'Time to blow up the can': Jagdeep Dhankhar makes strong pitch for judicial accountability, says public confidence in institution dwindling

Jagdeep Dhankhar was addressing the 6th batch of Rajya Sabha interns.

After the Supreme Court set a three-month deadline for presidential decision on state bills under Article 201, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said there cannot be a situation where courts direct the President.

Dhankhar was addressing the 6th batch of Rajya Sabha interns.  The Vice-President also spoke about the cash haul from the home of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. The judge came under intense scrutiny after a huge stash of unaccounted cash was allegedly found at his residence.

“Let me take incidents that are most recent. They are dominating our minds. An event happened on the night of the 14th and 15th of March in New Delhi, at the residence of a judge. For seven days, no one knew about it. We have to ask ourselves: Is the delay explainable? Condonable? Does it not raise certain fundamental questions? In any ordinary situation—and ordinary situations define rule of law—things would have been different. It was only on 21st March, disclosed by a newspaper, that people of the country were shocked as never before. They were in some kind of limbo, deeply concerned and worried at this explosive, alarming expose,” said Dhankar.  "Thereafter, fortunately, in public domain, we had input from an authoritative source: the Supreme Court of India. And the input indicated culpability. Input did not lead to doubt that something was amiss. Something required to be investigated. Now the nation waits with bated breath. The nation is restive because one of our institutions, to which people have looked up always with highest respect and deference, was put in the dock. It is now over a month. Even if it is a can of worms. Even if there are skeletons in the cupboard, time to blow up the can. Time for its lid to go out. And time for the cupboard to collapse. Let the worms and skeletons be in the public domain so that cleansing takes place," he said.

The Vice-President said no FIR has been filed against the judge after the cash haul. “Because for a criminal investigation, the initiation has to be by an FIR—First Information Report. It is not there. It is the law of the land that every cognizable offence is required to be reported to the police. And failure to do so—failure to report a cognizable offence—is a crime. Therefore, you all will be wondering why there has been no FIR.,” he said.

Dhankar said an FIR in this country can be registered against anyone—any constitutional functionary. “One has only to activate the rule of law. No permission is required. But if it is judges—FIR cannot be straightaway registered. It has to be approved by the concerned judiciary. But that is not given in the Constitution. The Constitution of India has accorded immunity from prosecution only to the Hon'ble President and the Hon'ble Governors. So how come a category beyond law has secured this immunity? Because the ill-effects of this are being felt in the mind of one and all. Every Indian, young and old, is deeply concerned. If the event had taken place at his house, the speed would have been an electronic rocket. Now, it is not even a cattle cart,” he said.

The top court recently ruled that the President must decide on State Bills, reserved by Governors for Presidential assent, within three months. The apex court set aside Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s decision to withhold assent to 10 pending Bills and, in the process, ruled that the President should also not take more than three months in arriving at a decision on Bills referred by Governors.