{"id":114454,"date":"2026-07-22T11:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=114454"},"modified":"2026-07-22T11:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:39:01","slug":"judicial-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/judicial-accountability\/","title":{"rendered":"Judicial Yashwant Varma Resignation Case &#8211; Judicial Accountability and the Power to Resign"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Judicial Accountability Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report of the Inquiry Committee against former Allahabad and Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma is set to be taken up in Parliament, raising key questions about judicial accountability, the power to resign at will, and gaps in the constitutional framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Background of the Case<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Yashwant Varma case originated in March 2025 with the discovery of partially burnt currency notes in an outhouse at his official residence. This led to the following developments:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Speaker of the Lok Sabha appointed a committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 to investigate charges of misbehaviour.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Varma resigned on April 9, 2026, before the inquiry proceedings could be concluded.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee&#8217;s report is set to be tabled in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case has generated significant public and legal interest regarding judicial accountability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Constitutional Framework for Judicial Resignation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>The &#8220;Power to Resign at Will&#8221;<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Constitution vests 13 constitutional functionaries with the power to resign at will, without their resignation being subject to acceptance by any authority.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They may resign merely by writing under their hand, addressed to a specified authority. The offices with this power include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Vice-President<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A judge of the Supreme Court<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A judge of the High Courts<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Governor<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of a State Assembly<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of a State Legislative Council<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A member of the Public Service Commissions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Purpose of the Power<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The power to resign at will is an essential safeguard for judicial independence.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It protects incumbents from being forced to work under coercion by any authority, ensuring that judges can leave office without fear of retaliation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Contrast with Legislators<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members of Parliament: subject to acceptance by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha under Article 101(3)(b).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members of State Legislatures: subject to acceptance by the Speaker or the Chairman under Article 190(3)(b).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Supreme Court Ruling<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in <\/span><b>Union of India vs Gopal Chandra Misra (1978)<\/b> <b>unanimously reaffirmed the power of Supreme Court and High Court judges to resign at will<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The court held that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effectiveness of the resignation does not depend upon acceptance by the President.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The resignation acts ex proprio vigore (automatically without requiring any external action).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 2017, at least 12 High Court judges have resigned, and Justice Dalveer Bhandari resigned from the Supreme Court in 2012 to join the International Court of Justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Publicly available data suggests these resignations have been handled in compliance with the law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>News Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three months after his resignation, Justice Yashwant Varma continues to be listed as a sitting judge by:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Allahabad High Court<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Department of Justice of the Union government<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has created confusion about whether his resignation has taken effect or remains subject to acceptance by the President.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Varma&#8217;s resignation took effect automatically on April 9, 2026, when he submitted his written resignation. No acceptance by the President is required.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hence, describing him as a sitting judge after that date in the Department of Justice&#8217;s list or on the Allahabad High Court&#8217;s website is clearly wrong.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no justification for retaining his name in lists of sitting judges for over three months.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Do the Proceedings Survive the Resignation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Inquiry Committee&#8217;s report pertains to Justice Varma&#8217;s conduct prior to his resignation. Therefore:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The resignation does not affect the laying of the report before both Houses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report will be made public as there is a statutory duty to do so.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public has a legitimate right to know whether the Committee found any proved misbehaviour on the part of a sitting judge of a constitutional court.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What Happens if He is Found Guilty of the Charges?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the report finds Justice Varma not guilty of the charges, the matter ends there. However, even if the report finds him guilty:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The motion for his removal can no longer be moved.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having resigned, Justice Varma does not hold the office of a judge and cannot be removed from it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under Section 6 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, the report is to be discussed by Parliament along with the motion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the motion lapses and cannot be discussed, the report too cannot be discussed by Parliament under the Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Accountability Loophole<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a genuine concern that the framework for judicial accountability through removal proceedings under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, suffers from a significant loophole.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Judges may resign at will before Parliament takes up the motion for their removal. This effectively halts the entire process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows judges facing serious charges to evade accountability by simply resigning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public interest in knowing the outcome of proceedings against sitting judges is compromised.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Proposed Constitutional Amendment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legal experts suggest that this loophole is best addressed by amending the Constitution rather than by executive or judicial interpretation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposed amendment could include the following provisions:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The resignation of a judge facing removal proceedings should be subject to acceptance during their pendency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To safeguard judicial independence, the power to accept the resignation should vest in the Chief Justice of India rather than in the President.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parliament should be empowered to discuss the report submitted by the Inquiry Committee despite the judge&#8217;s resignation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interpreting inadvertent silences in the Constitution or the Act to suit the concerns of Parliament or the Executive would be against the rule of law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Significance and Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>For Judicial Independence<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The power to resign at will remains crucial for protecting judges from coercion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any reform must carefully balance accountability with independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vesting acceptance power in the Chief Justice of India, rather than the executive, would preserve independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>For Judicial Accountability<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The current framework allows accused judges to escape scrutiny by resigning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public confidence in the judiciary requires transparent accountability mechanisms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Completed inquiries should be publicly disclosed even if the judge has resigned.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>For Constitutional Governance<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highlights the need for periodic review of constitutional provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasises the importance of clarity in administrative procedures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Underscores the role of Parliament in exercising oversight over the judiciary.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>For Public Trust<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case tests the credibility of judicial institutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transparency in handling such matters is essential for maintaining public confidence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Media and civil society scrutiny play a critical role.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/incoming\/is-yashwant-varma-still-a-judge\/article71249134.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yashwant Varma resignation raises critical questions about judicial accountability and the power to resign at will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":112380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[7029,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-114454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-judicial-accountability","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114473,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114454\/revisions\/114473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}