New Delhi: The Supreme Court has made public the full 25-page inquiry report concerning the alleged discovery of a large sum of cash at the residence of Delhi High Court judge, Yashwant Varma.
The report, submitted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, was uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website last night.
According to the inquiry findings, official communications revealed that four to five semi-burnt stacks of Indian currency were found during a firefighting operation at Justice Varma’s residence on the night of March 14, coinciding with Holi celebrations. The report includes videos and photographs from the incident, which led to the recovery of the cash.
In response to the allegations, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has formed a three-member in-house inquiry committee to further investigate the claims against Justice Varma. Additionally, CJI Khanna has instructed the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to refrain from assigning any judicial duties to Justice Varma until the inquiry is completed.
Justice Varma, however, has denied the allegations, asserting that neither he nor his family members placed any cash in the storeroom. He suggested that the allegations were part of a conspiracy aimed at framing and tarnishing his reputation.
The discovery of the cash followed a fire at the judge’s residence, with earlier media reports claiming that the fire inadvertently led to the uncovering of the unaccounted funds. In response to the situation, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court.
However, during a full court meeting held on Friday, it was agreed that a transfer alone would not suffice, and further action would be taken. The court unanimously approved an in-house inquiry, with the transfer to Allahabad still pending government approval.
