Justice Varma case: Govt can't register FIR because of judicial order, says Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said the government of the day is handicapped as it can't register an FIR because there is a judicial order.

Dhankhar made the remarks in connection with the Justice Yashwant Varma case.

A fire broke out at Varma's house in Delhi in March when he was a judge in the Delhi High Court, leading to the discovery of several burnt sacks of cash from the outhouse.

Dhankhar was interacting with a delegation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association here.

The four members of the Bar association, led by its president Sartej Singh Narula, called on the Vice President at the Punjab Raj Bhavan, where Dhankhar arrived on Thursday evening before travelling to Shimla on Friday.

Narula later said the matter pertaining to Justice Varma came up during the general discussion.

According to an official statement issued on Friday evening, the Vice President said, "The government of the day is handicapped. It can't register an FIR because there is a judicial order, which is more than three decades old.

"It provides a virtually impregnable cover. Unless permission is accorded by a functionary at the highest level in the judiciary, an FIR can't be registered.

"So I pose a question to myself, in deep pain, worried and concerned -- why was that permission not given? That was the minimum that could have been done at the earliest occasion."

He added, "I have raised the issue. If a motion is brought to remove a judge, is that the answer? If a crime was committed, a culpable act shaking the foundations of democracy, why wasn't it punished?

"We have lost more than three months, and the investigation has not even been initiated. Whenever you go to court, they ask why the FIR was delayed.

"Does the committee of judges have a constitutional sanction? Does it have statutory sanction? Can its report result in any outcome? Can the report, by itself, be actionable? The Constitution says the mechanism to remove a judge can be initiated either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha," Dhankhar said.

"I hope an FIR is filed," he added.