Panel grants Justice Varma six weeks to address allegations | India News
Are you from India? 🇮🇳
👉 Check Today's Deals on Amazon IndiaInquiry Committee Highlights Serious Charges Against Justice Varma
Background on the Inquiry Committee Formation
New Delhi: A three-member inquiry committee, led by Supreme Court Judge Aravind Kumar, has summoned Justice Yashwant Varma to respond to charges of misconduct. This motion follows the alarming discovery of substantial amounts of burnt and unaccounted currency notes at his official residence.
Justice Varma’s Request for Additional Time
During proceedings on December 5, Justice Varma requested an extension of eight weeks to address the charges against him. The committee, which includes Madras HC Chief Justice M M Srivastava and senior advocate B V Acharya, was established under the Judges (Inquiry) Act on August 12 by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, following a removal motion initiated by 146 MPs. Ultimately, the committee granted him a six-week extension for filing a detailed response, asserting that no further extensions would be permitted.
Evidence Presented by the Inquiry Committee
The inquiry panel has provided Justice Varma with a memo of charges alongside substantial evidence. This material mainly includes videos of the burning cash recorded by Delhi Police and Delhi Fire Service personnel during the firefighting efforts on the night of March 14-15, as well as witness statements from an in-house inquiry conducted by a separate three-member panel formed by former CJI Sanjiv Khanna.
Justice Varma’s Right to Defend Himself
As proceedings unfold before the inquiry panel constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker, Justice Varma will have opportunities to counter the charges, present witnesses in his defense, and cross-examine those supporting the memo of charges against him. Notably, following the discovery of the cash on his premises, Justice Varma was reallocated from the Delhi High Court to his original court in Allahabad and has since been stripped of his judicial duties.
Panel’s Findings and Report Details
On March 22, the then CJI Khanna formed an in-house inquiry panel, which included Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia, and Karnataka HC’s Justice Anu Sivaraman. This panel submitted a comprehensive report on May 3 to the CJI, which was reviewed on May 5. The findings refuted Justice Varma’s defense—that the cash was planted to damage his reputation—stating that direct and electronic evidence strongly corroborated the presence of cash in his official residence’s storeroom.
Credibility of the Evidence
The panel’s 64-page report confirmed the authenticity of the electronic evidence, including videos and still photographs taken by first responders, which were validated by the Central Forensic Laboratory in Chandigarh. Additionally, the report revealed that half-burnt 500-rupee notes found in Justice Varma’s storeroom were disposed of in the early hours of March 15 by “trusted servants,” guided by his private secretary, after a conversation with the judge, who was currently out of town.
Source link
