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Why no FIR in Justice Varma case, questions Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar
Dhankar said that if the same case had come up at a common man’s home, the enquiry would have gone on a blazing speed.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday questioned the lack of an FIR in the case regarding the cash discovered from high court judge Yashwant Varma's Delhi residence, saying that the independence of the judiciary is not a cover against a probe.
Dhankar said that if the same case had come up at a common man’s home, the enquiry would have gone on a blazing speed.
"If the event had taken place at his (common man's) house, the speed would have been an electronic rocket. Now it is not even a cattle cart," PTI quoted Dhankhar as saying.
Dhankar asserted that independence of judiciary can't be a total guarantee against probes and such cover would be the surest way to degenerate an institution.
The Vice President also questioned the three-member in-house committee probe, saying that the report lacked a legal standing.
"And what can the committee do? The committee can at most make a recommendation. Recommendation to whom? And for what? The kind of mechanism we have for judges, the only action finally that can be taken is by Parliament (by way of removal of the judge)," he said, adding that the probe is an executive domain and not for the judiciary.
He said that no investigation under the law was currently in progress at the moment, precisely due to the lack of an FIR.
"It is law of the land that every cognisable offence is required to be reported to the police, and failure to do so, and failure to report a cognisable offence is a crime. Therefore, you all will be wondering why there has been no FIR," he said.
An FIR, Dhankhar pointed out, can be registered against anyone and any constitutional functionary, including the vice president.
The Yashwant Varma case
Wads of burnt cash were allegedly discovered at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, who was then posted at the Delhi high court in March. The cash was reportedly discovered by fire officials after they were called in to tend blazes at the house on Holi night.
The Supreme Court constituted a three-member in-house committee to probe the matter and also ordered the transfer of justice Varma to Allahabad high court.
The transfer initially received backlash from the Allahabad high court Bar Association but justice Varma has since been sworn in.
