Letters to The Editor — April 25, 2026

Higher judiciary judges

From a plain reading of Article 124 (relating to the Supreme Court of India) and Article 217 (relating to High Court judges), it is clear that judges are free to resign under their own hand to secure judicial independence, and no acceptance by the President of India is necessary. It had an exalted purpose for situations like when Justice H.R. Khanna of the Supreme Court resigned when he was superseded for chief justiceship after his famous dissenting note in the ADM Jabalpur case. It was not intended to be used as an escape route by judges such as Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court, in whose bungalow burnt currency notes were found and against whom impeachment proceedings had been initiated. A similar walkaway option rightly does not exist even for high-ranking government officers. A suitable constitutional amendment will reduce the much-talked-about corruption in the judiciary.