New Delhi: Stressing that no doubt had been cast on his integrity in his more-than-a-decade tenure as a high court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma said the alleged recovery of cash from his residence had scarred his reputation and left him “with no means to defend myself”.
In his response to the CJI, Justice Varma said, “In the life of a judge, nothing matters more than reputation and character. That has been severely tarnished and irreparably damaged. The baseless allegations that have been levelled against me have proceeded on mere innuendos and an unproven assumption that the cash allegedly seen and found belonged to me. I would beseech you to bear in consideration that in all my years as a judge of a high court, no such allegation had ever been made in the past nor any doubt cast on my integrity.” Parts of his statement were reported in TOI on Sunday.
The Delhi HC judge said the room which was gutted and from where cash was allegedly found was “generally utilised by all and sundry” to store articles, such as unused furniture, bottles, crockery, mattresses, used carpets, old speakers and garden implements.
“This room is unlocked and accessible both from the official front gate as well as the back door of the staff quarters. It is disconnected from the main residence and is surely not a room in my house. It is a room which is completely disassociated from my living areas and a boundary wall demarcates my living area from that outhouse,” he added.
Justice Varma said while the fire was being doused, all staff and members of his household, including his daughter and his personal secretary, were asked to move away from the scene in view of safety concerns. “After the fire was doused and when they went back to the scene of the incident, they saw no cash or currency on site,” he said.
The judge said neither he nor any of his family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time. “Our cash withdrawals, made from time to time, are all documented and always through regular banking channels, the use of UPI applications and cards,” he said.
