Cash Scandal: Delhi HC Withdraws All Judicial Work from Justice Verma, Issues Official Circular

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Justice Yashwant Verma has been relieved of all judicial responsibilities following a major controversy surrounding the discovery of large amounts of cash at his official residence. The Delhi High Court, acting on the directions of the Supreme Court issued a circular announcing the immediate withdrawal of all judicial work from Justice Verma until further orders.

According to the circular, Justice Verma's bench (Bench-III) will not hear any cases for the time being, and the court master has been instructed to assign dates for all pending matters. The move comes after Supreme Court CJI Sanjeev Khanna received a detailed report from Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyay regarding the fire incident that took place at Justice Verma's government bungalow on the night of March 14 coinciding with Holi celebrations. Justice Verma was reportedly out of Delhi when the fire broke out. During the firefighting operation, burnt bundles of currency notes were allegedly discovered, sparking nationwide attention and outrage.

In response to the explosive developments, CJI Khanna constituted a three-member committee comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice GS Sandhawalia, and Justice R Mahadevan to investigate the matter. Justice Verma has claimed a conspiracy behind the incident but the presence of cash at his residence has led to mounting scrutiny. The Supreme Court, while making the visuals public, directed the Delhi High Court to take immediate administrative action leading to the withdrawal of judicial duties from the judge.