A fire that broke out in the residential building of a Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma on March 14 resulted in the recovery of a huge pile of unaccounted cash. This has eventually led Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to transfer Yashwant Varma to Allahabad High Court.According to reports, Justice Yashwant Varma was not in town when the fire broke out. His family members called the fire and rescue services and the police. The fire and rescue services personnel stumbled upon a huge stash of cash inside the bunglow on Tughlak Road in the national capital. Following this, the Delhi Police informed the Ministry of Home Affairs. The MHA sent a report to the CJI.Following this, the collegium unanimously decided on Justice Varma’s transfer, moving him back to his parent High Court in Allahabad, where he had previously served before being appointed to the Delhi HC in October 2021, Times Now reported.However, some members of the five-judge collegium raised concerns that merely transferring the judge would not be sufficient in a case of this magnitude, the report claimed. They warned that failing to take stricter action could tarnish the judiciary’s credibility and erode public trust in the institution, the report added.The News 18 noted that earlier in 1999, the Supreme Court had laid down guidelines to deal with allegations of corruption, wrongdoing, and judicial irregularity against judges of the Constitutional Court.As per the guidelines, if a complaint is received against a judge, the Chief Justice will first seek a reply from the judge concerned. If he is dissatisfied with the answer or feels the matter requires further investigation, he will form an internal committee. During the inquiry, if the committee feels that the alleged misconduct is of a grave nature requiring removal, it will ask the judge to resign.
Source link
