Did SC Collegium led by CJI Let Down Justice? Decision to Transfer Faces Backlash After Judge Cash Video Emerges

New Delhi: As the Indian Judiciary remains embroiled in a massive controversy after the discovery of burnt cash at the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, serious questions are now being raised on the transparency of the institution. 

Several voices have now emerged against the CJI-led Supreme Court Collegium's decision to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma. Has the Supreme Court Collegium let justice down?

Decision to Transfer Justice Yashwant Varma Faces Backlash, Has SC Led Justice Down?

In an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, Delhi High Court Senior Advocate, Vikas Gupta questioned the action that has been taken on Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma.

Also Read: How Cash Was Unearthed from Judge’s Home & Supreme Court Finally Admitted So: A Timeline of Justice Yashwant’s Varma’s Case

"Till 20th, Justice Yashwant Varma was holding the court. Look at this, you find cash in the house on the intervening night of March 14th and 15th, he should have been withdrawn from exercising his powers as a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court. Why was that not done? I wholeheartedly give credit to the media for bringing this issue to light, because otherwise, this news would never have reached anyone,” Gupta asked.

Delhi High Court advocate Desh Ratan Nigam also agreed with Vikas Gupta on the fact that Justice Yashwant Varma should have been withdrawn from his work in the first place. On being asked whether this was an attempt to protect the Delhi High Court judge, Nigam said, “There is a possibility and for that, we require a deeper probe. Who are the people, who are the actors, who are the actors behind the scene have to be brought out…”

Furthermore, Supreme Court Senior Advocate Nalin Kohli also raised several questions during his exclusive Conversation with Republic. “The key questions that Justice Verma must answer are: First, how do you explain the presence of this cash? Second, is there a larger issue at play here? And third, how do you explain the report suggesting that the cash was removed later on?” said Kohli.

Supreme Court Accepts Corruption: Apex Court's Course of Action

The incident of fire in a storeroom of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma's official residence was reported on the night of March 14. The Supreme Court Collegium, led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna held a full court meeting and transferred Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent court, the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.

Hours after the transfer, the first statement released by the top court said that this transfer is unrelated to the ongoing probe in the burnt cash scandal and is ‘independent and separate from in-house inquiry procedure’. CJI Sanjiv Khanna then sought a report from the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya following which, a three-member committee was constituted by the top court, for probing the matter.

The report sent to the CJI by the Delhi HC Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India's response, Justice Yashwant Varma's statement on the matter and the photos and videos from the time of the fire incident have all been published online by the Supreme Court, to ensure transparency.

Justice Yashwant Varma Denies Allegations Even After Shocking Judge Cash Video

Despite the video showing burnt cash at the storeroom of his official residence in the national capital, Justice Yashwant Varma has denied the allegations and claimed that this was a conspiracy against him. 

His statement, as published online by the Supreme Court, read, “I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and 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 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 inquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press.”