SC Judges Give Consent For Asset Declaration, But Still No Word On Internal Inquiry On Judge Varma Of Cash Fire Infamy

New Delhi: The judges of the Supreme Court of India have given their approval for their asset declaration, to ensure transparency and boost the public's confidence in the judiciary, amid the growing dissatisfaction after the Burnt Cash Scandal with respect to Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma.

While 30 judges have declared their assets following a full court meeting, there is still no word on the internal inquiry which was underway on Judge Varma, over the Cash Fire Infamy.

Also Read: 'Every Failed Relationship Can’t Be Punished': Supreme Court on Rape Charges Over Marriage Promise

SC Judges Declare Their Assets To Ensure Transparency in Judiciary

In a bid to enhance transparency and strengthen the public trust in the judiciary amid Justice Yashwant Varma's Burnt Cash Scandal, all Supreme Court judges have agreed to publicly disclose their asset declarations. During a full-court meeting on April 1, the judges decided to submit their asset details to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, with plans to upload these declarations on the official Supreme Court website. 

Also Read: Judge Cash Scandal: SC Disposes Off Petition Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma

List of Supreme Court Judges Who Have Publicly Declared Their Assets

The official website of the Supreme Court of India has listed a complete list of SC judges, who have publicly declared their assets, including CJI Sanjiv Khanna. The website has specified that placing the declaration of assets on the Supreme Court website will be on a voluntary basis.

Read the list of 30 out of the 33 Supreme Court judges, who have submitted their declaration of assets -

1. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna
2. Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai
3. Justice Surya Kant
4. Justice Abhay S. Oka
5. Justice Vikram Nath
6. Justice J.K. Maheshwari
7. Justice B.V. Nagarathna
8. Justice M.M. Sundresh
9. Justice Bela M.Trivedi
10. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha
11. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia
12. Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala
13. Justice Dipankar Datta
14. Justice Pankaj Mithal
15. Justice Sanjay Karol
16. Justice Sanjay Kumar
17. Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah
18. Justice Manoj Misra
19. Justice  Rajesh Bindal
20. Justice Aravind Kumar
21. Prashant Kumar Mishra
22. Hon’ble Mr. Justice K.V. Viswanathan
23. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
24. Hon’ble Mr. Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti
25. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
26. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Augustine George Masih
27. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Mehta
28. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale
29. Hon’ble Mr. Justice R. Mahadevan
30. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Manmohan

No Word on Internal Inquiry on Justice Yashwant Varma on Burnt Cash Scandal

This decision of keeping the declaration of assets of the Supreme Court judges in public domain comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of burnt cash at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, who was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court at the time. Justice Varma has been stripped off all judicial work and the government has also approved his transfer to the Allahabad High Court, which is his parent court.

An internal inquiry on the alleged corruption charges is underway; the three-member committee constituted by the apex court, comprises of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court.

Sacks of burnt cash were recovered from the official residence of Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma on the night of March 14, following a fire incident. The discovery of the burnt currency notes sparked a nationwide debate on the transparency and faith in judiciary. An official statement following a probe was given by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and a statement was also issued by CJI Sanjiv Khanna. 

The alleged corruption, which has been touted as the biggest scandal of the Indian judiciary, sparked massive protests across bar associations from across the country, questioned the collegium system of appointing judges and also raised the demand to reinstate the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), to replace the collegium.