In a late-night action on Saturday, the Supreme Court released photographs and video evidence of charred bags of currency notes purportedly seized from Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma’s residence during a fire-fighting exercise on March 14.
The video, which was circulated by the Delhi Police Commissioner to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, depicts mounds of charred money littered on the ground. Justice Varma was not in court when the fire broke out. The event has caused controversy surrounding the source of the cash and its implications for the incumbent judge.
In response to the accusations, Justice Varma rebuffed suggestions that money was seized from his official residence, referring to the accusations as “totally preposterous.” He refuted the suggestion that either he or members of his family had kept money in the implicated storeroom.
I categorically affirm that there was never any cash deposited in that storeroom either by me or my family members and firmly deprecate the imputation that the supposed cash was ours,” Justice Varma declared in his statement.
He also challenged the credibility of the charges, insisting that the storeroom is a public area close to the staff accommodation, and there is a boundary wall between it and his living area. “The implication that one would hold cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom comes close to the incredible and incredulous,” he said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has constituted a three-member committee to carry out an in-house investigation into the issue. Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was also instructed not to give any judicial work to Justice Varma during the probe.
The fire erupted on March 14 in a storeroom that was off-limits to only residents of the bungalow, the report of the inquiry said. Delhi Police Commissioner reported the incident to Chief Justice Upadhyaya on March 15 and he went there himself along with the High Court Registrar.
Justice Varma has been directed to preserve all the phone records and messages. The investigation will centre on where the “unaccounted cash” came from, how the incinerated money was withdrawn, and if other evidence substantiates the charges.
