Hyderabad: Corruption in the judiciary has increased with bribes being demanded to get the next hearing date of choice and to attain a copy of the order. The total amount of bribe estimated to have been paid in one year across India is Rs 534 crore, says CMS (India corruption study, 2018)
An estimate (data collection from courts across 13 states) reveals that Rs 220 crore was paid to get a suitable date for a hearing and Rs 314 was paid as a bribe to attain a copy of the order. Experts from the judicial field say one of the main reasons for corruption in the judiciary is huge pendency of cases in Indian courts. At present, more than 30 million cases are pending in courts across India.
According to Transparency International, judicial corruption can be attributed to the shortage of judges and the complex judicial procedure.
Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge S. Radhakrishna Murthy and two advocates were arrested by the ACB for accepting Rs 7.5 lakh bribe for granting bail.
ACB raids unearthed Rs 3.57 crore in unaccounted wealth from Hyderabad Labour Court presiding judge Mallampati Gandhi. Both judicial officers have been arrested and are under remand. Corruption is rampant in the lower courts, and some have alleged that it has reached the highest levels too. A senior judge who didn't want to be named said, “India has the world's largest backlog of cases. A weak infrastructure, chronic judicial vacancies, manual processes, a weak law and order enforcement system, delayed judgments, etc have been major contributors to corruption in judiciary.”
