Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Saturday constituted a three-member committee to investigate allegations against Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma following the alleged discovery of a pile of cash from his official residence. The inquiry is part of an in-house mechanism to investigate the allegations.
The three-member panel includes Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the Karnataka High Court.
The CJI also directed the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma during the investigation. The Delhi High Court’s report on the cash discovery allegations, along with Justice Varma’s response, will be published soon on the Supreme Court’s website, the press release by the Supreme Court read.
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The controversy emerged when a firefighting operation at Justice Yashwant Varma’s official residence allegedly led to the discovery of unaccounted cash, according to media reports.
During a full court meeting of Supreme Court judges on Friday morning, it was unanimously decided that a mere transfer was insufficient and a thorough in-house probe was necessary. The transfer process is underway but awaits government approval, reported Bar and Bench.
However, the Supreme Court earlier clarified that Justice Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court is not related to recent allegations against him. The apex court asserted that the in-house probe is being conducted as per established procedures, dismissing any misinformation or speculation regarding the judge’s relocation due to the recent incidents.