Justice on trial

Unless the Supreme Court takes full control of the process to remove corrupt judges of constitutional courts, the political class will step in

- BISHWAJIT BHATTACHARYYA

The video showing sacks of partially burnt currency notes recovered from the outhouse of 30, Tughlaq Crescent, New Delhi, on the night of March 14 sent shock waves across the country. The house is allotted to Justice Yashwant Varma, a senior judge of the Delhi High Court.

This discovery has raised several pressing questions: How did such a vast sum of unaccounted cash— speculated to be upwards of ₹10 crore—end up in the storeroom of a sitting judge's outhouse? Whose money is it? The media has been rife with speculation and insinuations. The faith of litigants in the fairness of the judicial process has been shaken and public perception of the judiciary has suffered a severe blow.

The fallout from the video has been nothing short of horrific. Some pessimists have asked: Is this the endgame for our democracy? Others have sneered: Is the match over, or is this just the tip of the iceberg? Some have even cynically remarked: Why waste money on lawyers? Whichever way one looks at it, the situation is grave.