NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday clarified Justice Yashwant Varma’s transfer saying that “misinformation and rumors are being spread,” further adding that his “transfer proposal is separate from ongoing in-house enquiry.” These remarks came after a pile of unaccounted cash- allegedly 15 crore- was found following the fire broke out at Justice Yashwant Varma‘s residence.
“There is misinformation and rumours being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma…The proposal for transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma, who is the second senior most Judge in the Delhi high court and a member of the Collegium, to his parent high court i.e. the high court of Judicature at Allahabad, where he will be ninth in seniority, is independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure,” SC said in a statement.
Delhi high court Chief Justice, who began the enquiry before the Collegium meeting on March 20 will present his report to the Chief Justice today, the Supreme Court added. After which, the report will undergo examination for subsequent necessary actions.
The proposal was examined by the Collegium comprising of the CJI and four senior most Judges of the Supreme Court on 20th March, and thereafter letters were written to the consultee Judges of the top court, the Chief Justices of the high courts concerned and Justice Yashwant Varma. Responses received will be examined and, thereupon, the Collegium will pass a resolution, the statement read.
The In-house enquiry procedure, established by the Supreme Court in C. Ravichandran lyer v. Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee (1995) 5 SCC 457, is accessible on the Supreme Court of India’s website, it added.
Justice Varma was out of town when the fire broke out at his residence, leading his family to alert emergency services. Following the fire’s containment, emergency personnel discovered a huge amount of cash within one of the chambers.
The Supreme Court’s established protocol for investigating constitutional court judges requires the CJI to obtain the judge’s statement before determining whether to launch an investigation.
