NEW DELHI: The in-house committee constituted on 22 March to probe the allegations of alleged huge recovery of cash at Justice Yashwant Varma's residence has indicted him in its report submitted to the CJI, sources told TNIE.
When TNIE contacted Justice Varma for his response on the in-house probe panel against him, there was no reply from him.
TNIE has also learnt from another senior official from the top court that Justice Varma has been given time until Friday, 9 May, to file or submit his defence to the CJI on the in-house enquiry committee report in the case.
The three-judge inquiry committee, which was probing the cash recovery at Justice Varma’s house on 14 March, started its enquiry on 25 March and submitted a report to the CJI (Chief Justice of India) Sanjiv Khanna on 4 May.
After 40 days of the panel being set up by the top court, the committee submitted its report after conducting due diligence on the probe into the cash recovery issue.
The inquiry panel zeroed in on many questions to ensure a thorough investigation before coming to a conclusion. "These questions are: who is the owner of this huge amount of cash? Who brought and kept all these large sums of currency notes, if any, in the storehouse?" the source added.
The panel also questioned why the currency notes, if any, found in the storehouse were not shown to the family members of Justice Varma, as has been stated by him. Where are the remains of the burnt currency or cash notes, which are visible in the video shared by the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, with the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court?
The in-house committee which probed the case consisted of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G. S. Sandhawalia, and Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice Anu Sivaraman.
Earlier, in his defence, Justice Varma vehemently denied all the allegations levelled against him. He claimed that the room which caught fire and where cash was allegedly found was an outhouse, and not the main building where the judge and his family reside.
"I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members, and I strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous. The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous.
It is a room which is completely disassociated from my living areas, and a boundary wall demarcates my living area from that outhouse. I only wish that the media had conducted some enquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press," Justice Varma said in his reply, a copy of which was accessed by TNIE.
He was also asked not to dispose of his mobile phone.
Earlier, the Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on 20 and 24 March, had recommended the repatriation of Justice Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, his parent High Court. He was directed since then not to conduct any judicial work there.
The CJI had constituted the inquiry committee after receiving the report submitted by Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
According to reports, a fire at the judge's house on 14 March inadvertently led to the recovery of alleged cash by a firefighter. It was stated that the cash was initially found by fire tenders when the fire broke out at the judge’s residence. The judge was not present at his house when the fire incident took place.
Justice Varma, in his earlier reply to the probe panel, said that no currency was recovered from the premises that he and his family actually occupy and use. "That part of the premises is, as indicated, removed from the living quarters. It is in the aforesaid background that I urge you to absolve me of these unfounded and baseless allegations," Justice Varma said.
In his emotional reply, he clarified that in the life of a judge, nothing matters more than reputation and character. That has been severely tarnished and irreparably damaged. "The baseless allegations that have been levelled against me have proceeded on mere innuendos and an unproven assumption that the cash allegedly seen and found belonged to me," Justice Varma replied.
Terming the incident as one that has scarred his reputation built over more than a decade as a High Court Judge, Justice Varma said he has been left with no means to defend himself.
"I would also beseech you to bear in consideration that in all my years as a High Court Judge, no such allegation had ever been made in the past, nor any doubt cast on my integrity. In fact, I would be grateful if an enquiry is made with respect to my functioning as a judge and what is the perception of the legal fraternity with regard to my integrity and honesty in the discharge of my judicial functions," Justice Varma said.
Claiming his innocence on certain questions put to him, Justice Varma clarified that he was never aware of any money or cash lying in the outhouse storeroom. "Neither I nor any of my family members had any knowledge of the cash, nor does it have any bearing or relation to me or my family. No such cash or currency was shown to my family members or staff who were present on that fateful night," he said.
Justice Varma added that what baffles him was the complete absence of any sacks of allegedly burnt currency that were ever recovered or seized. "We categorically assert that neither my daughter, Private Secretary, nor household staff were shown these so-called sacks of burnt currency. I stand by my consistent position that when they accessed the storeroom, there was no currency, burnt or otherwise, which could be seen," he stated.
Clarifying his stand, he said the storeroom is removed from his residence and was used as a general dump room for disused articles and other sundry household items. "I wonder who would countenance an allegation that currency would be kept in a storeroom in a corner of the house and which is freely accessible, from amongst others, through the back gate also," Justice Varma said in his defence reply.
