NEW DELHI: At a time when several Supreme Court judges have expressed surprise over suspect listing of cases before particular benches, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has decided to draft in senior superintendents of police (SSPs) and SPs from the CBI and Delhi police to keep a strict vigil on staff to prevent wrongdoing and investigate corruption in the SC registry .This will be the first time in the SC’s history that police officers will be part of the registry on deputation and will hold ranks like additional registrar, deputy registrar, branch officers and senior court assistants to keep a watch on the lawyer-staff nexus, which has been pointed out by judges on some occasions.“SSPs, SPs and inspectors of police, who will come on deputation, will act as a layer between the Supreme Court and different investigating agencies. They will look after vigilance work like verification of antecedents of employees, both existing and those inducted in future. These officers will also look after investigative work in case of criminal complaints against registry staff,” an official source told TOI.The SC has a vigilance department but it was seldom put to use in case of alleged malpractice in listing of high-stake matters before particular benches. The need for revamp of the vigilance department and giving it a professional outlook arose when it was found that two court staff had changed the order of an SC bench to purportedly attempt to save industrialist Anil Ambani from appearing personally before the bench in a contempt case. Both the staffers were dismissed by the CJI after Justice R F Nariman complained against them.Moreover, when a young lawyer filed an affidavit alleging that fixers and middlemen were having a field day in the SC for listing of cases in breach of the roster allocation and as per the desire of certain litigants and their lawyers, the SC appointed Justice A K Patnaik as a one-man inquiry commission to probe whether there was wrongdoing in the registry. The SC had also asked the CBI, the IB and Delhi Police to render assistance to Justice Patnaik as and when needed.In addition to detecting black sheep among court staff to prevent malpractices, the police officers on deputation to the revamped SC vigilance cell “will undertake the job of detailed verification of character and antecedents of staff to be posted in important areas such as courts and residential offices of the judges for ensuring confidentiality and institutional integrity”, the source said.For efficient functioning of the administration, the CJI has also decided to create separate recruitment, HR management and training cells. “The recruitment cell shall be responsible for conduct of open competitive examinations for recruitment of staff to various posts, departmental examination for promotion, examination for the Advocates-on-Record and all matters incidental with the recruitment process. The HR management cell will cater to the need for better administration by working out efficient planning and deployment of manpower,” the source said.“Creation of a regular training cell will go a long way in improving knowledge and sharpening the skills of officers and staff which will increase their efficiency and ultimately reflect on the functioning of the registry. Improvement in professional competence and administrative skills of various functionaries will also generate confidence in litigants whose interest is of paramount concern,” the source added.