SC panel submits fact-finding report on Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma

New Delhi: A three-judge committee, constituted by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for a "deeper probe" into the allegations against Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, has submitted its fact-finding-report to the CJI, said a statement released by the top court on Monday.

The committee, which comprised Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Justice Anu Sivaraman had initiated its probe on March 25 and submitted its report dated May 3 to the CJI on May 4. "The three-member committee consisting of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; Justice GS Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, constituted for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting judge, has submitted its report dated May 3 to the Chief Justice of India on May 4," the SC said.

ET had on March 26 reported that the three-judge committee will fast-track its probe. The committee has submitted its fact-finding-report to the CJI after examining and cross-examining Justice Varma. The committee also examined the evidence and information made available to it, said people in the know.

As per the laid-down procedure, the probe being carried out by the committee is "not a formal judicial inquiry involving the examination and cross-examination of witnesses and representation by lawyers".

According to a leading Supreme Court judgement of 2015, the said committee "shall devise its own procedure consistent with the principles of natural justice". Previously, in an unprecedented move, the SC had decided to make public the "in-house inquiry" report prepared by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya on SC's website.

Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, after completing his "in-house inquiry" into the unaccounted cash found in "4-5 sacks" at the official residence Justice Varma, concluded that the matter "warrants a deeper probe".