No cash found at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence during fire fighting operations: DFS Chief-OxBig News Network

Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg on Friday said that firefighters found no cash during their operation to douse flames at the residence of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma. The control room received a call about a blaze at Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence at 11.35 pm on March 14 and two fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot, Garg said. 

Fire tenders reached the spot at 11.43 pm. The fire was in a store room stocked with stationery and domestic articles, Garg said, adding that it took 15 minutes to control the flames. There were no casualties. “Soon after dousing the flames, we informed police about the fire incident. Thereafter, a team of fire department personnel left the spot. Our fire fighters did not find any cash during their fire fighting operation,” the DFS chief said.

On Friday, the Supreme Court collegium commenced an initial inquiry against Varma from whose official residence a large stash of cash was allegedly discovered during the fire incident. It also reportedly called for his transfer to the Allahabad High Court. 

Who is Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma?

Justice Varma who courted controversy over alleged discovery of huge cash from his official residence in the national capital, was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in October 2021. The purported discovery followed a major fire at the residence.

The 56-year-old judge, enrolled as an advocate in 1992, was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014 and took oath as a permanent judge of that court on February 1, 2016.

While the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is stated to have initiated the process to transfer Justice Varma from Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, the judge did not hold his court on Friday.

Justice Varma was born on January 6, 1969 in Allahabad. He studied B.Com (Honours) course at Hansraj College at Delhi University and obtained his LLB degree from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa University. As an advocate at the Allahabad High Court, he practised matters of constitutional, labour and industrial legislations aside from corporate laws, taxation and allied branches of law.

He was also the special counsel for the Allahabad High Court from 2006 till his elevation apart from being the chief standing counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government from 2012 till August 2013 when he was designated as a senior advocate.