New Delhi: Flagging concerns about the judiciary, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday claimed there was "rampant corruption" in the state of jurisprudence in the country so much so that he has heard “many lawyers draft the judgment and take them to court and the same judgment is then delivered”, news agency PTI reported.
Speaking to the media, Gehlot said, “Corruption is rampant in the judiciary today. I have heard that some lawyers themselves take the judgment in writing and the same judgment is pronounced. What is happening in the judiciary? Be it lower or upper (court), things are serious and people should think about it.”
His remarks came on the sidelines of an event in Jaipur.
Claiming that the democracy was “under threat” under the BJP's rule, CM Gehlot said central agencies such as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department get directions from the top and they conduct raids without making prior assessments.
He further said that a chief minister of a state recommending the appointment of a high court was nothing new but he alleged that now, the recommendation has translated into interference in the legal rulings.
“We have been MPs and Union Ministers too. There have been recommendations from our end. We must have helped appoint many judges to the high court. But once they became judges, I would never speak to them over legal matters for the rest of my life. I have my own approach,” CM Gehlot further said.
Gehlot also supported the allegation of BJP leader Kailash Meghwal who accused Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal of being “corrupt number one" at a recent public rally, PTI reported.
“We are getting the allegations probed. I have come to know that there was a lot of corruption during his (Arjun Ram Meghwal) time,” PTI quoted the Rajasthan Chief Minister as saying.
It is to be noted that earlier last month, CM Gehlot was summoned by Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court in a defamation complaint filed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.