Fire at Delhi HC judge's house leads to recovery of huge pile of cash, Supreme Court collegium acts

The SC Collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has decided to transfer Justice Varma.

A large amount of unaccounted cash was found after a fire broke out at the official bungalow of a Delhi High Court judge, leading to his transfer by the Supreme Court collegium.

The Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, led Collegium has decided to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma to another high court, according to a report by Times of India.

When the fire broke out last week, Justice Varma was not in the town and his family members called the fire brigade and police. After the fire was brought under control, first responders found a huge amount of cash inside a room. This led to official entries being made about the recovery of the cash pile.

As the news reached the higher-ups, the CJI was informed. He took cognizance of the issue and called a collegium meeting. The collegium unanimously decided to transfer Justice Varma back to his parent HC, the Allahabad High Court. The judge had moved to Delhi HC from Allahabad HC back in October 2021.

However, some members of the collegium felt stricter action was required to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the judiciary, which would have serious consequences on its ability to deliver justice to the people, sources were quoted as saying by NDTV.

The members reportedly said that Justice Varma should resign and if he declines to do so, an in-house inquiry should be initiated by the CJI.

In 1999 the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to deal with allegations of corruption, wrongdoing, and judicial irregularity against judges of the Constitutional Court.

According to these guidelines, on receiving a complaint the Chief Justice will first seek a reply from the judge concerned. If he is dissatisfied with the answer, or believes the matter requires further investigation, he can form an internal committee. This committee will consist of one Supreme Court judge and two High Court Chief Justices.