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New Indian Express
7 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Judiciary is tottering because of its ‘Ides of March': V-P Dhankhar
KOCHI: The respect and trust that people in the country have for courts have been shaken to the core by the incident involving a stash of cash found at a judge's official residence in New Delhi, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Monday, terming the incident as the judiciary's 'Ides of March'. Calling for a criminal investigation, Dhankar said, in an interaction with students and faculty of the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (Nuals), that the 'citadel is tottering because of the incident.' The Vice-President stressed that the system should have treated it as a criminal matter from the start, but added that the Centre is currently constrained by a Supreme Court ruling from the early 1990s. 'But so far, there has been no FIR. The government at the central level is handicapped because an FIR cannot be registered in view of a judgment of the Supreme Court rendered in early 90s,' he said. Expressing reservations over the appointment of judges to certain posts after their retirement, Dhankar said that this is seriously impairing the institution. 'Certain constitutional authorities are not permitted to hold assignments after retirement, he said. Dhankhar also praised Kerala as the land that has gifted the country many luminous minds and upright public servants.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Cash at HC judge's home: VP for probe
1 2 3 4 Kochi: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said that the country went through a terrible time recently due to events in the judiciary concerning large amounts of cash found in the official residence of a high court judge. "It was worrisome because not many knew of it until a week later. The question that remains is whether this is an isolated incident or if there are other similar incidents," he said. During an interaction with the students of the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) in Kochi, Dhankhar said it was important to find out those who are culpable and bring them to justice. "But so far, there has been no FIR." 'Centre Is Handicapped': VP Dhankhar Warns Of 'Ides Of March' In Judge Cash-At-Home Row He said that where there has to be rule of law, there has to be equality before the law, which means every crime must be investigated. "If the money is so huge in volume, we have to find out if it is tainted money? What is the source of this money? How was it stocked in the official residence of a judge? To whom did it belong?," he asked. "Several penal provisions are violated in the process. I do hope an FIR will be registered. We must go to the root of the matter because, for democracy, it matters that our judiciary, in whom the faith is unshakable, has its very foundations shaken. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo The citadel is tottering because of this incident," he said. Dhankhar said that each of the pillars of democracy must perform its function. But if the executive function is done by the legislature or judiciary, that will be antithetical to the essence and spirit of the doctrine of separation of powers. "I am aghast that a functionary of the executive, like the CBI director, is appointed with the participation of the Chief Justice of India. Why? The CBI director is not the senior-most person in the hierarchy. He has above him several layers: Chief vigilance commissioner, cabinet secretary, all secretaries. After all, he's heading a department. Why should an appointment of the executive be made by anyone else other than the executive?" he said, asking the students to study and work on these topics. "There is a constitutional provision, if you can understand, that certain constitutional authorities are not permitted to hold assignments after their office — like a public service commission member cannot take any assignment under the govt. The comptroller and auditor general can't take that assignment. The chief election commissioner and election commissioners can't take that assignment because they must be free not to be subjected to allurements and temptations. This was not for judges. Why? Because judges were expected to be totally away from it. And now we have post-retirement posts for judges," he said.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Dhankhar rakes up cash at Justice Varma's home, post-retirement jobs to judges and CJI on panel to choose CBI Director
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar raised several questions on Monday about the functioning of the higher judiciary in recent times, raking up the issue of cash found at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma , the practice of having Chief Justice of India on the panel to choose the CBI Director and the post-retirement jobs given to judges. Addressing students of National University of Advanced Legal Studies at Kochi, Dhankhar the country had seen 'turbulent times in the judiciary' in recent times but a big change has taken place since the present chief justice of India and his predecessor took office, ensuring the start of a 'new era of accountability and transparency'. He said the previous two years were 'very disturbing and challenging'. Referring to the recovery of a huge cache of cash found at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, the Vice President said like the Julius Caesar incident of Ides of March, the Indian judiciary had its own experience on the night of March 14-15. '…. A terrible time! Cash