CHENNAI: “None can deny that there is corruption in the judiciary. There were and are corrupt judges,” said Madras high court, adding: “Judges need not be treated as holy cows.” Corruption within the judiciary could not be denied, said a vacation bench and referred to past public remarks by former Chief Justice of India S P Bharucha as well as Supreme Court rulings acknowledging judicial corruption. The higher judiciary regularly acts against “black sheep” within the system, it added. The court made the observations while defending free speech and artistic freedom in a judgment concerning Tamil film ‘Karuppu’. While the division comprising judges G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan binned the plea seeking ban on the Suriya-starrer last week, the detailed order published on Wednesday said criticism of the judiciary could not be suppressed merely because it was unpleasant or uncomfortable. “Justice is not a cloistered virtue; she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respect even through outspoken comments of ordinary men,” the judges said. Observing that cinema and satire inherently employ exaggeration, the bench stressed that filmmakers are entitled to artistic licence and that freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution protects even unpopular or offensive speech.The judges further said courts and judges should be open to public criticism and debate, citing several Supreme Court rulings and foreign precedents on free speech. “Judges are not above criticism,” the bench said, adding that democratic discourse should remain “uninhibited, robust and wide open”. The bench also took note of the fact that the Central Board of Film Certification had cleared the film for release and said high court would not substitute its opinion for that of the statutory expert body.
