Inside Delhi HC chief justice’s report in judge cash row—Burnt debris removed hours after fire was doused

Firefighters & police had recorded a video of 4-5 bags of burnt cash allegedly found in Justice Varma’s storeroom. Hours later, the debris was removed, the prelim report says.

(L) File photo of Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma & (R) screengrab of video clip where burnt cash can be seen | www.allahabadhighcourt.in, Delhi High Court Chief Justice's report

New Delhi: The burnt debris, allegedly including cash stacked in four-five bags, found in the storeroom of Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence was removed on the morning of 15 March, hours after a team of firefighters and police had doused the fire there and taken a video of the spot.

In his explanation to the allegations of cash found in the storeroom, Justice Varma has denied presence of any currency, saying that the debris removed did not include any money.

According to the 21 March report of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya, which was submitted to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna the same day, the former had received information about the discovery of cash from Commissioner of Police within hours of the incident, the details of which were shared with CJI on the same day itself. Since Justice Upadhyaya was in Lucknow that day, the top cop had apprised him about the incident over the phone.

On CJI Khanna’s instructions, when Justice Upadhyaya reached out to the police chief a day later—16 March—for more information, he was told that the debris and half burnt articles had been removed the previous day.

This information was provided by the security guards posted at Justice Varma’s residence to the Delhi Fire Service officials, who had visited there on 16 March. The Commissioner also told him that the storeroom used to be locked.

What the firefighters & police found

The documents available on the top court’s official website also include two short notes prepared in Hindi that reveal how the authorities received information about the fire and what was found at the spot. It is not clear whether these notes were prepared by the officials of police or Delhi Fire Service.

The first note spoke of the discovery of four-five half burnt bags of Indian currency, which according to the note, came to light after the fire officials had controlled the blaze, caused by a possible short-circuit.

According to this report, two fire tenders were called to the spot to control the blaze after information was received from the Police Control Room.

The second note said that the storeroom, where the fire broke, was adjacent to the room meant for security guards posted at the residence and is always locked. It is this document that recorded the removal of the debris from the site on 15 March morning.

It may be recalled here that in his response to Chief Justice Upadhyaya’s query, Justice Varma had maintained that the room was accessible to all the staff posted at this residence, including gardeners and CPWD officials.

What Justice Upadhyaya’s secretary found

The Delhi High Court Chief Justice’s report of 21 March also reveals that Justice Upadhyaya had directed his registrar-cum-secretary to visit the spot on 15 March itself. In compliance with this, the officer visited the site the same day at 9:10 pm.

When he reached Justice Varma’s residence, the judge’s secretary took him to meet the judge, who by then had returned from Bhopal. He inspected the storeroom, adjacent to Justice Varma’s office.

The secretary submitted a report to Justice Upadhyaya, in which he revealed that, according to the version of Justice Varma’s staff, the store room was used to keep useless articles of household and was accessible to all. At the spot, however, the secretary found that the room was completely dark and the walls had developed cracks. His report, however, did not speak of any burnt or half-burnt currency notes lying there.

Justice Varma’s response

Justice Upadhyaya’s report also notes that on his return to Delhi on the evening of 16 March, he met CJI Khanna, on whose instructions he called Justice Varma and sought a response, albeit verbally. In his explanation, the judge repeated what was told to the secretary.

He said the storeroom was used to keep unusable furniture and household articles, and was accessible to the servants, gardeners, and sometimes even to the CPWD personnel. In his defence, he also said that he was not in Delhi at the time of the incident, but in Bhopal.

But when Justice Upadhyaya showed him the photographs and video of the burnt cash that was seen by the team of fire officials, Justice Varma indicated the possibility of some conspiracy.

On 20 March, Justice Upadhyaya shared the video and photographs with CJI Khanna. It may be recalled that the CJI, on the same day, convened a meeting with his colleagues, who are part of the five-member collegium that decides on transfer of high court judges.

The collegium suggested Justice Varma’s repatriation to his parent High Court—Allahabad. This decision, according to Justice Upadhyaya’s report, was communicated by the CJI to him.

The documents uploaded online also reveal that CJI Khanna, after receiving Justice Upadhyaya’s report on 21 March, wrote to the latter, asking him to take a written response from Justice Varma by Friday noon.

In the same letter, CJI Khanna said, Justice Varma should also explain how he accounts for the presence of money in the room located in his premises, the source of the cash, and also the person, who removed the burnt currency from the room on 15 March morning.

CJI Khanna further said that Justice Upadhyaya should ascertain details of the official staff posted at the judge’s residence, including his personal security officers and guards, who have worked there in the last six months.

He also advised the Chief Justice to enquire from mobile service providers for call records of the official or other mobile phone numbers of Justice Varma for the last six months.

Following this, Chief Justice Upadhyay wrote formally to Justice Varma on 21 March morning, giving him time to respond by noon next day.

He called the incident “disturbing” in his letter, wherein he also asked Justice Varma not to delete any conversation from his phone or dispose of the mobile. 

After receiving Justice Varma’s response, Justice Upadhyaya wrote back to CJI Khanna Saturday morning, informing him about the steps he took pursuant to the CJI’s Friday letter. The call detail records of Justice Varma were sent to the CJI, along with this letter.

(Edited by Mannat Chugh)