Report on Punjab, Haryana judges submitted

NEW DELHI: A three-judge committee, probing the alleged corruption charges against three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India, Justice G B Pattanaik on Sunday.
Justice Pattanaik is likely to decide the action to be taken against the three HC judges soon, sources said.
The probe committee comprised Andhra Pradesh HC chief justice A R Lakshmanan, Madras HC chief justice B Subhashan Reddy and Justice Satchidanand Jha of the Patna HC.They had examined the three Punjab and Haryana HC judges — Justice Amarbir Singh Gill, Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice M L Singhal.
The probe against them was initiated by Justice Pattanaik on the basis of a report from the HC chief justice, Justice A B Saharya, given to then Chief Justice of India B N Kirpal.
Meanwhile, another probe panel, appointed by Justice Pattanaik to probe the alleged involvement of three Karnataka HC judges in a sex scandal, is likely to issue summons to the judges concerned. The three Karnataka judges are: Justice N S Veerabhadriah, Justice Chandrasekhariah and Justice V Gopalagowda.
The probe committee against them comprises Bombay HC chief justice C K Thakkar, Kerala HC chief justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and a senior judge of the Orissa HC, Justice A K Patnaik. Anguished at the reports of alleged misconduct by judges in the Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana and Rajasthan HC, Supreme Court Bar Association president R K Jain said: ‘‘Such incidents tarnish the fair image of the judiciary.’’