New Delhi, March 23 The Supreme Court, on Saturday, released the video shared by the city's Commissioner of Police with the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court (HC) showing the burnt cash piles purportedly at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma.
Apart from the videos, the press statement released by the apex court annexed the report submitted by the Chief Justice of the Delhi HC, response of Justice Varma, and other documents.
In his written explanation furnished to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Varma, who is facing the allegations that a large amount of unaccounted cash was discovered at his residence last week, said that the visuals depicting burnt cash pile appeared to be "a conspiracy to frame and malign" him.
As per the judge, the incident tends to give credence to his "firm belief that the entire incident is part of a sequence of events which occurred in the recent past including the unfounded allegations that circulated on social media in December 2024".
"I unequivocally state that neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time. Our cash withdrawals, made from time to time, are all documented and always through regular banking channels, the use of UPI applications and cards. In so far as the allegation of the recovery of cash, I once again make it clear that no one from my house ever reported seeing any currency in burnt form in the room," said Justice Varma.
"Assuming without admitting that the video was taken immediately at the time of the incident at the site, none of it appears to have been recovered or seized. The second aspect which I need to underscore is that none of the staff was shown any remnants of cash or currency that may have been present on site," he added.
On Friday, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry against Justice Varma.
"The Chief Justice of India has constituted a three-member Committee consisting of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh; and Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge of the High Court of Delhi," said a press statement released by the Supreme Court.
It added that the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma.
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