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New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla formed a three-member panel to probe allegations against Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on Tuesday. The controversy started when firefighters found a large sum of burned and partially burned cash at his residence in March this year.
The fire at Justice Varma's home occurred on March 14th, while he was serving as a judge in the Delhi High Court. The newly formed panel comprises Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Maninder Mohan, and senior advocate BV Acharya.
Why was Justice Varma's plea dismissed?
This development follows the Supreme Court's dismissal last week of Justice Varma's plea to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel appointed by the apex court. This panel had previously found Justice Varma guilty of misconduct in connection with the cash discovery.
The inquiry process began on March 21st when the Chief Justice of India (CJI) requested a written response from Justice Varma. The following day, Justice Varma submitted his response, refuting the allegations. Subsequently, CJI Sanjiv Khanna formed a three-member committee to delve deeper into the accusations. The Supreme Court also uploaded an in-house inquiry report, complete with supporting photos and videos, onto its website.
Plea was filed anonymously by "XXX"
Earlier, on July 30th, the Supreme Court had sternly addressed Justice Varma, remarking that his conduct failed to inspire confidence. The apex court also underscored the CJI's authority to act on judicial misconduct, stating that the CJI cannot merely be a "post office" but holds significant duties to the nation.
The Supreme Court's remarks came during the hearing of Justice Varma's plea, which was filed anonymously and titled 'XXX vs The Union of India.' This petition sought to nullify the in-house inquiry panel's report finding him guilty of misconduct concerning the discovered cash.
Supreme Court questions Justice Varma
The Supreme Court had also questioned Justice Varma about his decision to approach the apex court only after the in-house committee had found him guilty. The court posed pointed questions, asking why he had appeared before the inquiry committee and did not challenge its findings at that stage. The apex court also indicated that Justice Varma should have approached the Supreme Court earlier regarding the panel's report.
