"Training is important to sensitise judges and to make them more accountable."

Professor Madhava Menon spoke about the importance of training for any law graduate who wishes to become a judge. The National Judicial Academy in Bhopal, which Professor Menon was instrumental in setting up, aims at imparting such training. This training in turn, enables judges to be sensitised, more accountable and aware of the integrity they hold towards the judicial office. At the National Judicial Academy a one-year training programme is offered."

When asked about the accountability of superior court judges, Professor Menon was quick to reply that many of them have not been keeping judicial ethics as is expected and hence we see the process of impeachment being initiated against some of them. He also said that we could not allow a few judges to tarnish the image of the Indian judiciary.

"Accountability has to be tightly enforced", said Professor Menon. The judges should ideally be doing this on their own and if not, it must come from outside. The Judicial Enquiry and Accountability Bill has provisions short of impeachment to discipline judges. Compulsory retirement, issuing warnings, transferring judges and even asking them to retire, are some of the intermediate measures that the bill proposes to take to bring about discipline and order within the judiciary. The code of ethics that was adopted unanimously during Justice Verma's period has not been upheld by many of the judges and hence the need for the new bill, he said.

"I am sure that this a minor aberration and we need not tarnish the entire judiciary for these aberrations", he said.

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• Professor Madhava Menon
• National Judicial Academy
• judicial accountability
• transfer of judges
• impeachment