Judiciary must stay above all suspicion

The judiciary and legislature must work together to evolve a transparent system and ensure people's trust in the former remains intact

- Shashi Shekhar

Three judges from three different high courts (justices Sheel Nagu, GS Sandhawalia and Anu Sivaraman) will investigate the case of a half-burnt pile of currency notes found at the residence of Delhi High Court (HC) judge, Justice Yashwant Verma, who has since been relieved of his duties. Meanwhile, Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sanjeev Khanna, has decided to release Delhi HC chief justice DK Upadhyaya's inquiry report in the matter in the public domain. It's a first in the country's legal history.

It's important to take note of the letter addressed to Justice Upadhyaya by Justice Verma in his defence. Verma writes, "I unequivocally state that neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that store room at any point of time. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous."

He further states, "I was totally shocked to see the contents of the videos that depicted something which was not found on site as I had seen it. It was this which prompted me to observe that this clearly appears to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me."