‘Shocked’: Delhi high court chief justice, lawyer after 'cash pile' found at judge's house; Rajya Sabha Chairman reacts
Recovery of a huge sum of cash from Justice Yashwant Varma's residence caused shock among lawyers and prompted discussions in the Rajya Sabha.
A senior lawyer on Friday expressed shock and dismay before the Delhi high court over the alleged recovery of a massive amount of cash from the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, who did not preside over court proceedings that day, news agency PTI reported.
The controversy also reached the Rajya Sabha, where the issue was raised during the session. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar assured the House that a structured discussion mechanism would be explored to address the matter, PTI added.
As the lawyer said he and many others were shaken by the development, Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya shared the emotions, and said “so is everybody. We are conscious”.
Senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj mentioned before a bench of Justice Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela that steps should be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
“We respect the system a lot. Each of the judges are respected a lot. We are shaken my lords, and demoralised. Please take some steps. I am not expressing my pain any further, and I am sure I am expressing the pain of many of my brothers. Please take some steps to see that such incidents do not happen,” PTI quoted Bhardwaj as saying.
Around 11am, the Delhi high court master of Justice Yashwant Varma's court announced that the division bench was on leave on Friday and any urgent mentioning can be made before another bench.
The Supreme Court Collegium has reportedly decided to transfer Justice Varma from the Delhi high court to his parent Allahabad high court on the allegations of recovery of a huge pile of cash from his official bungalow after a fire broke out there.
Issue raised in Rajya Sabha
Raising the issue in the morning session, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh sought the Chair's response on judicial accountability and reminded him about a pending notice regarding the impeachment of a judge of the Allahabad high court.
"This morning, we have read about a shocking case of huge amounts of cash unearthed at the residence of a judge of the Delhi high court," Jairam Ramesh said.
On the issue related to the alleged recovery of the cash, Jagdeep Dhankhar said “bothers” him is that the incident happened but did not come to light immediately.
He said if such an incident was related to a politician, a bureaucrat or an industrialist, the person concerned would have become a 'target' immediately.
“And, therefore, systemic response, which is transparent, accountable, effective, I am sure will be on the way,” he said.
The chairman further said he would get in touch with the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition and find a mechanism for a structured discussion during the course of the session.
On the impeachment matter, the chairman said he had received a representation from 55 members of the Rajya Sabha.
(With inputs from PTI)
