New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has withdrawn judicial work from Justice Yashwant Varma after a significant amount of unaccounted cash was discovered at his official residence following a fire incident on March 14.
A notice issued by the Registrar of the High Court on Monday confirmed that judicial work had been withdrawn โwith immediate effect till further orders.โ This decision follows directions from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, who on March 22 advised the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma. Consequently, cases listed before him will be assigned new dates by the court master.
The cash recovery occurred after fire personnel responded to a blaze at Justice Varmaโs residence, where they stumbled upon a large sum of burnt cash. A video of the recovery was reportedly shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the High Court. Justice Varma and his wife were out of Delhi, traveling in Madhya Pradesh, while only his daughter and elderly mother were present at home when the fire broke out.
Following the incident, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to repatriate Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court. Additionally, the CJI initiated an in-house inquiry on March 21, setting up a three-member committee to investigate the matter. The Supreme Court has also released a report prepared by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice on the incident, along with Justice Varmaโs response.
