Cash discovery row: Delhi fire services chief appears before SC probe panel

The Supreme Court-appointed three-member in-house inquiry committee, probing allegations of alleged discovery of wads of cash from Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma's residence, met Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg here on Thursday.

According to sources, Garg deposed before the probe panel at Haryana State Guest House at Chanakyapuri and recorded his statement.

Garg, however, had denied claims of the cash discovery by the fire fighters. 

Earlier in the day, the leaders of six High Court bar associations met Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and sought withdrawal of the recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court.

 

Soon after the meeting, Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) president Anil Tiwari said the CJI had assured them of considering the demands.

However, the CJI did not promise anything, said sources privy to the development.

In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court late on Saturday night uploaded on its website an in-house inquiry report, including photos and videos, into alleged discovery of a huge stash of cash at Justice Varma's residence.

The alleged cash discovery happened following a fire at Justice Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence at around 11.35 pm on March 14, prompting the fire officers to rush to the spot.

In the wake of the controversy, the apex court collegium recommended the repatriation of Justice Varma, from whom work was withdrawn by the Delhi High Court following a directive from the CJI, to his parent Allahabad High Court.

On March 22, the CJI constituted the three-member committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into allegations and decided to upload the inquiry report of Chief Justice D K Upadhyay of the Delhi High Court in the incident.

Justice Varma has denounced the allegations and said no cash was ever placed in the storeroom either by him or any of his family members.