New Delhi: The room at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence, which caught fire and where sacks of cash were said to be spotted, was sealed Wednesday following a joint inspection by a secretary of the Supreme Court’s in-house panel and a senior police officer, ThePrint has learnt.
According to government sources, the scene has been “preserved” after a detailed inspection in which videography and photography of the entire structure was carried out.
“The committee is moving fast in this inquiry. The structure that caught fire and had sacks of cash was examined thoroughly and has now been sealed. The videos, photos and other evidence collected on Wednesday will now be examined by the experts. The purpose was to seal and preserve the spot,” a government source told ThePrint.
The move, though crucial, comes too late as the scene has already been tampered with. The debris which allegedly had burnt notes was removed by the morning of 15 March. But, it is unknown who did it as there were no police personnel at the scene after they were asked to leave. The CCTV footage from the judge’s house has not been seized till now, it is learnt.
In his response, which was made public, Justice Varma rebutted the suggestion that the debris had cash and said that whatever was removed from the room continues to be within his residential premises.
“A detailed inspection of the room and the debris was also carried out to ascertain if it had parts of burnt notes,” the source said.
When asked if the debris will be sent for a forensic examination as it would be the most certain way to establish the same, the source said that the “experts are looking into it”.
As for a query to whether the DVR from the CCTV cameras was also taken to establish who cleared the debris on the night of 14 March after the police and everyone else left, the source said that it was “not clear”
On the night of 14 March, when a pile of cash was spotted at the judge’s residence, field officers from the Delhi Police informed their seniors in the hierarchy. However, with no clear instructions on whether to secure the scene or leave, they departed after being asked to leave by the judge’s personal secretary (PS), multiple sources confirmed to ThePrint.
“Ideally, instructions should have been given to prepare a panchnama, secure the spot or even if seizure wasn’t made, personnel should have been at the spot all night to make sure that the scene is not tampered with but nothing was done because it was the residence of a judge, and the PS who is also considered to be a judicial officer asked the personnel to leave and said he would call them if needed. Moreover, the judge himself was not at home,” the government source said.
The personnel left from the spot as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) electrical department told them that a short circuit caused the fire and because there was no damage to life, it is learnt.
“It is a major lapse that the scene was not preserved, and it was compromised. The committee probing the matter has taken that into account. Moreover, the phones of more than 25 people including the judge’s staff, firemen, policemen, NDMC staff have been called for analysis. They all have videos and photos of the cash along with the location of where they were taken and time codes which would establish the date, time and location where they were taken,” a second government source said.
The three-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court last Tuesday, comprises Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of Karnataka High Court.
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Firemen, police questioned
A group of firemen who were present at the judge’s residence at 30, Tughlak Crescent were questioned by the committee Wednesday, the second source confirmed. A few police personnel were also called, and their examination will continue through Thursday, the source added.
“They have given a detailed statement on the chronology of the incident, what they saw and what they recorded on their phones,” the second source said.
Moreover, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of New Delhi district will also be summoned by the committee to explain the information on the cash and why no instructions were given to the field officer on either securing the scene or seizing it. According to sources, although the DCP was informed about the fire and the cash on the same night, it was conveyed to the higher ups in the police headquarters only at 8 a.m. on 15 March.
Going by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya’s report, Justice Varma’s personal secretary informed the Police Control Room (PCR) about the fire. The personal secretary, who uses an official mobile number registered in the name of the Delhi High Court, was told about the fire by one of the aides at Justice Varma’s residence. The report notes that the fire department was not called separately but was alerted by the PCR.
The same information is mentioned in a note prepared by a team of fire officers, who went to the spot to extinguish the blaze. This note states that the fire department learnt about the fire at 11.43 p.m. on 14 March through the PCR.
However, Justice Varma’s five-page written response, which he submitted to Justice Upadhyaya on 21 March, states that the fire service was alerted by his daughter and private secretary. As for the judge himself, his response states that both he and his wife were in Bhopal at the time of the fire.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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