Lauding Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for ‘unprecedented transparency’ in handling the issue of cash found at Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar Monday said institutions like Judiciary and Legislature serve their purpose best when their in-house mechanism is effective, fast and upholding the public trust.

Mr Dhankhar held a meeting with Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss judicial accountability and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act.

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The Rajya Sabha Chairman, in a statement, shared that they had meaningful deliberation about the issue that is agitating the mind of the Judiciary. ”It is for the first time since independence that a chief justice has, in a transparent, accountable manner, put all material available to him in the public domain and shared it without keeping anything with the Court,” he said.

He said, ”This is a step in the right direction. The constitution of a committee by the chief justice of India and the alertness he has reflected on is also a factor that needs consideration. Institutions like the judiciary and legislature serve their purpose best when their in-house mechanism is effective, fast and upholding public trust.”

Mr Dhankhar agreed with Mr Kharge that consistent with parliamentary practice, the issue needs to be deliberated with the floor leaders, saying with the full approval of all three of them, a meeting will accordingly be scheduled where he would invite floor leaders in the Council of States to take a call on this.

He thanked Mr Nadda and Mr Kharge, saying, ”I am grateful for their very deep understanding as both of them with rich experience, both being presidents of their respective political parties and holding constitutional offices, have believed that institutions in the country must blossom only with integrity and public commitment and such kind of malaise needs to be eradicated so that we do not have a recurrence of it. ”

The meeting followed Mr Dhankhar’s remarks in the House on March 21, responding to concerns raised by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh regarding the recovery of cash from a high court judge’s residence. During his address, Mr Dhankhar also referenced the judicial appointment mechanism post the passage of the NJAC Act in 2014, which was later invalidated by the Supreme Court.

CJI Sanjiv Khanna has constituted a three-member committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma. While Justice Varma is facing a probe over cash being allegedly recovered from his official residence, a video of cash found among burning debris near his house has triggered speculation.