New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, sitting Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma has approached the Supreme Court, challenging the findings of an in-house inquiry committee that recommended his removal following the discovery of unaccounted cash at his official residence.
The controversy stems from a fire that broke out between March 14 and 15 in a storeroom at Justice Varma’s government residence. After the fire was doused, authorities reportedly found partially burnt stacks of cash in the gutted room.
A fact-finding committee led by Justices Sheel Nagu, G.S. Sandhawalia, and Anu Sivaraman concluded that Justice Varma and his family were in “covert or active control” of access to the storeroom. The panel noted that the cash was “highly suspicious” and likely placed there with the “tacit or active consent” of the judge or his family.
Justice Varma had claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy. However, the committee rejected this, stating it would be “well-nigh impossible” to plant currency inside the high-security residence of a sitting judge. It also concluded there was “strong inferential evidence” to suggest that the cash was removed by Varma’s trusted staff during the early hours of March 15.
On May 3, the committee submitted its confidential report to then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, who forwarded it to the President and Prime Minister just days before his retirement on May 13. Justice Varma had reportedly refused to resign, prompting the communication.
