New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma's plea challenging the validity of a report by an in-house
inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row. The court said that Justice Varma's conduct does not inspire confidence and his plea should not be entertained. "We have said that lest any observations made by us may prejudice the petitioner in future proceedings. We shall tread carefully," said Justice Dipankar Datta. The apex court held that in-house procedure and the judges committee appointed by the then CJI adhered to the stipulated procedure and sending of the report to the prime minister and President with recommendation for his removal was not unconstitutional. To adjudicate the issue, court framed six questions and answered it accordingly:
- Maintainability: It held that a writ petition challenging the conduct of a sitting judge under an in-house mechanism is not maintainable.
- Legal Procedure: The in-house procedure enjoys legal sanctity and is not a parallel mechanism outside the constitutional framework.
- Violation of Rights: The Court found no violation of the petitioner’s fundamental rights.
- Compliance with Process: The Chief Justice of India and the inquiry committee “scrupulously followed the process.” The uploading of photographs and videos was deemed non-essential, especially as no objection was raised at the time.
- Communications to Executive: Sending the report to the Prime Minister and President was not unconstitutional.
- Liberty for Future: The Court left open the possibility for Justice Varma to raise grievances through appropriate remedies in the future, if required.
The inquiry panel probing the incident found that Justice Varma and his family members had covert or active control over the store room where a huge cache of half-burnt cash was found following a fire incident, proving his misconduct which is serious enough to seek his removal.
The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court.
Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.
