Justice Katju's revelation today about how a reputedly corrupt judge came to be appointed in the Chennai High Court, once again highlights the serious problems with the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. He has pointed out from firsthand insider knowledge that, despite full knowledge about the dubious reputation of the person concerned, he still came to be appointed by the Supreme Court collegium because he was a favourite of the DMK party, since he had granted bail to its Supremo Karunanidhi. Some of the judges involved in the collegium which participated in his appointment such as chief Justices Sabharwal and Balakrishnan have themselves have been at the centre of very serious allegations of corruption.