The Supreme Court on Monday raised a question mark on the credibility of subordinate courts saying there was 'complete' nexus between the magistrate and the lawyers in the 'cash-for-warrants' scam.
The scam relates to a magistrate in Ahmedabad issuing arrest warrants allegedly in lieu of money against President A P J Abdul Kalam and Chief Justice of India V N Khare.
After going through the second status report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, a bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S H Kapadia said the incident was an 'eye-opener' and that the 'cash-for-warrants' scam was not confined to Gujarat alone.
"The happening of the incident in Ahmedabad does not mean the malady is confined to Gujarat alone. It is happening all over India," the Chief Justice said.
Wanting to take immediate steps to 'break this nexus between lawyers and judiciary', Khare said he would convene an emergency meeting of all the Chief Justices of the high courts to establish an internal vigilance system on the judges.
Expressing helplessness to deal with such situations in his capacity as head of the judiciary, the Chief Justice lamented that the legislature has not conferred on him any power to take corrective action against judges.
"Give some power to the Chief Justice. What powers does the CJI have? Despite repeated requests nothing has been done. How do I control the situation and how much can be done to control such situations by passing orders on judicial side," he observed.