Congress MP Hibi Eden speaks in the Lok Sabha
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The discovery of unaccounted cash at the residence of a sitting Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma continued to reverberate in Parliament with Congress MP Hibi Eden raising it in Lok Sabha, saying the House should discuss the "extremely disheartening" incident and find a robust and cogent solution to ensure greater judicial accountability.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Eden said it was a "matter of great concern" as judiciary is the "last resort" of common man and the most important pillar of democracy. He said it is "very important" that the judiciary is "free from corruption".
"The entire country is shocked by the alleged discovery of large sums of unaccounted cash at the residence of a sitting Delhi High Court judge. The Supreme Court has constituted an in-house probe to look into the incident. The incident is extremely disheartening and clearly tarnished the faith of common people of the country in the judicial system," he said.
"Accordingly, it is imperative that the House discuss the issue in detail and find robust and cogent solutions to ensure greater judicial accountability and transparency in our country and ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future," Eden, who represents Kerala's Ernakulam, said.
Acknowledging that the Supreme Court has instituted an in-house investigation into the fire at the storeroom of the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma on March 14 and discovery of huge cash, he said the incident has "clearly tarnished" the faith of common people in the country's judicial system.
Earlier, Congress Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi and senior MP Manish Tewari demanded that the House immediately discuss the issue but Vice Chairman Jagadambika Pal said Speaker Om Birla has not given permission for adjournment motions on various issues, including on the discovery of cash at the judge's residence. Tewari was heard asking where they should discuss this issue.
In Rajya Sabha, Congress Deputy Leader Pramod Tiwari said it is a very important issue and the whole country is concerned.
Tewari posted on 'X', "it is a matter of great regret that the government refuses to even make a statement to Parliament on the alleged aberrations in the higher judiciary that are exercising the legal fraternity and conscientious citizens across the country. If Lok Sabha, the House of the People, will not adjourn to discuss these alleged aberrations then I am afraid Parliament is abdicating its fundamental Constitutional responsibility of exercising oversight over the judiciary."
Earlier, he told reporters, "Parliament exercises oversight, overboss the executive and even the judiciary. That is why under the Constitution, the powers to impeach a judge have been given to the Parliament...The law minister must come before the House. Parliament is in Session and he must give a statement as to what is the chronological sequence of events as they unfolded."