Cash at judge’s house

The alleged recovery of a stash of unaccounted cash from a storeroom in the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, a judge of the Delhi High Court, has prompted the Supreme Court to set up a probe committee of three HC judges. In a bid to ensure transparency and dispel misinformation, the apex court has also released the inquiry report submitted by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court; this report has concluded that the “entire matter warrants a deeper probe”. It is unheard of for the SC to issue detailed press releases on controversial issues; the very fact that this was done in Justice Varma’s case shows that the matter is being treated with the seriousness it deserves. After all, at stake is the integrity and credibility of the higher judiciary.

Even as the judge has claimed that no cash was ever placed in the storeroom by him or his family members, the incident has given rise to several questions: Was the money kept there without the judge’s knowledge? If yes, was it the handiwork of his residential staff or outsiders or both? And if it’s a conspiracy to frame and defame the judge, who all are involved? An inordinate delay in finding definitive answers will only worsen the situation.

The landmark ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’, adopted by the Supreme Court in 1997, specifies that there should be no act or omission by a judge “which is unbecoming of the high office he occupies and the public esteem in which that office is held”. Any controversy that undermines public trust in the judiciary should be probed thoroughly, even as it’s imperative to set a time frame for completing the investigation. It is unfortunate that a nearly 17-year-old bribery case allegedly involving a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is yet to reach its conclusion. The onus is on courts and probe agencies to fast-track the proceedings in such cases in the interests of truth, justice and judicial accountability.