in large amounts was found at the official residence of a judge of the High Court. Now, if that cash was found, the system should have moved immediately and the first process would have been to deal with it as a criminal act, find out those who are culpable and bring them to justice. But so far, there has been no FIR,' Dhankhar said. He underlined that the government is 'handicapped' in the matter as an FIR cannot be registered in view of a judgment of the Supreme Court in early 1990s. While the fire incident happened on March 15, the recovery of cash was reported only on March 21, he added. Live Events 'The world looks at us as a mature democracy where there has to be rule of law, equality before law, which means every crime must be investigated. If the money is so huge in volume, we have to find out: is it tainted money? What is the source of this money? How was it stacked in the official residence of a judge? Who did it belong to?' Dhankhar said. He insisted that since several penal provisions have been violated, the FIR should be registered, and the authorities should go to the root of the matter. 'Our judiciary -in which people's faith is unshakable- its very foundations have been shaken. The citadel is tottering because of this incident,' he said. Parliament is likely to move an impeachment motion against Justice Varma in the forthcoming monsoon session and both the government and the Opposition are on board on the matter. The Vice President also raised eyebrows over the rule of having the Chief Justice of India on the panel that chooses the CBI Director. 'I am aghast that a functionary of the executive like the CBI director is appointed with the participation of the Chief Justice of India. Why? Just think... The CBI Director is not the senior most in the hierarchy. He has above him several layers like CVC, Cabinet Secretary, all secretaries. After all, he is heading a department. Is this happening elsewhere in the world? Can it happen under our constitutional scheme? Why should an appointment of the executive be made by anyone else other than the executive?' he said. The Vice President also emphasized that judges should not be given post-retirement jobs. 'Certain constitutional authorities are not permitted to hold an assignment after their office. This was not specified for judges, because judges were expected to be totally away from it. Now we have post-retirement posts for judges. Further, not all can be accommodated- only some can be accommodated. So, when you can't accommodate all but you accommodate some, there is pick-and-choose. When there is pick-and-choose, there is patronage. It is seriously impairing our judiciary,' Dhankhar said.
Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘I am a concerned man… citadel is tottering': Dhankar for FIR into cash recovery at judge's residence
Vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said he hoped an FIR will be registered with regard to the recovery of a large stash of cash at a judge's official residence in New Delhi in March this year. Addressing students at National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) in Kochi, Dhankhar said, 'I am a concerned man. Whether this is an incident in isolation or there are other similar incidents.'' Dhankhar said equality before law means every crime must be investigated. 'If the money is so huge in volume, we have to find out: is it tainted money? What is the source of this money? How was it stocked in the official residence of a judge? It belonged to whom?' 'Find out those who are culpable. Bring them to justice… So far, there has been no FIR. The government at the central level is handicapped because an FIR cannot be registered in view of a judgment of the Supreme Court rendered in the early '90s.'' Observing that several penal provisions are violated in the process, he said, 'I do hope an FIR will be registered. 'We must go to the root of the matter. Our judiciary, in which people's faith is unshakable, its very foundations have been shaken.'' Dhankhar's statement comes amid reports that Justice Yashwant Varma was facing an impeachment in Parliament after an unspecified amount of cash was found at his official residence following a fire in March this year. Justice Varma has denied all allegations and submitted responses to both the Delhi High Court Chief Justice and a Supreme Court-appointed panel. The Vice President likened the recovery of cash from the judge's residence to the 'Ides of March' — a reference to Shakespeare's famous play Julius Caesar and a symbol of looming misfortune. 'Our judiciary faced its own Ides of March on the night intervening March 14th and 15th… There was cash in large quantity at the residence of a judge. I say so because it is now in public domain, officially put up by the Supreme Court… Now the point is, if cash was found, the system should have moved immediately and the first process would have been to deal with it as a criminal act,'' said Dhankhar. He said the 'citadel is tottering' because of this incident and hence the issue must be examined. The Vice President, who said he was of the view that judges should be protected from frivolous litigations, also expressed his concern over the delay in revealing the recovery of the cash. 'Some things are worrisome… It was only after about seven days that we came to know about this ghastly crime.' Referring to judges taking up assignments after retirement, he said, 'Now we have post-retirement posts for judges. Not all can be accommodated…. There is pick and choose. When there is pick and choose, there is patronage. It is seriously impairing our judiciary.''
