Congress MP: Parliament must be given Yashwant Varma case report
NEW DELHI: Pressing for early action on the scandal about cash haul at the residence of high court Justice Yashwant Varma, Congress MP Vivek Tankha expressed concern with the Rajya Sabha chairman that parliamentarians have not been provided with the inquiry report of the case, even though Parliament is the sole authority to decide the fate of HC and SC justices facing allegations of malfeasance.
The three-member SC panel that looked into the scandal submitted its report around three weeks ago.
In a letter to RS chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Tankha demanded that MPs be given a copy of the inquiry report without delay "to protect our judicial integrity and independence", as also to ensure that the issue moves forward. He added that delay in action in this case has eroded public confidence in the institutions.
MPs are still unaware of the findings of the inquiry, even though Dhankhar himself had expressed shock when the issue was raised in RS on March 21, as per Tankha.
Prefacing his letter with "deep concern for the institutional integrity of both the judiciary and Parliament", Tankha said, "No statement or course of action has been announced by the law minister, despite the matter - an incident that shook the conscience of the nation - having been raised in Parliament. This continued silence is deeply alarming and raises serious concerns about accountability."
The MP, a senior lawyer, said the only statutory mechanism under which judicial misbehaviour can be investigated is Judges (Inquiry) Act and the removal of an HC or SC judge requires a motion initiated by MPs under the Act.
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"President cannot independently act upon the report. Only Parliament, through its members, can initiate removal proceedings," he added.
"Despite MPs being only authority empowered under Article 124(4) and 217 (1) (b) to initiate such proceedings, they have neither been taken into confidence nor provided with the (inquiry) report...," he said. "A report exists but remains inaccessible to members of the constitutionally empowered body, i.e. MPs. This precedent undermines the doctrine of separation of powers in our democracy and devalues the constitutional position, role, and status of the members," Tankha added.
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