NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court Bar Association head, senior advocate Mohit Mathur, on Sunday said it would be “premature” to draw conclusions, amid controversy over discovery of cash from the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, a judge of the Delhi high court.
“The allegations and evidence circulating in the public domain are indeed very serious. Given the ambiguity of the video clip, it would be premature to draw any conclusions,” Mathur told news agency ANI.
He called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
“This matter warrants a thorough investigation and the Supreme Court has already constituted a committee to address it and is actively taking decisions. We must place our trust in the process and respect its course,” he said.
However, the bar association chief also praised Justice Varma, calling him “one of the finest judges” in the Delhi high court.
“I often say bar associations act as the judges of judges. As the president of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, I can affirm I have never received a single complaint against Justice Varma from any lawyer. He is, without a doubt, one of the finest judges of our high court,” Mathur stated.
Delhi HC’s inquiry report to Supreme Court
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Saturday released the inquiry report by Delhi HC chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay into the controversy, as per a press release by the apex court.
In his report, the chief justice said he is of the prima facie opinion the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.
The Supreme Court also made public the response of the judge, who has denied the allegations and said it “clearly appeared to be a conspiracy” to frame and malign him.
Justice Varma stated no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by him or any of his family members, and strongly denounced the suggestion the cash belonged to them.
The room which caught fire and where cash was found was an outhouse and not the main building where he and his family reside, the judge stated.
Acting on the directive of chief justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Delhi HC chief justice Upadhyay instructed Justice Varma to preserve all communication on his phone; this included conversations, messages, and data, as the controversy surrounding him continued to unfold.
A fire at Justice Varma’s house inadvertently led to the recovery of cash. The cash was found initially by firefighters when the fire broke out in the judge’s Delhi residence on March 14. He was not present at the time.