NDTV
07-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Vice President Warns Of 'Ides Of March' For Judiciary After Cash-At-Home Row
Kochi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said he hopes a criminal investigation will be launched into the large stash of cash found at a judge's official residence in New Delhi, comparing the incident to the "Ides of March" -- a reference to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and a symbol of looming misfortune. Referring to the incident, he said now the point is, if that cash was found, the system should have moved immediately and the first process would have been to deal with it as a criminal act, find out those who are culpable and bring them to justice. While interacting with the students and faculty members at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), the Vice President likened the cash discovered at the High Court judge's residence to the "Ides of March." He said the judiciary faced its own "Ides of March" on the night of March 14-15, when large amounts of cash were officially acknowledged to have been found, yet no FIR was filed. Dhankhar stressed that the system should have treated it as a criminal matter from the start, but added that the Centre is currently constrained by a Supreme Court ruling from the early 1990s. "But so far, there has been no FIR. The government at the central level is handicapped because an FIR cannot be registered in view of a judgment of the Supreme Court rendered in early 90s," he said. The Vice President said the world looks at India as a mature democracy where there has to be rule of law, equality before law, which means every crime must be investigated. "If the money is so huge in volume, we have to find out: is it tainted money? What is the source of this money? How was it stacked in the official residence of a judge? Who did it belong to? Several penal provisions are violated in the process. I do hope an FIR will be registered," he said. "We must go to the root of the matter. Our judiciary -in which people's faith is unshakable- its very foundations have been shaken. The citadel is tottering because of this incident," Dhankar added. His statement comes amidst reports that Justice Yashwant Varma was facing an impeachment in Parliament after an unspecified amount of money was found in his official residence following a fire. Justice Varma has denied all allegations and submitted responses to both the Delhi High Court Chief Justice and a Supreme Court-appointed panel. Despite this, judicial work was withdrawn from him, and he was later transferred to the Allahabad High Court, where the Chief Justice was directed by the top court not to assign him any judicial duties for the time being. The panel investigating the incident has recorded statements from over 50 people, including Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora and Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg, who were among the first responders. During his interaction, Dhankar also said the judiciary in the country commands immense trust and respect of the people. "People believe in the judiciary like in no other institution. If their faith in the institution is eroded, we will be faced with a grim situation. A nation of 1.4 billion will suffer," the Vice President said. Dhankar said he was aghast that a functionary of the executive like the CBI director is appointed with the participation of Chief Justice of India. "Is this happening elsewhere in the world? Can it happen under our constitutional scheme? Why should an appointment of the executive be made by anyone else other than the executive?," he asked. Noting that the CBI director is not the senior most person in the hierarchy, the Vice President said he has above him the CVC, Cabinet Secretary, all Secretaries. "After all, he's heading a department," he said. He said if one institution -- the Judiciary, the Executive, or the Legislature -- makes an incursion into the domain of the other, it has the potential to upset the apple cart. "It can create unmanageable problems that can be potentially very dangerous for our democracy. For example, adjudication has to take place within the Judiciary. Judgments are to be scripted by the Judiciary -- not by the Legislature or the Executive. "Similarly, executive functions are performed by the Executive, because you elect the political executive through elections. They are accountable to you. They have to perform. But if executive functions are done by the Legislature or the Judiciary-- that will be antithetical to the essence and spirit of the Doctrine of Separation of Powers," the Vice President said. Dhankar said there had been turbulent times in the judiciary recently. "But the soothing thing is that a big change has taken place. We are seeing good times now for the judiciary. The present Chief Justice and his immediate predecessor give us a new era of accountability and transparency. They are getting things back on the rails," he said. However, the last two years were very disturbing and challenging, the Vice President said. "Thoughtlessly, several steps were taken; it will take a while to undo them. It is fundamental that institutions function with optimal performance," he added.
