He asked why the law was not allowed to take its course and why no criminal case registered in connection with the matter.
Salve said the safeguards laid down in the Supreme Court’s Justice V Ramaswami judgment were meant to protect judges from frivolous complaints by litigants, and not to prevent action in a matter brought to the attention of the Chief Justice of India.
“When the Chief Justice of India was informed that such an incident has happened, and here is a video transcript of the institution, there was no question then of any action being taken to intimidate a judge. It was not a litigant. He should have said, let the law take its course,” Salve said.
He proceeded to ask what would have transpired if the same had happened at a minister’s residence.
“What would we have done if we had found cash burning in a minister’s house?” he asked.
Judicial independence does not mean shielding judges from accountability or scrutiny, Salve said.
“What imparts independence to the judiciary is not Constitutional provisions which put you beyond reach. It is not constitutional provisions by which you can shield a colleague who was caught with burning cash. Independence is caused and created by your own character,” he said.
He was speaking at the 6th Ram Jethmalani Memorial Lecture in Delhi.