Cash-discovery row: Delhi HC withdraws work from Justice Yashwant Varma
New Delhi(PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday "with immediate effect" withdrew judicial work from Justice Yashwant Varma, who is subject to an inquiry after the purported discovery of a large stash of cash following a fire at his official residence, till further orders.
The high court issued a notice on the development.
Another note attached to the causelist of the day on the high court's website said the court master of division bench-III, which was headed by Justice Varma, would assign dates in matters listed before Monday.
"In view of the recent events, the judicial work from Justice Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with immediate effect, till further orders," the note, with the registrar (listing) as the signatory, said.
The note was issued by the registrar following a notice of Delhi High Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had previously asked Justice Upadhyaya not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma, the second senior-most judge of the Delhi High Court.
Justice Varma was heading a division bench, which was dealing with cases of sales tax, goods and services tax, company appeals and other appeals of the original side.
The roster handled by the division bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar has now been allotted to a division bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar.
Now the division bench-III will be headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh.
The Supreme Court on March 22 uploaded on its website the inquiry report of Chief Justice Upadhyaya -- complete with photos and videos -- over the alleged discovery.
CJI Khanna has constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry into the allegations against Justice Varma aside from ordering an in-house inquiry following a report from Justice Upadhyaya.
Justice Upadhyaya's report to the CJI contains material with regard to official communication that says "four to five semi-burnt sacks of Indian currency notes" were found from the judge's Lutyens home.
Justice Varma has strongly denounced the allegations in the cash-discovery row and said no cash was ever placed in the storeroom of his residence either by him or any of his family members.
In his response to the high court chief justice, Justice Varma said the allegation of cash discovery from his residence clearly appeared to be a "conspiracy to frame and malign him".
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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.
