New Delhi: The alleged discovery of a large stash of cash from the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma drew sharp reactions from the opposition leaders who demanded a fair probe into the matter while some suggested that he should be impeached.
A fire incident at the storeroom of the official residence of Justice Varma on March 14 in posh Lutyens’ Delhi locality purportedly led to the discovery of the cash by firefighters and police personnel.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has constituted a three-member panel to probe the discovery of “four to five semi-burnt sacks” of Indian currency notes after the fire incident.
However, Justice Varma has strongly denounced the allegations, saying no cash was ever placed in the storeroom of his residence either by him or any of his family members.
Reacting to the developments in the matter, the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “This is a big issue, people’s trust in the judiciary has been damaged.”
“This is the first time in the history of India that bundles of currency notes have been discovered from the house of a judge… He should resign and the matter should be investigated. Parliament should also discuss the issue,” he said.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Singh said, “They throw opposition leaders in jail even when no money is recovered. (But in this case) crores of rupees have been found and no probe is being conducted.”
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said the committee formed by CJI Khanna is a step forward, adding the government should make a statement on the issue in Parliament.
“It is really incumbent upon the Chief Justice of India to bring out the truth of this cash fire episode… They have also formed a three-member committee of judges to look into it. This is the best way forward, but I think the Law Minister should make a statement in Parliament as well,” he said.
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed that people’s confidence in the judiciary was webbing away.
“People’s confidence in the judiciary is slowly deteriorating. It is the duty of the judiciary to instil confidence in people. Earlier we have seen sitting a judge resign and join a political party the next day, a CJI retiring and coming up as the member of Parliament,” he said.
“An inquiry has commenced. This is a good step taken by the Chief Justice of India. If the CJI wants, he can recommend impeachment. Parliament can also initiate a step for impeachment,” the MP from Wes Bengal’s Serampore said.
He also said, “The question is, would this kind of thing really stop the corruption of judges? A number of allegations are there but we can’t speak. If we speak we will be hauled up for contempt. The problem in this country is that judges get protection under the Contempt of Courts Act and no one can speak against them.”
P Sandosh Kumar of the Communist Party of India (CPI) said the judge should be impeached.
“The Parliament of India will take steps to get him impeached. It is quite unfortunate and shocking to see such people sitting at the helm of (judicial) affairs,” the CPI MP said.
Azad Samaj party (ASP) MP Chandra Shekhar demanded that a judicial service commission should be formed.
“There are examinations for appointment to every government post. Then why not for judges? A few families have captured the institution… It is time to finish the collegium system and have an all-India judicial commission,” he said.
In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court late on Saturday night uploaded on its website an in-house inquiry report, including photos and a video, into the alleged discovery of a huge stash of cash at Justice Varma’s official residence.
The 25-page inquiry report contains two short notes in Hindi that mention that after the fire at the storeroom of Justice Varma’s residence on March 14 was doused, four to five half-burnt sacks containing currency notes were found.
The report said prima facie, it seemed that a short-circuit had led to the fire.
The video, shared by Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora with Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, shows Delhi Fire Services (DFS) firefighters dousing the flames on articles that apparently included half-burnt Indian currency notes.
