Cash row
Justice Yashwant Varma's transfer is not related to cash row probe: Supreme Court
New Delhi/IBNS: Refuting misinformation, the Supreme Court Friday said the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma is not related to the inquiry into the alleged recovery of a huge pile of unaccounted cash at his home.
The apex court said the in-house probe is being conducted according to the procedure prescribed by the Supreme Court, and the transfer has nothing to do with the investigation.
The Supreme Court flagged "misinformation and rumours" as reasons behind linking Justice Varma's transfer to the cash recovery.
"Misinformation and rumours are being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma... On receiving the information, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court commenced the in-house inquiry procedure collecting evidence and information," the Supreme Court said in a press note.
The top court, however, confirmed the "reported incident" happened in Delhi.
The Delhi High Court Chief Justice, who began the inquiry before the Collegium on Thursday, will give a report on Friday to the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, the Supreme Court said.
"The report will be examined and processed for further and necessary action," it said.
The top court said the proposal for transferring Justice Varma, the second senior-most judge in the Delhi High Court and a member of the Collegium, to the Allahabad High Court, is independent and separate from the in-house inquiry procedure.
What happened at Justice Varma's house?
A fire at a Delhi High Court judge's residential bungalow led to the recovery of a huge pile of unaccounted cash, prompting the Supreme Court collegium to swing into action, media reports said.
Justice Yashwant Varma was out of town when a fire broke out at his residence last week. Justice Varma's family members had called the fire brigade.
But when the firefighters doused the fire, a huge pile of cash was discovered inside a room.
Police were called by the firefighters.
The accidental discovery, which left the judiciary red-faced, led Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna to call an immediate collegium meeting.
Justice Varma is yet to respond to the discovery of cash at his residence.
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