Cash row: CJI Sanjiv Khanna constitutes 3-member committee to conduct inquiry into allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma

Justice Yashwant Varma

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on March 22 constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry into allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma from whose official residence a large stash of cash was allegedly discovered after a fire.

CJI Khanna ordered the in-house inquiry after getting a report from Chief Justice of Delhi High Court D K Upadhyay and asked him not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma.

The inquiry committee consists 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.

"The Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Mr Justice Yashwant Varma.

"The Report submitted by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi, response of Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma, and other documents, are being uploaded on the Supreme Court website," a statement from the top court said.

The purported discovery of a huge stash of cash happened when a fire broke out at Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence at around 11.35 pm on March 14, prompting the Delhi fire department personnel to rush to the spot and douse it.

Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg, however, denied claims of the cash discovery by the firefighters.

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The incident created ripples in the legal circuit, with many voices calling for the judge's resignation while criticising the Supreme Court collegium decision to transfer him.

The top court in a statement on Friday said the Delhi High Court chief justice had initiated an in-house inquiry against him and the proposal to transfer him to the Allahabad High Court was separate.

The top court issued a press release stating that Justice Varma's transfer to the Allahabad High court was 'independent and separate from the in-house enquiry procedure'.

The court further stated that the Collegium is yet to make any official recommendation to transfer him. In fact, the proposal is still under consideration and the judges' body has written letters to the consultee Judges of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justices of the High Courts concerned and Justice Yashwant Varma himself for inputs, it said.

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association strongly opposed the transfer of Delhi High Court sitting judge Justice Yashwant Varma, saying it was not a 'trash bin'.

"We were taken aback that the Supreme Court has transferred Justice Yashwant Varma back to Allahabad High Court ...," the association said in a resolution passed soon after the news of the judge's transfer by a SC collegium was reported.