Judge cash row: Probe against Yashwant Varma may not conclude early, Delhi fire chief may be asked to explain ‘U-turn’ | India News

NEW DELHI: CJI Sanjiv Khanna‘s immediate transfer to order a judicial inquiry into costs of cash being discovered at Justice Yashwant Varma‘s residence however, the duty forward for the three-member panel may be tedious and time-consuming because it entails inspecting many individuals and requires help of consultants to analyse the decide’s name knowledge data.
The panel of Punjab & Haryana CJ Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh CJ G S Sandhawalia and Karnataka HC’s Anu Sivaraman, all seasoned judges with over a decade’s expertise in constitutional courts, can have to take out time to checklist individuals to be examined.
In the checklist will be the primary responders to the fire within the storeroom of Justice Varma’s residence on March 14 night time, which the police chief claimed principally remained locked however the decide mentioned was accessed by employees, gardeners and PWD employees.

The panel will take the assistance of forensic consultants to confirm the authenticity of the video of burnt cash shot by the primary responders and likewise study whether or not the place the place cash was burnt matched with the storeroom on the decide’s residence.
Examination of decide’s CDR will want knowledgeable assist
Since Justice Varma cited the Delhi fire chief‘s “no cash found at the judge’s residence” assertion in his defence, the latter may additionally be summoned and asked concerning the foundation for his assertion and subsequent U-turn.
Security personnel who mentioned “debris and half-burnt” articles had been eliminated by the decide’s employees on March 15 – a cost denied by Justice Varma – can even be examined together with their colleagues who had been on safety responsibility on the bungalow on Tughlaq Crescent for the final six months. Staff who labored at Justice Varma’s residence, together with his private assistants, will be referred to as as nicely.
Another essential side of the inquiry is the examination of name knowledge data of the telephones utilized by Justice Varma in his official and private capability. The inquiry panel would require help of consultants in info expertise and telecom industries for this. The decide has been asked not to delete any knowledge from his telephones.
The Delhi Police commissioner had knowledgeable Delhi HC CJ D Okay Upadhyay on March 15 that “the storeroom is adjacent to the guard room where Central Reserve Police Force (Battalion 70F) is posted and the storeroom used to be kept locked”. However, the decide in his defence had mentioned, “The room was being used as a storeroom to keep useless household articles and remained accessible to all and sundry and was not kept locked.”
However, the Delhi HC CJ’s report mentioned, “The enquiry conducted by me, prima facie, does not reveal possibility of entry or access to the room by any person other than those residing in the bungalow, the servants, the gardeners and CPWD personnel, if any. Accordingly, I am of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.”
In his rationalization, Justice Varma had mentioned, “I once again make it clear that no one from my house ever reported seeing any currency in burnt form in the room. In fact, this gets further corroborated from there being no cash or currency which we saw when the site was restored to us after the fire personnel and police had left the scene, quite apart from we being not apprised of any recovery or seizure made on the spot. This may also be viewed in light of the statement of the chief of the fire service which I have gathered from news reports.”