The Supreme Court Collegium has ordered immediate transfer of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent High Court of Allahabad, following recovery of huge amount of cash from his residence last week.
The Apex Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, took the decision during an urgent meeting convened on March 20.
As per a leading English daily, a massive fire broke out at the residence of Justice Varma on March 14. The judge was reportedly out of town when the incident happened. His family called the fire brigade and police.
After the blaze was extinguished, officials discovered a huge sum of cash inside one of the rooms. The local police documented the recovery and reported the matter to senior officials, eventually alerting higher authorities in the government.
As soon as the news reached CJI Sanjiv Khanna, he convened an urgent Collegium meeting to discuss the matter.
The Collegium ordered immediate transfer of the Delhi High Court judge to his parent High Court in Allahabad, where he had previously served before being appointed to the Delhi High Court in October 2021.
Some members of the five-judge Collegium, however, raised concerns that merely transferring the judge would not be sufficient in a case of this magnitude.
They warned that failing to take stricter action could tarnish the judiciary’s credibility and erode public trust in the institution.
As per the newspaper, the members suggested asking Justice Varma to resign voluntarily. If he refused, an in-house inquiry may be initiated against him, which could later lead to impeachment proceedings by the Parliament.
The in-house procedure formulated by the Supreme Court in 1999 said that while dealing with allegations of corruption or misconduct against judges, the CJI should first seek the judge’s explanation.
If dissatisfied, a probe panel could be constituted comprising a sitting judge from the Apex Court and two High Court Chief Justices to conduct investigation.
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