New Delhi, March 23: In light of suspicions regarding potential evidence tampering in the ‘cash at home’ case involving Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma, senior judges and investigators are ensuring the preservation of his phone and call records.
Investigators are conducting forensic tests on the burnt currency notes reportedly found in an outhouse on Justice Varma’s official bungalow. Additionally, call records of phones used by individuals present at 30 Tughlak Road on the night of March 14, when the fire occurred, will be reviewed as part of the investigation.
Call records of individuals who made or received calls immediately after the fire will also be examined to track potential tampering, according to Delhi Police sources.
Justice Varma has denied any wrongdoing, claiming a conspiracy to discredit him, and rejected suggestions that he removed currency from the storeroom. He has also disputed the authenticity of a video showing burnt Rs 500 notes, which was shared with Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.
Authorities suspect that evidence tampering may have occurred after firefighters extinguished the blaze in the storeroom, which housed stationery and domestic items and left around 1:56 a.m. on March 15.
Witnesses from the Delhi Police Control Room and firefighters, along with the video footage, support the theory that burnt Rs 500 notes were at the scene. However, Justice Varma has rejected these claims, saying the video depicted something he did not observe at the site.
Varma maintains that no cash or currency was stored in the storeroom at any time. He also stressed that staff and family members were asked to leave the scene for safety during firefighting efforts, and after the fire was put out, no cash was found.
On Friday, CJI Sanjiv Khanna appointed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma. The committee includes Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court; and Justice Anu Sivaraman from the Karnataka High Court.
The committee has no set deadline for its probe, and the CJI will decide on further action based on its findings. In the meantime, Justice Varma has been temporarily relieved of his judicial duties by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
