SC dismisses Justice Yashwant Varma’s plea against recommendation for his removal

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by the Allahabad High Court’s Justice Yashwant Varma challenging an in-house inquiry report on unaccounted cash found at his home, and a recommendation to remove him on the basis of it, Bar and Bench reported.

The court said that the inquiry had legal sanction and did not violate Varma’s fundamental rights.

Varma had challenged the recommendation made by former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to impeach him in the unaccounted cash row. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih had reserved its judgement on his petition on July 30.

The bench had remarked that Varma’s conduct did not inspire confidence, as he only moved the top court after the in-house committee came out with adverse findings against him. The court had asked him why he did not challenge the committee at the outset if he believed it was unconstitutional.

Unaccounted cash was allegedly recovered at Varma’s official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14. He was a judge at the Delhi High Court at that time. The judge said he was in Bhopal when the cash was discovered and claimed that it did not belong to him or his family.

Amid the row, he was transferred to the Allahabad...

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