Justice Yashwant Varma cash discovery row: Role of cops, first responders under scanner

Justice Yashwant Varma. (File photo)

As the row over unaccounted cash discovery at Justice Yashwant Varma's residence intensified, the role of the police officers and first responders who reached his home during the fire incident is under the scanner.

The row erupted after piles of burnt cash was recovered from the Delhi High Court judge's residence.

On the day the Delhi fire chief appeared before the Supreme Court-constituted panel probing the matter, sources said two officers, along with their junior colleagues who happened to be on the spot at Tughlaq Road on the night of March 14, are likely to be probed on whether they allowed themselves to be sweet-talked by a woman into accessing the storeroom at Justice Varma's residence where a fire had broken out, according to a report by Times of India.

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Mobile phones of eight Delhi Police have also been seized and sent to the forensic department as part of an investigation into the alleged discovery of a cash pile, police sources told PTI.

Mobile phones of police personnel who were the first to reach the bungalow might hold vital clues to the case. The police brass will go through the content of the seized devices and will look at the possible destruction of footage and messages.

If any videos were taken, investigators will check whether they were tampered with in any way, the source added, PTI reported.

Sources said it is being probed whether a portion of cash was moved from the judge's residence on the night of fire. "The entire cash pile was not gutted, only a portion of it was burnt," a source told TOI.

The developments will be brought to the notice of the three-judge inquiry panel. The panel is learnt to have recorded the statement of Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg. His statement was recorded at Haryana guesthouse in Chanakyapuri, where the inquiry committee has set up a camp office. Committee members reportedly sought details of the incident and procedures followed by fire department during investigation.

Also Read: SC-appointed panel begins probe in cash discovery row: Here’s how this first-of-its-kind investigation will proceed

Meanwhile, Justice Varma had said he was in Madhya Pradesh at the time of the incident. He has denied the allegations, saying that no cash was ever placed in the storeroom by him or any of his family members.

Justice Yashwant Varma is in the thick of controversy over alleged recovery of an undisclosed amount of cash at his residence during a fire-fighting operation on March 14. According to reports, fire broke out on March 14 in a storeroom of the bungalow where Justice Varma was residing and that the storeroom was accessible only to the residents of the bungalow.

Consequently, the apex court collegium headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna and the Delhi High Court issued a series of directives, including the withdrawal of judicial work from Justice Varma on Monday.

The CJI then constituted an in-house committee to conduct an inquiry and asked Delhi HC Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma. On Monday, Justice Varma was de-rostered till further orders.