FIRE AT JUDGE’S HOUSE & BURNING OF RULE OF LAW

Equality before law is one of the fundamental principles of Rule of law. However high a person may be, he is subject to same laws which are applicable to ordinary citizens. Constitution of India grants immunity under Article 361 to only two functionaries – President and the Governor – against criminal proceedings and arrest, as they are symbols of state.  Other than the President or Governor, nobody else has been given  any sort of  immunity by the Constitution.

It seems that in the case of fire at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, rule of law has gone for a toss. It has corroborated public opinion that rule of law is for ordinary citizen and not for those who occupies high offices. It is not in dispute that there was fire in the premises of the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma. It is also not in dispute that several currency notes were burnt in the fire. Burning of currency notes is  evident  from the video released by the Supreme Court as well as several burnt currency notes found in vicinity the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma. The incidence of fire happened on 14.03.2025. It was kept under wraps till it was reported in the Media. Thereafter the Supreme Court uploaded several documents related with the incidence on website.

The way the matter has been handled by the police or the judiciary raises concerns among the ordinary citizens.

The incidence of fire has two aspects. One aspect is misconduct of the judge in question and other aspect is crime committed within the premises of the residence occupied by the judge in question. Misconduct and crime are two different aspects. A misconduct may be a crime or may not be crime. Similarly, a crime may be or may not be a misconduct. For example, if an advocate charges contingent fee, it may be a misconduct but it will not be crime. Similarly, if an advocate violates traffic rules, it may be a crime but may not be a misconduct.

Findings of huge amount of currency notes  within the premises of residence of  a judge may be  a misconduct even if the judge in question may not be involved in the whole affair as the premises was in the control and supervision of the judge in question.   If misconduct is proved against the judge, impeachment proceedings may be initiated by Parliament.

The other more important aspect of the incident is crime committed within the premises of the residence of the judge wherein the judge may be involved or may not be involved. Crime proceedings are independent of the misconduct proceedings. The crime in the whole incidence was findings of unaccounted huge cash within the premises of a residence of  a judge. It may be related to the judge or  may not be related to the judge in question. It is matter of investigation.  It was a cognizable offence and an FIR was needed to be registered against unknown persons. The crime site needed to be protected. And if during investigation it emerged that the judge in question was involved then only the need for any permission from Chief Justice of India was needed.

But unfortunately, the Police miserably  failed to lodge FIR as well as protect the evidence. The burnt cash has already been removed from the crime site.  This is very sorry state of affairs in criminal justice system in India and shows the rule of law has burnt alongwith those currency notes.  The decline of rule of law is evident in the statement of the policeman or fireman as the case may be in the viral video that “ dekho jee Mahatama Gandhi jal rahe  hain” which meant that rule of law is burning.

___________________________________________________