CJI Constitutes Three-Judge Panel to Probe Allegations Against Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma.
New Delhi:
In response to allegations of unaccounted cash being recovered from the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has formed a three-judge committee to investigate the matter. The inquiry follows a fire incident at Justice Varma’s residence on March 14, during which the cash was reportedly found.
The three-member panel, tasked with looking into the allegations, includes Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court. The CJI also directed Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya to temporarily relieve Justice Varma from judicial duties pending the outcome of the investigation.
The formation of the panel comes after the Delhi High Court Chief Justice submitted a report on the fire incident and the subsequent claims regarding the recovery of unaccounted cash. A response from Justice Varma, along with other relevant documents, has been uploaded on the Supreme Court’s official website.
Interestingly, the fire report prepared by the Delhi Fire Service made no mention of any cash being discovered during their operations. However, the allegations have sparked significant media attention and controversy.
Amid ongoing reports about Justice Varma’s potential transfer from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, the Supreme Court clarified that the transfer proposal is unrelated to the ongoing inquiry. The Collegium, comprising CJI Khanna and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, is still considering the transfer, which is independent of the in-house inquiry.
The issue has also garnered political attention, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raising it in the Rajya Sabha, prompting Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to express concern and assure a structured discussion.
