Cash-at-home case: Kapil Sibal calls Yashwant Varma 'one of the finest judges'; condemns impeachment move

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday called Justice Yashwant Varma "one of the finest judges" and criticised the central government for initiating impeachment proceedings against Varma, in whose storeroom a huge amount of cash was found.Saibal alleged that the government's "real motive" behind the action against Varma is to "dismantle" the Collegium system and "gain control over judicial appointments".He also accused the government of selectively pursuing the case against Varma while ignoring similar proceedings against Justice Shekhar Yadav, who faces an impeachment notice from Opposition MPs over allegedly "communal" remarks made last year."I can say with the utmost of responsibility that he (Varma) is one of the finest judges that I have argued before. You ask any lawyer in the High Court or the Supreme Court, and there is not a whiff of any wrongdoing by this judge. You ask any lawyer in Allahabad (Prayagraj)...judges know their lawyers...lawyers also know the judges," Sibal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.He furher said: "It is shocking that you (the government) are targeting a judge against whom there is no evidence and you are protecting a judge against whom there is no evidence required because his statement is in the public domain and there is an impeachment motion pending before the Chairman and he has been sitting on it for verification of signatures."

Rijiju is reportedly planning to introduce a motion on the first day of the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to make the Supreme Court's in-house inquiry report on Justice Varma public."For what? Why are you protecting Shekhar Yadav?" Sibal questioned.The senior advocate alleged that the opposition is failing to recognise the broader agenda to strip the Collegium of its authority and reinstate the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). "This is the whole purpose of this exercise," Sibal claimed.Criticising the government’s handling of the matter, Sibal said a decision was taken against a sitting high court judge without following due process."The judge was not even heard. This is absolutely shocking...Unfortunately, the political class is brought into the act," he remarked.The controversy surfaced after a fire incident at Justice Varma's residence in Delhi in March, during his tenure at the Delhi high court.

The blaze reportedly led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of cash in an outhouse on the property.However, contrary to Sibal's claims, a three-judge inquiry panel's damning report to CJI Sanjiv Khanna confirmed that a huge amount of cash was found in a storeroom at Justice Yashwant Varma's Tughlaq Crescent residence on March 14.The report repudiated Justice Varma's repeated statements claiming innocence about the discovery of money from a room within his official residence.