Govt acts tough, to bring Bill on judicial transparency

In a bid to ensure transparency in the functioning of the judiciary, the Government on Wednesday proposed to set up a National Judicial Council to probe complaints against judges of higher judiciary. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to introduce the Judges (inquiry) Amendment Bill, 2008 in Parliament. The bill seeks to establish a National Judicial Council with powers to investigate complaints against the judges of higher judiciary and recommend suitable action after following the prescribed procedure, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after the meeting.