New Delhi, March 23 (NationPress) In light of concerns regarding potential evidence tampering in the 'cash at home' incident involving Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, senior judges and investigators have instructed the judge to secure his phone and call records.

As part of the investigation into the March 14 event, authorities plan to conduct forensic tests on the burnt currency notes allegedly found in an outhouse on Justice Varma's official bungalow premises. Investigators are also set to examine the call records of all phones that were located at 30 Tughlak Road, near Lok Kalyan Marg Metro, on the night of the incident.

According to sources from the Delhi Police, records of phone numbers contacted by individuals present at the location, as well as calls received immediately after the fire started, will be scrutinized as part of a technical investigation.

Justice Varma has strongly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that there is a conspiracy aimed at defaming him. He has categorically rejected claims that he removed currency from the storeroom.

Additionally, he reportedly challenged the authenticity of video footage showing burnt bundles of Rs-500 notes, which was provided by Delhi Police to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna. This video was allegedly recorded during the firefighting efforts at the outhouse of Justice Varma's residence.

Authorities suspect that there may have been an attempt to tamper with evidence during or immediately following the firefighters' efforts to extinguish the flames in the stationery and domestic articles storeroom, prior to their departure at 1:56 a.m. on March 15.

Witness testimonies from personnel at the Delhi Police Control Room, alongside firefighters and subsequent video recordings of the fire scene, support claims regarding the existence of burnt Rs-500 notes at the location.

However, Justice Varma conveyed to Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court D.K. Upadhyaya that he was taken aback by the video content, stating that it depicted items not found on-site during his observation.

He remarked: "This area is completely separate from my living quarters, separated by a boundary wall. I wish the media had conducted some investigation before I was publicly indicted and defamed."

Justice Varma further stated, "I unequivocally declare that neither I nor any of my family members ever stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point."

Following the fire suppression efforts, the judge mentioned that all staff and family members were instructed to move away from the incident scene due to safety concerns. After the fire was controlled, they observed no cash or currency on-site, according to Justice Varma.

On Friday, CJI Sanjiv Khanna established a three-member committee to investigate allegations against Justice Varma.

As per a press release from the Supreme Court, the committee consists of Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice G.S. Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Anu Sivaraman (Judge of Karnataka High Court) to probe the allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge of the Delhi High Court.

The committee has not been assigned a deadline for completing its investigation. A decision regarding any necessary action will be based on the findings presented in the committee's report.

The statement further indicated that the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court has been instructed not to assign any judicial duties to Justice Yashwant Varma for the time being.