New Delhi: The three-member in-house committee, constituted by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to investigate the allegations surrounding the recovery of unaccounted cash from the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, officially commenced its probe on Tuesday.
The committee comprises Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice GS Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge of the Karnataka High Court).
The members arrived at Justice Varma’s residence at approximately 1 PM as part of the investigation and spent around 45 minutes at the site.
The controversy erupted following a fire at Justice Varma’s house on the evening of March 14, which inadvertently led to the discovery of a large sum of unaccounted cash by firefighters, as reported by a prominent Newspaper.
Justice Varma and his wife were not in Delhi then, as they were travelling in Madhya Pradesh. Only his daughter and her elderly mother were present in the house when the fire broke out.
The incident has triggered serious allegations of corruption against Justice Varma. However, he has categorically denied the accusations, asserting that the incident appears to be a deliberate conspiracy to frame him.
In response to the controversy, the Chief Justice of India initiated an in-house probe and established a three-member committee on March 22 to conduct an independent investigation.
A video capturing the recovery of burnt cash was reportedly shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. This footage has since been made available on the Supreme Court’s website.
Additionally, the Supreme Court has published a report from the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on the incident, alongside Justice Varma’s official response.
As the probe progresses, the legal fraternity and the public await further developments in this high-profile case
