Justice Upadhyay initiated an in-house inquiry to gather evidence and information about the incident. He completed his findings and submitted the report on Friday. Now, the Supreme Court collegium will examine the report and may take further action based on its findings.
New Delhi, March 22: Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyay has submitted a report to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna regarding the alleged discovery of cash at the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma in Lutyens’ Delhi.
Justice Upadhyay initiated an in-house inquiry to gather evidence and information about the incident. He completed his findings and submitted the report on Friday. Now, the Supreme Court collegium will examine the report and may take further action based on its findings.
The incident came to light after a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s residence at around 11:35 PM on March 14, the night of Holi. The Delhi Fire Department rushed to the spot and managed to douse the flames. It was during this emergency response that a large amount of cash was reportedly discovered at the judge’s residence.
The Supreme Court issued a statement on Friday, clarifying the situation “There is misinformation and rumours being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma.”
The statement further explained that upon receiving details of the incident, “Justice Upadhyaya commenced the in-house enquiry procedure collecting evidence and information.”
Justice Upadhyay began this inquiry before the collegium meeting took place on March 20.
The Supreme Court clarified that the proposal to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court is a separate matter and is not connected to the in-house inquiry.
The court explained the process of the transfer decision:
“The proposal for transferring him was examined by the apex court collegium comprising the CJI and four senior-most judges on March 20, and thereafter letters were shot off to the consultee judges of the top court, the chief justices of the high courts concerned apart from Justice Varma.”
The Supreme Court further stated “Responses received will be examined and, thereupon, the collegium will pass a resolution.”
According to Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg, their control room received a distress call about the fire at 11:35 PM on March 14.
“The control room received a call about a blaze at Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence at 11.35 pm on March 14 and two fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot,”
said Mr. Garg.
The fire tenders arrived at the location by 11:43 PM.
“Fire tenders reached the spot at 11.43 pm,” he confirmed. The fire was located in a store room filled with stationery and household items. It took about 15 minutes to extinguish the flames. Fortunately, no one was injured.
No Cash Found, Says Fire Chief
Following the fire, the department promptly informed the police.
“Soon after dousing the flames, we informed police about the fire incident. Thereafter, a team of fire department personnel left the spot,” Mr. Garg stated. He also emphasized that firefighters did not come across any money while carrying out their duties. “Our firefighters did not find any cash during their firefighting operation,” he clarified.
Amid the incident, reports surfaced that a large amount of cash was allegedly found at Justice Varma’s residence during the fire. In response, the Supreme Court collegium has initiated a preliminary inquiry into the matter. Additionally, discussions are underway regarding Justice Varma’s possible transfer to the Allahabad High Court.
BACKGROUND
The Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Justice Yashwant Verma from the Delhi High Court back to his parent High Court Allahabad. Sources informed that this decision came after a significant amount of unaccounted cash was found in his official bungalow last week during the Holi holidays.
The cash discovered following a fire in the building, which prompted family members of the judge who was out of the city at the time to call emergency services, leading to police involvement.
Upon learning of the situation through official channels, the Collegium, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, opted to transfer Justice Verma.
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