A fire at the residence of Delhi
High Court Judge Yashwant Varma has led to the discovery of a large amount
of cash. Acting swiftly, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, who
heads the Supreme Court collegium, ordered Justice Varma’s immediate transfer
to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court.
Justice Varma was away from the
city when the fire broke out at his official bungalow. His family members
called in firefighters and the police to control the blaze. After the fire was
doused, officials reportedly discovered a massive stack of cash in one of the
rooms.
The discovery was documented,
and senior police officers were alerted.
As the information made its way
up the chain of command, senior government officials were informed and briefed
the CJI. This prompted the Supreme Court collegium to convene an
emergency meeting to deliberate on the matter on Thursday.
The collegium unanimously agreed
to transfer Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High
Court, where he was originally appointed before his move to Delhi in October
2021.
However, some members of the five-judge collegium
expressed concern that a transfer alone may not suffice, given the seriousness
of the incident. They argued that allowing Justice Varma to continue in the
judiciary without further examination could erode public trust in the system.
A section within the collegium
has suggested that Justice Varma step down voluntarily. If he refuses, they are
considering initiating an in-house inquiry, which could lead to impeachment
proceedings.
SC rules on judge
misconduct
According to the Supreme Court’s
in-house procedure laid down in 1999, when a complaint of misconduct is
received against a sitting judge, the CJI must first seek a response from the
judge concerned. If the reply is found unsatisfactory, the CJI has the
authority to form a three-member committee comprising one Supreme Court judge
and two high court chief justices.
If the in-house probe finds
credible evidence of wrongdoing, the matter may proceed to a formal impeachment
process, requiring approval by Parliament as per Articles 124(4) and 217 of the
Constitution.