Jairam Ramesh of the Congress raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, 21 March, seeking "necessary directions to the government to come up with a proposal for increasing judicial accountability".
Published Mar 21, 2025 | 1:58 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 21, 2025 | 2:32 PM
Delhi High Court. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: Cash found following a minor blaze at a Delhi High Court judge’s residence has sparked a debate with some even questioning whether the judiciary is independent.
A blaze at a Delhi High Court judge’s bungalow in the national capital has sparked a fierce debate over the independence of the Indian judiciary.
The fire department and police, who responded to the fire at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence, found an undisclosed amount of cash in one of the rooms.
They alerted their seniors, who in turn informed Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
After the discovery, the Supreme Court collegium on Thursday evening transferred Justice Varma to Allahabad, his parent high court.
The Times of India reported that “some members of the five-member collegium felt such a serious incident, if let off with a transfer, would not only tarnish the judiciary’s image but also erode trust in the institution”. They wanted him to resign.
Bar and Bench reported that the collegium was yet to issue an official statement on the transfer.
Justice Varma was not at home when the minor fire was noticed and the fire personnel summoned around 11.30 pm on 14 March.
A senior advocate had raised the finding of cash in the judge’s residence in the Delhi High Court, reports said.
Jairam Ramesh of the Congress raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, 21 March, seeking “necessary directions to the government to come up with a proposal for increasing judicial accountability”.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said he would find a mechanism for holding a structured discussion.
Dhankar further said if the incident was related to a politician, bureaucrat or industrialist, the person concerned would have become an immediate “target”.
In an X post, lawyer and activist Indira Jaising demanded the collegium to “immediately disclose the amount of money recovered to stop speculation”.
This morning, we read about a shocking case of huge amounts of cash unearthed at the residence of a Delhi High Court judge. Earlier, 50 members of Parliament submitted a notice to you regarding certain remarks made by an Allahabad High Court judge.
You have repeatedly called… pic.twitter.com/fJAnEhu4uY
— Congress (@INCIndia) March 21, 2025
Jaising, in an earlier post, raised doubts over the independence of the judiciary.
“A retired Sessions Court judge who convicted Sanjeev Bhatt is approved for appointment as judge of High Court. A High Court judge is found with a “pile of cash” in his burning house. Have we lost the independence of the judiciary,” she wondered.
A retired Sessions Court judge who convicted Sanjeev Bhatt is approved for appointment as judge of High Court . A High Court judge is found with a”pile of cash” in his burning house . Have we lost the independence of the judiciary ?
— Indira Jaising (@IJaising) March 21, 2025
Journalist Saurav Das in a post on X asked whether only a transfer to a nearby High Court would suffice. “Is this the kind of system we are being asked to have faith in,” he asked.
Advocate Sanjay Ghose, while decrying the incident, said, “We all wanted a judicial validation that demonetisation was a colossal failure but never thought we would get it in such a shocking manner!”
Meanwhile, on Friday, Justice Varma’s staff revealed in the open court that he was on leave.
When Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya sat, the issue was raised by the Bar.
“The incident has pained many of us. Please take some steps on the administrative side so that such incidents don’t happen in the future,” Senior Advocate Arun Bhardwaj said.
The Chief Justice responded, saying that the judges were conscious of the same, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Varma served as a judge in the Allahabad High Court from 2014 to 2021. He was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on 11 October 2021.
