NEW DELHI: Retired Chief Justices of India, former judges and Attorney Generals (AGs) said the recovery of piles of cash at Justice Yashwant Varma's residence was sad and worrisome, but wanted the probe by a three-member committee to be completed before jumping to conclusions.
Former CJI K G Balakrishnan, talking exclusively to TNIE, said, "Certainly this news was sad and heartbreaking for all of us. The probe panel must find out the truth and come to a logical conclusion as to where the money came from. How did it land at Justice Varma’s official residence? The panel can take the help of the CCTV cameras installed there," the former CJI said.
His views were echoed by former CJI Tirath Singh Thakur who said, "Definitely the cash recovery was worrisome and troubling for all of us. I am taken aback by the news. The judiciary is dealing with the issue and formed a panel to inquire into it." He cautioned the media not to anticipate the outcome and come to a conclusion at present. "Let us wait for the probe to be completed," he added.
Former Attorney General (AG) and senior Supreme Court lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, while talking to TNIE, said, "I am pained and sad to see the cash recovery from the residence of Justice Varma. This issue certainly is a huge dent in the heart of the judicial dispensation system. If the judge is found to be guilty, action should be taken at the earliest. At this stage, everything is in the public domain. The credit goes to the Chief Justice of India for taking such a courageous stand to show everything to the public."
Another former AG and veteran lawyer K K Venugopal said a lot of questions have to be answered by Justice Varma. "It is a sad thing not just on the part of the judiciary to see the cash recovery but for everyone. Justice Varma will depose before the in-House panel of the Supreme Court and reply to the questions put forth by it. After his deposition, the panel will examine the case from all angles," Venugopal told TNIE.
He said the judge has to come clean and establish that the money recovered from his residence was not connected to him in any manner. "He also has to establish that he is prima facie not involved in it. If he cannot prove it, then he shall face action," he said, adding that the faith of public in the judiciary has to be restored.
"This matter is hurting many of us. Let the probe be completed and the truth come out," said retired judge of the Allahabad HC Justice S R Singh, in whose court Justice Varma had appeared as a lawyer in many cases.
"We have to see both sides to find out whether he is involved in it or not. We cannot say that he is innocent or guilty until the probe committee comes to a conclusion," he said.
Justice Singh noted that the internal inquiry of the judiciary is being carried out by the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice G S Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court.
"They are experts and handling the case very well by examining the crime scene and visiting the residence of Justice Varma. Truth will come out soon. We have to wait," he added.
Commenting on the SC Collegium's recommendation transferring Justice Varma to the Allahabad HC, former Allahabad HC judge Justice Govind Mathur said the appointment of a judge to a High Court by way of transfer from one High Court to another was a rare phenomenon in our constitutional scheme, but nowadays they are made routinely.
"As a matter of fact, I really failed to understand why Justice Yashwant Verma was transferred to the Delhi High Court in 2021. In the present scenario, when an in-house probe has already been commenced and no judicial work will now be assigned to the judge concerned, it is difficult to agree with proposed transfer," he said.
Justice Mathur further said he did not think this transfer was necessary or in any manner helpful for an effective in-house enquiry or in building public confidence in the judiciary that has been shaken as a consequence of this incident. "As per media reports, Allahabad lawyers are on the path of agitation against this recommendation. This too will certainly waste judicial working days of the Allahabad High Court, which is otherwise in bad shape due to a very low number of judges," he said.
"Our criminal law demands that on noticing a crime's commission, Delhi police should have taken immediate action including securing the crime scene to prevent tampering with evidence or escape of suspects. Police should have seized the material found at the spot and initiated a formal investigation by registering a First Information Report (FIR). They should have ensured the scene was undisturbed until a thorough investigation. Police utterly failed to take any action in accordance with law. It is highly damaging that the entire scene of the crime has been disturbed. Till today, no case has been lodged. As such, there is no question of collection of further evidence," Justice Mathur said.
"Police, instead of waiting for instructions, should have acted as per law. More surprisingly, neither the Registrar General of the Supreme Court nor the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court, who were aware of the entire incident, instructed the police to take necessary steps as per the law," he said.
The purpose of the in-house inquiry by a committee constituted by the Supreme Court is to satisfy itself about the existence of adequate material to initiate impeachment, Justice Mathur said, adding that the committee has wide powers to adopt its own procedure to arrive at a definite conclusion.
