Delhi HC Judge Under SC Collegium Scrutiny After Reports Of Cash Recovery From His Home
In an extraordinary development that shocked the judiciary and the legal fraternity, reports have emerged that a large pile of unaccounted cash was found in the official residence of a Judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice Yashwant Varma.As per a report in the Times of India, the cash was found when a fire brigade reached the judge's residence to douse a fire. Justice Varma was not in...
In an extraordinary development that shocked the judiciary and the legal fraternity, reports have emerged that a large pile of unaccounted cash was found in the official residence of a Judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice Yashwant Varma.
As per a report in the Times of India, the cash was found when a fire brigade reached the judge's residence to douse a fire. Justice Varma was not in his residence then. When the fire personnel found the hoards of currency, they took pictures and videos of it and alerted their seniors. Ultimately, the matter was reported to the higher-ups in the government, who in turn informed the Chief Justice of India.
This led to CJI Sanjiv Khanna convening an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday evening to discuss the matter.
This morning, Senior Advocate Arun Bharadwaj mentioned the issue relating to Justice Varma before Delhi HC Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya.
“Today's incident has pained many of us. Please take some steps on the administrative side so that these incidents do not happen in future and the truthfulness of judicial system is maintained…We are shaken and demoralized.”
Chief Justice Upadhyaya replied, "So is everybody… We are conscious of the…". Incidentally, Justice Varma is not sitting today.
Various news reports stated that the Supreme Court Collegium had decided yesterday to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Justice Varma, who originally belonged to the Allahabad High Court, was transferred to the Delhi High Court in 2021.
The Supreme Court Collegium apparently met this morning as well to discuss the issue. The benches of the CJI and the next four senior judges commenced proceedings almost 45 minutes late.
