New Delhi: A Parliamentary committee is set to discuss a “code of conduct for judges” even as the government prepares to move an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma following the recovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence.
The move also comes at a time the Opposition is pressing for an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav for his alleged hate speech at an event organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in December last year.
The committee, headed by BJP MP Brij Lal, will also hold deliberations over judges taking up assignments after their retirements, a practice that Chief Justice of India B.R.Gavai cautioned against earlier this month.
The Rajya Sabha Department-related Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will take up these issues for a discussion on 24 June, according to a notice issued by the Rajya Sabha secretariat.
“The Committee will hear from the Secretary, Department of Justice on the subject ‘Judicial Processes and their reform’ concerning the following issues: Code of Conduct for the Judges of Higher Judiciary; Taking up of post-retirement assignments by the Judges,” according to the notice.
The committee has already scrutinised various aspects of judicial reforms including vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts and social diversity in appointment of judges in the past. It also briefly dealt with the issue of post-retirement assignments.
However, it is for the first time that the panel has a code of conduct for judges on its agenda. Members of the 31-member committee include former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Congress MP Vivek Tankha, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, and DMK MP A.Raja.
On 14 March, wads of currency notes were found in a room at Justice Varma’s official residence in New Delhi, while he was serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court. The judge was subsequently repatriated to the Allahabad High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium and has rejected the allegations against him in response to probes undertaken by the Delhi High Court chief justice and a committee set up by the SC.
The committee submitted its report on 3 May, saying that it is “firmly of the view that there is sufficient substance in the allegations” against Justice Varma and the misconduct found proved is “serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings” for his removal.
The Parliamentary committee is also taking up judicial reforms for discussion at a time the government has made attempts to revive a debate on the need for a body such as the National Judicial Appointments Commission in the wake of the Justice Varma controversy.
Meanwhile, in its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on 7 February 2024, the panel stated that it was of the view that the retirement age of judges should be raised and “the practice of post-retirement assignments to judges of Supreme Court and High Courts in bodies/institutions financed from public exchequer may be reassessed to ensure their impartiality.”
“The committee suggests that the entire gamut of issues related to such appointments of retired judges may be comprehensively studied again and relooked upon by the Ministry,” the report said.
Addressing a 4 June roundtable conference in the Supreme Court of the UK, Justice Gavai said that he, along with some other judges, has publicly pledged not to accept any post-retirement roles or positions from the government to preserve the credibility and independence of the judiciary.
“Another point of discussion is post-retirement jobs taken by judges. In India, judges are subject to a fixed retirement age. If a judge takes up another appointment with the government immediately after retirement, or resigns from the bench to contest elections, it raises significant ethical concerns and invites public scrutiny,” the CJI said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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