Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: The recovery of a pile of cash from a Delhi HC judge’s residence was raised in Rajya Sabha on Friday by Congress member Jairam Ramesh, who sought directions to the govt to come up with a proposal to increase judicial accountability, which led chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to say he would find a mechanism for a structured discussion on the matter.
Dhankhar said the issue of judicial accountability would have been aptly addressed by a “historic legislation” passed by the House, alluding to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act that was enacted by the Modi govt soon after it came to power but struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2015. “That historic legislation endorsed by this Parliament with unprecedented consensual support unknown to parliamentary history of this country dealt with the malaise very severely. If the malaise had been dealt with perhaps we would not have countenanced such kinds of issues,” Dhankhar said.
Ramesh, who raised the issue as soon as House proceedings began on Friday, said, “This morning, we read about a shocking case of a huge amount of cash found at the residence of a judge of the Delhi HC.”
Dhankhar, on his part, said what “bothers” him about the cash recovery incident was that it did not come to light immediately. If such an incident happens with a politician, a bureaucrat or an industrialist, the person concerned becomes a “target immediately”, he said.
Ramesh also reminded the chair about the pending notice regarding the impeachment of a Allahabad HC judge for making certain remarks, noting that 50 MPs had submitted the representation. Dhankhar said he had received a representation from 55 MPs and had taken all necessary steps to verify the signatures. “The process will not be delayed at my level, even for a moment,” he said.
Mayank Rawat
