Cash at judge’s house: Dhankhar praises CJI for setting up probe panel

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday praised Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for quickly setting up a three-judge panel to probe the allegations of the recovery of unaccounted cash from the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court during a fire incident on March 14, terming it a step in the right direction.

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After a meeting with Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on the Justice Varma issue, Dhankhar welcomed the handling of the controversy in a transparent manner using the in-house mechanism and emphasised that such kind of malaise needed to be eradicated to ensure that it didn’t recur.

On March 21, the issue was raised by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in the Rajya Sabha and Dhankhar had expressed shock and assured a structured discussion on the issue. Lamenting that the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015, the Rajya Sabha Chairman had said, “If the malaise had been dealt with, perhaps we would not have countenanced such kind of issues.”

On Monday, Dhankhar said, “It is for the first time since Independence that a Chief Justice has in a transparent, accountable manner put all material available to him in public domain and shared it without keeping anything with the court. This is a step in the right direction. The constitution of a committee by the CJI and the alertness he has reflected is also a factor that needs consideration. Institutions like the judiciary and the legislature serve their purpose best when their in-house mechanism is effective, fast and upholding public trust.”

He said, “I have indicated firmly that these steps taken so far by CJI Khanna are unprecedented if we go by past performance, and no effort will be spared to make available in public domain by way of an inquiry what could possibly be the requirement in such a challenging situation that is agitating the mind of members of the judiciary, members of the Bar, parliamentarians and the public at large.”

The Rajya Sabha Chairman, however, said, “Since it is for the first time that the head of the judiciary, CJI Khanna, has initiated action in a very, very impactful, transparent manner, it will be worthwhile to await the outcome of the committee as that will enable us to have the entire material for our consideration.”

He appreciated Kharge’s “very thoughtful suggestion” that, consistent with parliamentary practice, the issue needed to be deliberated upon with floor leaders. Finding the suggestion in order and fully approved of by “all three of us”, Dhankhar assured that a meeting would be scheduled where he would extend an invitation to the floor leaders in the Rajya Sabha to take a call on the issue. “I will schedule a meeting and send intimation as suggested by Kharge ji and Nadda ji in this direction,” he said.