Records show ex-CJI K G Balakrishnan's son-in-law owns property worth lakhs and beyond his known source of income
Thiruvananthapuram: Retired Supreme Court judge V R Krishna Iyer on Monday said a judicial panel should probe the alleged amassing of wealth by K G Balakrishnan, former chief justice of India and present chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.
Reacting to a Malayalam TV channel report that Balakrishnan's son-in-law and Youth Congress leader advocate P V Sreenijan had accumulated property worth crores of rupees which is beyond his known source of income, Iyer said the allegations were an insult to the judiciary.
"When Balakrishnan became the chief justice of India, I had termed it as the emergence of Balakrishnan era. Now, I realise that I was wrong. It is shame to identify me as a former judge, while hearing the allegations against several former judges. A three-member panel of judges should look into the allegation. If the charges are proved, the guilty should be punished," said Iyer.
Sreenijan had unsuccessfully contested as a Congress candidate from a constituency in Ernakulam district in the 2006 Assembly polls.
However, in an affidavit given to the Income Tax Department in 2008, Sreenijan had put his income at Rs 25 lakh and that of his wife at Rs 15 lakh. The report said that during the period the couple had purchased prime land and posh flats in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. The properties were registered for much lower than prevailing market rates. He had bought 2.5 acres of land in Thrissur in 2008. A resort is coming up in that riverside property.
Sreenijan has refused to comment on the allegations.
CPM's youth outfit DYFI has come out against Balakrishnan and his family. Its state president T V Rajesh said a detailed probe should be conducted to bring out how Sreenijan has been able to accumulate so much wealth since 2006 and how he had misused his influence in judiciary and government.
Source: The Indian Express