Delhi, March 24 : Delhi high court chief justice DK Upadhyay on Monday removed justice Yashwant Varma from judicial duties with immediate effect. This followed the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, forming a three-member inquiry committee on Saturday to investigate allegations stemming from the reported discovery of a large amount of cash at Justice Varma’s residence.
“In view of the recent events, the judicial work from Hon’ble Mr Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with “immediate effect” till further orders,” a circular issued by the Delhi high court on Monday stated.
Following the decision, the high court also issued a new roster assigning the cases dealt by justice Varma’s bench to a bench of justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, which will be effective from Tuesday. However, on Monday, the court master had given dates in the matter listed before justice Varma’s bench, who prior to the controversy, justice Varma’s bench dealt with cases involving sales tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The decision has been made following a recommendation by CJI Khanna on Saturday to not assign any judicial work to justice Varma for the time being. The in-house committee comprises justice Sheel Nagu, chief justice of the Punjab & Haryana high court, justice GS Sandhawalia, chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court, and justice Anu Sivaraman, judge of the Karnataka high court.
The decision was taken by CJI Khanna, following a recommendation by Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya for an in-house inquiry against justice Varma. In his report, released late by the Supreme Court, justice Upadhyaya said: “I am of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.”
Summary: Delhi High Court issues a circular stripping Justice Yashwant Varma of judicial work, sparking speculation over the reasons behind the decision.