Emanating from the most monumental constitution which we have collated to perfection, the practice of it has been showing cracks, for which the stakeholders would love to be blind. As we the people were moving for equality in everything of which most important was rule of law, judicial process which was to be delivered by the judicial administration of this country. Democratic ecosystem of India is prominently known for its lip service to all that is copybook, classical and chaste, while practicing exactly the opposite. Though the rot had set in a long time back, now it has got fully consolidated, turned endemic and works like a multi headed hydra.
The last straw on the camel’s back was the swearing in of Justice Yashwant Varma as a judge of Allahabad High Court on April 5, 2025, in a private ceremony deviating totally from traditional public oath-taking events. The High Court Bar Association has openly described the oath administration as “clandestine” and “unacceptable.” This is the backdrop of “Cash Inferno” as his residence in Delhi, the criminal investigation process followed by Delhi Police is more of a sordid saga, than the cash burning itself. The Justice has distanced himself and the countrymen have automatically been distanced from whatever is left of the criminal justice system left in this country. In the backdrop of the current unregistered case, only the suspect Justice would find the Criminal “In”justice System to be “fair and transparent.”
It is literally wild to believe that the whole of India judiciary is in unison not in the manner Justice Varma has conducted himself but the manner the judicial honchos have acted and behaved since the time the case was brought to their notice. What about the details of calls between them since the time the first call was made by the Delhi Police Commissioner to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice. Equally important would be the communication between police officers and with the powers that be in the judiciary. The first information was available with all who needed to have it, and still there was no FIR and none still. What about the suo moto powers? Justice’s statement should have been transformed into a FIR.
Putting justice right on its head, the police officers who should have investigated the case, find their mobile phones being seized while the Justice has been advised not to delete anything from his phone. People who do understand the sanctity of the scene of crime and the lapse of time is directly proportional to destruction of evidence, for sure, have no idea of the landmine of technical evidence and how to garner and stitch it, as failsafe evidence. Think of a Special Investigation Team which does not have a chief, that is what the SC probe team is, a three member in-house panel, as it is defined. It has no professional investigators and has no inbuilt forensic and tech expertise. It is equally risky whether it is by design and default. If a criminal investigation were to happen in the best case scenario, with the case having been botched to an extent that it will never succeed in the courts of their fellow judges. This is precisely what we can define as the Criminal “In”justice System.
A SYSTEM WHICH CANNOT IMPEACH ONE SINGLE JUDGE IN 75 YEARS CAN ONLY BE TERMED AS “MOCKERY OF THE SYSTEM.”
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.