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An excessive sum of cash that had previously gone unaccounted surfaced after a fire at a Delhi High Court judge's official bungalow, resulting in his transfer by the Supreme Court collegium.
Sanjiv Khanna, the Chief Justice of India, Headed the Collegium and made a decision to transfet Justice Varma to another high court, as noted by The Times of India.
Justice Varma was out of town during the incident and so his relatives called the police and the fire brigade. After the fire was contained, first responders found large heaps of cash in a room and subsequently, official records stating the recovery of cash piles were made.
Once news reached superiors, the Chief Judge was notified and he chose to attend to the situation. It led him to call a meeting of the collegium which then reached a collective decision to transfer Justice Varma to his original High Court in Allahabad. The judge moved from Allahabad HC to the Delhi HC in October 2021.
Nevertheless, some collegium members expressed that more stringent measures were needed so as to not damage the reputation of the judiciary, which would have dire consequences on its capacity to serve justice, as per sources NDTV cited.
The members are said to have claimed that Justice Varma ought to step down, and if he refuses, then the CJI should commence an internal investigation.
In 1999, the Supreme Court created a set of rules to address accusations of criminal activity, improper conduct, and judicial misconduct in regard to judges of the Constitutional Court.
Under these rules, when any Chief Justice receives a complaint, he is first to query the judge in question in the expectation of receiving a response. Should he be dissatisfied with the response, or believe the matter merits further inquiry, he can design a plan to create an internal committee. This committee will be made up of one Supreme Court judge together with two Chief Judges of High Courts.
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