Supreme Court To Consider In-House Enquiry Against Delhi HC Judge Over Recovery Of Cash At Residence

After an extraordinary meeting, the Supreme Court Collegium is considering to recommend the transfer of Justice Yashwant Verma, Judge of the Delhi High Court, following reports regarding the discovery of huge amounts of unaccounted cash in his official residence.

Justice Verma is proposed to be transferred to the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court. Before finalising the proposal, the Collegium has sought the responses of Justice Verma, and the Chief Justices of the Delhi and Allahabad High Courts. Considering the responses, the Collegium will pass a resolution.

It is understood from those privy to the development that the transfer is not the final step and is only a preliminary action, with the authorities considering further actions as per the law. 

It is understood that the Delhi High Court Chief Justice has commenced an in-house enquiry and will submit a report to the Chief Justice of India today.

As per the in-house enquiry procedure adopted by the Supreme Court, when there are allegations against a High Court Judge, the Chief Justice of India, after a preliminary enquiry, forms a committee of three Supreme Court judges to enquire into the matter after seeking the response of the Judge in question. Based on the report of the in-house panel, further action can be taken. It is understood that the CJI has initiated the preliminary enquiry into the matter.

A High Court Judge can be removed from office only through an impeachment motion passed by the Parliament. No judge has been impeached in India's history. Though some faced proceedings, they resigned before completion.

As per a report in the Times of India, the cash was found when a fire brigade reached Justice Verma'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.