NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday revised the Roster for sitting judges taking Justice Yashwant Varma off judicial work in keeping with a direction from Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sanjiv Khanna who has constituted a three-member panel to investigate the alleged recovery of cash at the former’s home. The controversy also saw two Congress MPs giving Adjournment Motion notices in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, seeking an immediate discussion on the matter.
A circular issued by the HC’s Registrar (listing) on Monday said, “In view of the recent events, the judicial work from Justice Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with immediate effect, till further orders.” “Court Master of Hon’ble DB-III will give dates in the matter listed before Hon’ble DB-III today,” added the notice uploaded on the website of the Delhi High Court.
As per the roster, the Justice Varma-led Division Bench (DB-III), which also comprised Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, dealt with sales tax cases and GST cases, Letters Patent Appeals, regular First Appeals (Original Side), Company Appeals, matters to be heard by Commercial Appellate Division, etc. At the Delhi High Court, Justice Varma is currently the second senior-most judge dealing with writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of any law, statutory rule, regulation or notification pertaining to municipal tax.
Meanwhile, in a related development on Monday, two Congress MPs, Renuka Chowdhury from Rajya Sabha and Manickam Tagore B from Lok Sabha, gave Adjournment Motion notices over the ‘cash at judge’s home’ row, seeking an immediate discussion on the pressing issue. Giving notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, Chowdhury said the “revelation raises concerns about judicial integrity and transparency, crucial for public trust”.
She wrote, “The nation must understand why such a large sum of money was found at a judge’s residence.” The MP wrote, “Even though the Supreme Court has ordered a probe, there is an urgent need to discuss judicial reforms and accountability in this context.”
Manickam Tagore wrote in his notice, “The circumstances surrounding this discovery are highly questionable and demand immediate discussion.” “Given the serious implications for public trust in the judiciary, the government must provide an explanation and assurances regarding the matter. It is essential that this issue is thoroughly discussed, and the truth be laid bare for the people of India,” wrote the MP.
On Sunday, the CJI-appointed probe committee, accompanied by other investigators, visited the residence of Delhi’s Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg to collect information about the sequence of events on March 14 night when burnt Rs 500 currency notes were found during a firefighting operation in the outhouse of Justice Varma’s bungalow on Tughlak Road in Central Delhi.
Meanwhile, a plea has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Delhi Police to register an FIR for an effective investigation into the allegations that a huge pile of burnt cash was discovered at the outhouse of Justice Varma. Questioning the non-registration of a FIR on March 14 itself, the petition, filed by advocate Mathews Nedumpara, said that the delay on the part of the authorities to make available to the public the electronic records raised suspicion about an attempt at a cover-up.
Earlier, Justice Varma denied any wrongdoing and told the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court that the visuals depicting burnt cash pile at his gutted outhouse appeared to be “a conspiracy to frame and malign” him. “I was totally shocked to see the contents of the video since that depicted something which was not found on site as I had seen it. It was this which prompted me to observe that this clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me,” said Justice Varma in his written explanation.
