Delhi HC reconstitutes panels amid justice Varma row
Justice Varma, by virtue of his seniority, was a member of both the collegium and key administrative committees in the high court
Delhi high court chief justice DK Upadhyay on Thursday reconstituted various administrative committees of the court comprising justice Yashwant Varma, who is in the middle of a controversy over alleged discovery of wads of cash from his official residence.
“The Committees of Hon’ble Judges of this Court are reconstituted with immediate effect,” a circular uploaded on high court’s website on Thursday said.
Justice Varma, by virtue of his seniority, was a member of both the collegium and key administrative committees in the high court. People familiar with the matter confirmed that his continued presence in these crucial bodies would have led to an operational deadlock.
“His predicate position meant that all work of the collegium would come to a halt if he were to continue at Delhi,” a person aware of the discussions said, requesting anonymity.
Justice Varma was part of more than 10 committees of the Delhi high court, including those pertaining to administrative and general supervision, court development and planning/state court management system, and the one tasked with examining pendency of cases in the high court and giving suggestions to expedite disposal. He also headed the arbitration committee of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) as well as Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence committee.
A controversy erupted after alleged discovery of stash of cash following a fire at justice Varma’s Tughlak Road residence in Delhi on the night of March 14. A week later, chief justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on March 22 constituted a three-member committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into the allegations. Justice Varma has denounced the allegations as “totally preposterous”, claiming he was being framed in a “conspiracy to malign” him.