Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has expressed serious objections to the in-house judicial probe into the charges related to the reported finding of unexplained amounts of money at Justice Yashwant Varma's official house after a fire earlier this year.
Addressing an event for the launch of a book on Monday, Dhankhar objected to the in-house inquiry by a three-judge panel, claiming it is constitutionally invalid and not legally valid. He also asked why, even though the incident is of serious nature, no FIR has been registered.
"The people are waiting with bated breath… The money trail, its source, its purpose, did it corrupt the judicial system? Who are the bigger sharks? We need to know," Dhankhar said, emphasizing the need for a probe by official machinery.
The Vice-President stressed the urgency of legal action, pointing out that two months have lapsed since the event without any formal criminal procedure having been invoked. He was speaking when the book The Constitution We Adopted, edited by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, was released.
Dhankhar asked for an inquiry to be thorough and scientific, and said the matter has evoked widespread public anxiety. "Already two months have passed… inquiry needs to be (carried out expeditiously). So is the case with the filing of an FIR," he stated. Emphasizing transparency, he further said, "The truth must be uncovered."
The affair, which occurred in March at Justice Varma's house in Lutyens' Delhi, has caused controversy throughout the country. The reports revealed that there were charred currency notes at the scene of the blaze. Dhankhar lashed out at the fact that there was no criminal case in the issue, observing: "Our judge's house in Lutyens Delhi had burnt notes, cash haul, there is no FIR till date."
He also raised doubts over the applicability of the 1991 K Veeraswami judgment, which requires advance clearance to prosecute judges, and said that it established a "scaffolding of impunity" over the judiciary.
After the allegations, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna set up an in-house committee to probe the issue. While the report by the committee is said to have termed the charges as credible, Justice Varma, who has now been posted to Allahabad High Court, has refuted all allegations.
Dhankhar asserted that in a democracy, institutions and individuals need to be put under accountability and scrutiny in accordance with the rule of law. "Democracy needs to be defined mostly by three facets — expression, dialogue and accountability. When expression gets throttled, democracy gets weakened… The other perspective needs to be comprehended and so does accountability," he asserted.
He cautioned that protecting people or institutions from scrutiny erodes democracy itself: "The safest way to decompose a person or topple an institution is to keep it away from inquiry… And thus, if we must actually cultivate democracy…it is inevitable that we make every institution accountable and every individual accountable and in terms of law."
Repeating that he is speaking as one who respects the judiciary, Dhankhar stated, "I will not do anything which in the remotest form will compromise the dignity of the judiciary."
Referring to the fact that two incumbent Chief Justices were among the in-house inquiry team, he raised questions about the value of involving such senior judges in an inquiry process which, in his view, does not have the legal force. "Can in this country we afford to spend so much time at the expense of administrative work of the Chief Justice of a High Court, judicial work of the High Court?" he inquired.
While recognizing the handicaps suffered by the judiciary in the existing system, Dhankhar appealed to review the available mechanisms, especially those that have been created as a result of past judicial interpretations. "The Supreme Court did what it could, keeping in mind the prevailing mechanism… They want nothing but the whole truth to emerge," he added.
He voiced hope that reforms would be instituted to enhance transparency and accountability. "I am full of optimism and hope that your legacy issues that deters from responding to the sublimity of accountability and transparency will be overcome by revisitation."
Referring to former CJI Khanna, Dhankhar commended him for publishing key documents that promoted transparency within the judiciary. “That was a big step by him to project accountability and transparency… If democratic values have to prosper, I’m sure this is a test case.”
He called the Justice Varma incident typical of pervasive systemic problems. "The whole country was alarmed. Something happened on the evening in March. A country of 1.4 billion did not learn about it until after a week. Think how many other such incidents must have occurred of which we are not aware of!"
In his speech, Dhankhar also supported CJI B R Gavai’s recent comments on a protocol lapse during his visit to Maharashtra. “We must believe in protocol. The Chief Justice of the country and protocol is placed very high… And I’m sure this will be kept in mind by one and all…”
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