NEW DELHI: A three-member committee formed by the Supreme Court visited the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on Tuesday to investigate an alleged cash recovery case. The probe comes after a fire broke out in the storeroom of Justice Varmaโs residence on March 14, leading to reports of burnt currency notes.
The panel includes Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court), Justice GS Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka High Court).
Following the incident, the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and four senior-most judges, recommended Justice Varmaโs transfer to the Allahabad High Court, his parent institution. The Collegium clarified that the transfer decision was unrelated to the ongoing in-house inquiry initiated by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice into the cash recovery.
Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association has strongly opposed Justice Varmaโs transfer. After a general meeting in Prayagraj, Bar president Anil Tiwari criticized the move, demanding a CBI and ED probe along with an FIR. He also called for impeachment proceedings to prevent potential evidence tampering and questioned the collegium system for allegedly favoring influential individuals.
The investigation continues as legal circles debate the implications of the case.
