Democracy Blossoms Only When Every Institution Is Accountable: VP Jagdeep Dhankhar
Speaking at the launch of “The Constitution We Adopted (With Artworks)” edited by Vijay Hansaria at Bharat Mandapam, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar delivered a sharp critique of the 1991 Supreme Court judgment in K. Veeraswami, which bars criminal investigation against sitting judges without prior approval of the Chief Justice of India.
Calling it an "impregnable cover" for judicial accountability, he remarked;
“The genesis of this impregnable cover is a judgment imparted by the Supreme Court in K. Veeraswami case 1991. If I may put it…..Judicial Legerdemain. Normally it is used for legislature. Am I right? Erected scaffolding of impunity, paring neutralising all salvos of accountability and transparency. Time for us now to change.”
He added that he had full faith in the current Supreme Court and believed it was capable of revisiting this legacy, saying;
“I have full trust and confidence in the present Supreme Court, which is of eminent people, people of integrity. In a short time the present Chief Justice has shown that things are soothing for people at large.”
Even as he urged greater accountability, the Vice-President underscored the need to ensure that judges were not made vulnerable for doing their jobs fearlessly.
He spoke of the enormous pressures the judiciary confronts, from the executive, from industry, from those wielding economic and institutional power and insisted on building internal systems that are independent, swift, and not burdened by peer pressure;
“We must protect them. We must evolve our mechanism... Not for a moment I will see. I will indicate that we must make our judges vulnerable. No. We have to provide judges with something like impregnability when it comes to challenge to the judges on sinister premise by pernicious design by forces that cannot digest independence of judiciary.”
Referring to recent internal probes conducted by high court judges, he questioned their constitutional basis, resource implications, and effectiveness;
“Can in this country we afford to invest so much time at the cost of administrative work of the chief justice of High Court? A judicial work of the High Court."
He also flagged concerns about electronic devices being seized during such inquiries and whether such actions had any legal sanctity.
The Vice President was most direct when referring to a specific incident involving a judge’s residence, which reportedly yielded cash and burnt currency;
“We’re confronted with the jarring reality. A judge’s residence in Lutyens Delhi had burnt notes, cash. There is no FIR till date.”
He raised alarm over the silence that followed the episode, stating;
“The entire nation was worried. An incident took place on the night intervening 14th and 15th of March. A nation of 1.4 billion did not come to know about it. Till after a week. Just imagine how many such other incidents may have taken place of which we are not in the know of because every such transgression of integrity impacts common man, impacts those who believe in rule of law, in merit and therefore we have to be unsparing about it.”
He further called for urgent reforms in criminal justice procedures and emphasised the role of science and transparency in investigations;
“Everyone in the country is now thinking whether this will be washed off, whether it will fade with time... This issue for which people are waiting with bated breath, the money trail, its source, its purpose, did it pollute the judicial system? Who are the bigger sharks. We need to find out.”
While reiterating that no one should be presumed guilty without proof, he stressed that equal application of the law was the bedrock of democracy.
“Even with respect to the Hon'ble President and the Governor, only the two functionaries. The coverage of immunity is only while they hold the office.”
The Vice-President also took a moment to commend outgoing Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna for his commitment to transparency, saying;
“Justice Khanna set very high standards in accountability, transparency... When you put in public domain documentation which people thought will never be shown to them. That was a big step by him to project accountability and transparency.”
Insisting that he spoke as a lifelong believer in the judiciary and not as a critic, Vice-President added;
“Today I am reflecting not as a by standing detector but as a foot soldier of judiciary... I can never envisage that I will do anything which in the remotest form will compromise dignity of judiciary.”
He ended his remarks on a philosophical note, invoking the Supreme Court’s own motto;
“The motto of the Supreme Court, which you must have seen number of times, I saw it every time–यतो धर्मः ततो जयः Where there is dharma, there is victory. सत्यमेव जयते Truth has to triumph in this case.”