New Delhi: A Parliamentary committee is scheduled to deliberate on a proposed “code of conduct for judges” amid the government’s preparations to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Varma, following the discovery of unaccounted cash at his official residence.
The move also coincides with the Opposition’s push for an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav over his alleged hate speech delivered at a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) event in December last year.
The committee, chaired by BJP MP Brij Lal, is set to deliberate on the issue of judges accepting post-retirement positions — a practice recently flagged by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.
The Rajya Sabha Department-related Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will take up the matter during its meeting on 24 June, as per a notice issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
According to the notice, the committee will hear from the Secretary of the Department of Justice on the subject of “Judicial Processes and their Reform,” specifically focusing on two key issues: the “Code of Conduct for Judges of the Higher Judiciary” and the “Taking up of Post-Retirement Assignments by Judges.”
The committee has previously examined several aspects of judicial reform, including vacancies in the Supreme Court and High Courts, as well as the need for greater social diversity in judicial appointments. It has also touched upon the issue of post-retirement roles for judges in earlier discussions.
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.
