NEW DELHI: Several MPs from various political parties on Tuesday questioned why no FIR had yet been lodged in the case of the alleged recovery of cash from a High Court judge. The lawmakers, attending a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, also proposed that the Department of Justice prepare a detailed briefing on the matter.
Sources familiar with the development said that a number of MPs called for a code of conduct for judges, suggesting that justices in the higher judiciary should be barred from taking up government appointments for five years after retirement.
During the meeting, MPs from various parties posed multiple questions to the Ministry of Law and Justice regarding its actions on judiciary-related matters.
According to sources, the Department of Justice made a presentation on ‘Judicial Processes and Their Reform’, addressing concerns such as the code of conduct for judges of the higher judiciary and the issue of post-retirement appointments. They also called for a comprehensive report to be prepared and presented at the panel’s next meeting.
A source said that MPs sought clarification on why no action had been taken in the case involving the recovery of unaccounted cash from Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence. They also pressed for a formal code of conduct to be implemented. Some MPs also questioned why no motion had yet been introduced to remove Justice Varma.
The lawmakers expressed that the government should already have moved a motion to remove the judge in question — especially in light of findings from a Supreme Court-appointed committee of judges, which confirmed the cash recovery.
Deliberating on broader aspects, MPs opined that judges should not be eligible for government appointments for five years after retirement. Discussions included suggestions that former judges should not be appointed as MPs or to any other roles by the President immediately after retiring.
The Rajya Sabha committee is chaired by BJP MP Brij Lal and includes former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi (a nominated MP), former Minister of State for Law
PP Chaudhary, TMC MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Kalyan Banerjee, Congress’s Vivek Tankha, and DMK members P Wilson and A Raja among its key members.
‘Former judges should not be appointed as MPs’
Deliberating on broader aspects, MPs opined that judges should not be eligible for government appointments for five years after retirement. Discussions included suggestions that former judges should not be appointed as MPs or to any other roles by the President immediately after retiring.