'Cash discovery' at judge's home: Lawyers question transfer, demand resignation

NEW DELHI: The matter of Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma, who finds himself amidst a growing controversy after the alleged cash discovery from his official home, elicited strong reactions from legal experts who on Friday questioned the collegium decision on his reported transfer and demanded his resignation.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh called the matter "very serious" and said the judge should be asked to resign.

He said a judge was expected to be "completely above the board" and it was one profession where there should be zero tolerance.

"I think transfer is no solution in such a matter. He has to be asked to resign," he said.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi said the apex court should hold an in-house inquiry and ascertain all facts after opportunity to the judge to have his say.

"The judge otherwise enjoyed good reputation, so he must explain the recovery. This is not a matter to be swept under the carpet," he said.

While refusing to comment on Justice Varma's matter, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said the "issue of corruption within the judiciary was very serious".

He said this was not something articulated by senior advocates and lawyers in the country for the first time.

"So, I think that it is time for the Supreme Court to start looking at issues of how the appointment process should take place. That it should be more transparent, appointments should be more carefully done," Sibal said.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising said the Supreme Court collegium should make a "full, free and frank" disclosure of the facts.

She said it was surprising that the information about the incident, which was alleged to have occurred on March 14, came out only on March 21.

"So, my approach would be to question the collegium and the way it functions. There is a duty cast on the collegium to make a full, free and frank disclosure of the facts of the case when they come to the knowledge of the collegium," Jaising said.

The senior lawyer said the judge in question had an absolute right to offer his explanation to the collegium which should be made public.

The judge also has a right to natural justice, Jaising said, and it didn't seem fair to just keep criticising a judge on the basis of incomplete information.

"But the duty to give complete information is that of the collegium," she said.

Former Delhi High Court judge S N Dhingra said once the money was discovered from the house of a high court judge, the apex court should have disclosed the amount and ordered an FIR.

He said after the apex court was informed about the discovery of cash from the house of a high court judge, the police and the Supreme Court should have disclosed the amount.

"After this disclosure, the Supreme Court should have ordered for registration of an FIR for holding money beyond the means and after ordering registration of an FIR, an in-house inquiry should have been ordered to ascertain the source of this money," he added.

Then, he said, impeachment proceedings should have been recommended to Parliament.

"This should have been the right course. Transferring a person is not the solution," he said.

Advocate Kamini Lau, a retired Delhi district court judge, said the shocking incident struck the very foundation of public trust in the judiciary while being "profoundly demoralising" for the legal fraternity.

"This moment demands the highest level of judicial statesmanship where accountability is ensured without allowing sensationalism or external pressures to dictate the course of action. The credibility of the judiciary is at stake, and the handling of this crisis will define its strength and resilience," she said.

In recent cases involving cash discovery, a Punjab High Court judge Nirmal Yadav was accused in a multimillion rupee “cash in bag” case. A Delhi court judge Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal continues to remain under suspension in a bribery case after CBI alleged unaccounted cash was recovered from her home.

The Supreme Court collegium on Friday promptly commenced an initial inquiry against Justice Varma, aside from reportedly calling for his transfer to the Allahabad High Court.

It has been said the commencement of an initial inquiry was just one of the steps and the collegium might take further action in this regard.

The amount, which is stated to have been discovered by the Delhi fire department officials after the fire at the judge's official home, is not known yet.