Fire at Delhi judge’s bungalow leads to huge cash recovery; he gets transferred

Justice Yashwant Verma was sent back to his parent court following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium after the incident came to light.

A Delhi High Court judge was transferred following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium after a large amount of cash was recovered from his bungalow after a fire incident. Justice Yashwant Verma has been sent back to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court.

Sources said a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence while he was not in the city. His family members alerted the fire brigade and the police. After extinguishing the fire, the fire brigade personnel discovered a huge amount of cash in different rooms of the bungalow. The incident report mentioned the discovery of unaccounted cash in the bungalow.

SUPREME COURT’S SWIFT ACTION

After receiving the information, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna convened a meeting of the Collegium. It was unanimously decided to transfer Justice Verma back to Allahabad High Court, where he previously served till October 2021.

Sources said discussions were also underway on starting an investigation and initiating impeachment proceedings against Justice Verma.Some judges of the Collegium have voiced concern that merely transferring Justice Verma would tarnish the judiciary’s image and erode public confidence in the legal system. They have sought Justice Verma’s resignation voluntarily. If he refuses, the process of impeachment could be initiated in Parliament.

WHAT RULES SAY

As per the Constitution, an in-house procedure was formulated by the Supreme Court in 1999 to probe allegations of corruption, misconduct, or irregularities against any High Court or Supreme Court judge. As per the guidelines, the Chief Justice first seeks an explanation from the accused judge. If the response is unsatisfactory or a thorough probe is required, the CJI is required to form an in-house panel comprising one Supreme Court judge and two High Court Chief Justices. Based on the result of the investigation, the concerned judge may be asked to resign or face impeachment.