Following the controversy known as the ‘Cash Scandal’, the judiciary faces yet another serious allegation. Justice Shard Kumar Sharma, a member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), has claimed that a judge from the High Court contacted him to deliver a judgment in favor of a particular plaintiff. The identity of the High Court judge remains undisclosed. After this alleged outreach, Justice Sharma says he recused himself from the case. The judge in question is reputed to be one of the most respected figures in the High Court. According to sources, the Supreme Court has directed an investigation into these claims.
The investigation will be led by the Secretary General of the Supreme Court, who will attempt to identify the High Court judge who reached out to Justice Sharma. No name has been provided by Justice Shard Kumar.
The ‘Cash Scandal’ is linked to Justice Yeshwant Verma. On March 14 of last year, a fire broke out in Verma’s official residence on Holi night. At the time, Justice Verma and his wife were not at home, causing a large number of firefighters and police officers to respond to the blaze. While extinguishing the fire, officers discovered a large cache of currency notes inside the residence, allegedly filling an entire room.
In response, the Chief Justice created a committee of three judges to investigate the incident. The committee comprised Shil Nag, Chief Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court; G. S. Sandhawalia, Chief Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court; and Justice Anu Shivaram, Judge of the Karnataka High Court.
