopting a ''go-slow approach'' towards the Judges (Inquiry) Bill, 2006, which was introduced in Parliament in December last year, and said no efforts had so far been made to build a consensus on this bill to get it passed at the earliest.

Mr Yadav said some of the top jurists of the country, including atleast five former Chief Justices, were supporting the demand for an inquiry to keep the judiciary's image intact.

He appealed to leaders of all political parties to stress for a structured debate on the matter in Parliament to be able to force the UPA Government to initiate an inquiry against Justice Sabharwal as some of the orders passed by him in his capacity as the judge of the Supreme Court and also as the Chief Justice have affected the livelihood of lakhs of people.

Responding to questions on political developments in Karnataka, Mr Yadav said the Governor was competent enough to take a decision in this matter and the Government should allow the installation of the BJP-JD(S) Government without any further delay.

In the politics of democracy, it is the number which matters and beyond this, nobody is competent enough to speak on other issues, he said.

On the question of the alleged thrashing of journalists by his party MLA in Bihar, Mr Yadav maintained that the law should take its own course and avoided any reply on what action the party would take.

Responding to another question on the Indo-US Nuclear deal, he said by this time it was amply clear that the deal was highly tilted in favour of the US and that was the reason they were sending their representatives for lobbying in India in favour of the deal.

He said the JD(U) was in favour of a debate on this and the issue of whether to ask for a vote or not would be adjudged at that point of time only.

UNI