Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma is facing a probe following a big amount of unaccounted cash was recovered from his residence during a fire incident on 14th March.
He was reportedly an accused in the Simbhaoli Sugar Mill fraud case. According to the media sources, Justice Varma was named in an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act and an ECIR filled by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in an alleged fraud committed by Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd. on banks.
Justice Varma was a non-executive director of the company before his elevation as a judge to the Allahabad High Court. The company’s accounts were reported as a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2012.
The Sambhaoli Sugars case was declared a ‘suspected fraud’ case by 2015 and was reported to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
In February 2018, a probe was launched by the CBI against Sambhaioli Sugars based on a complaint filed by the Oriental Bank of Commerce.
The bank had accused the company of misappropriating ₹97.85 crore of loan amount which was supposed to go to the farmers. The company diverted the funds for other purposes.
The CBI FIR mentioned the names of 12 accused including the name of Justice Varma as a non-executive director of the company.
However, no action was taken in the case for a long time. In February 2024, the case was reignited after a court ordered the CBI to resume the investigation.
However, the court order was overturned by the Supreme Court leading to the closure of the CBI’s preliminary inquiry (PE) in the case.
The Supreme Court’s intervention put an end to all probes in the case rising questions on how high-profile corruption cases involving people occupying significant positions were dealt with by the Indian judiciary.
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