Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who finds himself at the centre of a huge row amid reports of alleged cash discovery from his official home, was named in an FIR in connection with a financial scandal in 2018.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had launched a probe into Simbhaoli Sugar Mill following a complaint from the Oriental Bank of Commerce in February 2018. The bank alleged that the company misappropriated a Rs 97.85 crore loan intended for farmers, diverting the funds for other purposes.
Justice Varma, who served as non-executive director - Simbhaoli Sugars, was named as accused number 10 in the financial fraud case.
The company took loan to distribute among farmers for their agricultural equipments and other needs, but later misappropriated it and transferred the loan amount into its other accounts. There was a clear-cut diversion of funds. The money that the company received was used for purposes other than agreed upon.
Simbhaoli Sugars had already been flagged as a 'suspected fraud' case by May 2015, and even reported to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The company's account was declared a non-performing asset in 2012.
Last year, the Supreme Court set aside an Allahabad HC decision to order a CBI probe into the Simbhaoli Sugars matter. The top court had said the High Court erred as no investigation was warranted but clarified that the authorities were not precluded from taking action for fraud in accordance with law.
Cash row
A huge pile of cash was recovered from Justice Yashwant Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence last week after a fire broke out. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg, however, denied claims of the cash discovery by the fire fighters.
The quantum of the alleged discovered amount is also not known.
Taking prompt action, the Supreme Court collegium - led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna - initiated an in-house inquiry. It also proposed the transfer of Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court, but clarified later that it was independent and separate from in-house enquiry procedure.
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