What is the 1991 K. Veeraswami judgment all about? | Explained

The story so far: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Monday (May 19, 2025) opined the time has come for revisiting a 1991 judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in K. Veeraswami versus Union of India. Insisting upon registration of a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the Delhi cash on fire incident at the residence of High Court judge Yashwant Varma on March 17, 2025; the Vice President said, the 1991 judgment was the genesis of the problem of corruption in the higher judiciary and it was a “judicial legerdemain.”

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Who was K. Veeraswami?

Kuppuswami Naidu Veeraswami had commenced his legal practice by joining the Madras Bar in 1941. He was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader in 1953 and Government Pleader in 1959. He held the post till his elevation as a permanent judge of the Madras High Court in February 1960. On May 1, 1969, he had become the Chief Justice of the High Court and on February 24, 1976, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him for the offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act of 1947. The charge against him was that he had acquired assets worth ?6.41 lakh disproportionate to his known sources of income not only in his name but also that of his wife Eluthai Ammal and sons V. Suresh and V. Bhaskar between May 1, 1969 and February 24, 1976. A copy of the FIR was filed before a special court for CBI cases in Chennai on February 28, 1976.On coming to know of these developments, the then Chief Justice proceeded on leave from March 9, 1976 and retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation on April 8, 1976. The CBI, however, proceeded with the investigation into the PC Act case and filed a charge sheet before the special court on December 15, 1977.

How did the case reach the Supreme Court?