Nueva Delhi: In a rare public dissemination, the Supreme Court on Saturday night uploaded reports, photos and videos related to accusations of cash unlocked in the official residence of Judge Yashwant Varma, a judge of the Superior Court of Delhi. The materials, now available on the Court’s website, reveal the findings of an internal investigation and the detailed response of the Varma Judge that denies the accusations.
The controversy exploded after a fire in the official residence of Judge Varma on March 14 led to the discovery of large amounts of cash. The decision of the Supreme Court to make these public documents indicate the severity of the accusations and the commitment of the Judiciary to transparency.
The fire incident leads to cash discovery
According to the report of the President of the Superior Court of Delhi, Manmohan Upadhyay, the fire broke out in a warehouse of the Judge Varma residence at approximately 11:30 pm on March 14. The fire was reported by Judge Varma’s personal secretary after being informed by household staff, live law.
The next day, the president of the Upadhyay Supreme Court, together with the registrar of the Superior Court, visited the Bungalow and personally inspected the scene. The report mentions that the warehouse was separately from the main homes and had limited access to servants, gardeners and, sometimes of the CPWD personnel, of Judge Varma.
The Delhi police commissioner shared with the images and videos of the president of the Supreme Court of Upadhyay of the scene, which showed cash captures, some of them burned. The Supreme Court has now published these materials publicly, offering an unprecedented look at the case.
Judge Varma raises conspiracy concerns
When the photographs of the cash are shown, Judge Varma expressed concern about a possible conspiracy against him. In his formal response to the president of the president of India, he categorically denied any connection with the cash or the knowledge of how he reached the warehouse.
“I unequivocally affirmed that it did not get cash in that warehouse for me or any of my family members. The suggestion that this cash belonged to us is absurd. The warehouse is an open and commonly used area near the personnel of the staff, disconnected from my life spaces,” said Justice Varma.
He also criticized the media for what he described as premature and defamatory reports. “I would only like the media had conducted some investigation before they accused and defamed me in the press,” added their response.
The Supreme Court demands answers
After the initial investigation, the president of the Supreme Court of India, Sanjiv Khanna, instructed the President of the Upadhyay Supreme Court to seek more clarifications of the judge VARMA in three critical points:
- The source of unfashed cash.
- Identification of the person who eliminated the burned cash on the morning of March 15.
- Preservation of all mobile data, including records and calls of calls.
Judge Varma has explicitly asked that he does not delete the data from his phone.
Three Judges Consultation Panel formed
In the light of the conclusions, the Supreme Court has formed a three -members committee to carry out internal investigation in depth. The panel members are Judge Sheel Nagu (President of the Court Justice of Punjab and Haryana), Judge GS Sandhawalia (President of the Superior Court of Himachal Pradesh) and Judge Anu Sivaraman (Judge, Superior Court of Karnataka).
In addition, Judge Varma has temporarily relieved judicial duties. The president of the Superior Court of the Delhi Court received instructions not to assign more cases waiting for the result of the investigation.