Cash discovery at Delhi HC judge's home: Lawyer expresses 'pain', HC says 'conscious'
New Delhi (PTI): A senior lawyer appearing in the Delhi High Court on Friday expressed "shock and pain" after an alleged incident of cash discovery at the official residence of its sitting judge Justice Yashwant Varma came to light.
The purported discovery followed a major fire at the residence.
After the lawyer said many in the bar were "shaken" by the development, Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya lamented, "So is everybody. We are conscious."
Senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj mentioned before a bench comprising the chief justice and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela to take some steps to stop such incidents from occurring in the future.
"Today's incident has pained us a lot, many of us. Please take some steps on the administrative side so that these incidents do not happen in future and the truthfulness of the judicial system is maintained," Bhardwaj said.
He added, "We respect the system a lot. Each of the judges are respected a lot. We are shaken my lords and demoralised. Please take some steps. I am not expressing my pain any further and I am sure I am expressing the pain of many of my brothers. Please take some steps to see that such incidents do not happen."
At around 11 am, the court master of Justice Varma's court announced that the division bench was on leave on Friday and any urgent mentioning could be made before another bench.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has reportedly decided to transfer Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court to his parent Allahabad High Court following the incident.
Justice Varma was currently heading a division bench, which was dealing with cases of sales tax, GST, company appeals and other appeals of the original side.
He was enrolled as an advocate on August 8, 1992. The judge was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014.
According to official information, he took oath as a permanent judge of the Allahabad High Court on February 1, 2016 and was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on October 11, 2021.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
