Justice Yashwant Varma stripped of Judicial duties amid cash scandal

Delhi: Delhi high court chief justice DK Upadhyay on Monday disburdened justice Yashwant Varma from judicial assignments with immediate effect. This was after the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member inquiry panel on Saturday to probe allegations emanating from the reported finding of a huge pile of cash in Justice Varma's house. In light of the recent developments, the judicial work of Hon'ble Mr Yashwant Varma stands withdrawn with "immediate effect" until further orders," a Monday circular issued by the Delhi high court said.

After the decision, the high court also issued a new roster allotting the cases handled by justice Varma's bench to a bench of justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, which will be effective from Tuesday. But on Monday, the court master had assigned dates in the matter listed before justice Varma's bench, who before the controversy, justice Varma's bench dealt with cases related to sales tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Withdrawal of judicial assignments

The step has been taken after CJI Khanna on Saturday recommended against giving any judicial duties to justice Varma temporarily. The committee in-house includes justice Sheel Nagu, chief justice of the Punjab & Haryana high court, justice GS Sandhawalia, chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court, and justice Anu Sivaraman, a judge of the Karnataka high court.

Allegations and investigation

It was decided by CJI Khanna, after being recommended by Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya an in-house probe against justice Varma. Justice Upadhyaya, in his report released late by the Supreme Court, stated: "I am of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a deeper probe." The outrage followed an alleged fire in Justice Varma's official bungalow on Tughlak Road at approximately 11:35pm on March 14.

New roster and case allotment

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) went and put out the blaze within minutes. First responders DFS officials and possibly the police are, however, said to have found piles of money in the storeroom, some of which were said to be burnt. Justice Varma and his spouse were elsewhere in Bhopal. On March 20, collegium of the Supreme Court recommended unilaterally moving justice Varma to Allahabad high court his mother high court.

Background and controversy

But in discussion, two members contended that a simple transfer was not enough and insisted on conducting an in-house inquiry at once. One judge demanded that justice Varma be taken away from judicial assignments at once, and another demanded a regular probe so that the institution could be held accountable. The issue has also evoked responses from the judiciary and legal community. The Allahabad high court Bar Association (HCBA) vehemently opposed the transfer of justice Varma, asking if the Allahabad high court was being used as a "dumping ground.

Reactions and implications

"The row has also echoed in Parliament. On March 21 in the Rajya Sabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar replied to Congress MP Jairam Ramesh's demand for increased judicial accountability by saying he would consider mechanisms for institutionalized discussions on the matter. Dhankhar seemed to suggest reopening the debate about the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2015.