The controversy surrounding Justice Yashwant Varma has taken a serious turn with revelations from a Supreme Court-appointed in-house enquiry committee confirming that a significant amount of cash was indeed recovered from his official residence after a fire incident on March 14. According to sources familiar with the matter, the committee has raised strong suspicions that the High Court judge’s household staff may have played a role in removing the money from the scene before authorities could assess the full extent of the discovery.
The enquiry uncovered that the cash was allegedly found in a locked room that had to be forcefully opened. Crucially, when questioned about the incident, Justice Varma reportedly misled investigators and withheld accurate information. The committee noted that the exact amount of cash recovered remains uncertain because much of it had either been removed or was unaccounted for before any formal investigation could take place.
Justice Varma, who was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court at the time, faced immediate consequences after the incident came to light. Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court initiated a preliminary enquiry, following which Justice Varma was stripped of all judicial responsibilities and transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
The in-house committee’s findings were severe enough to warrant a recommendation for his removal from office. When asked to step down voluntarily, Justice Varma reportedly refused, maintaining that the allegations were baseless and that the room in question was not under his exclusive control. In his response to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, he rejected any personal connection to the cash and called the suggestion that he or his family stored it “utterly preposterous.”
Under the procedure outlined for dealing with misconduct by High Court judges, a judge’s refusal to resign following adverse findings in an in-house probe compels the Chief Justice of India to escalate the matter. Accordingly, CJI Khanna forwarded the committee’s report and Justice Varma’s written response to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a step that may lead to impeachment proceedings or other constitutional action.
The incident has sparked significant concern within judicial and legal circles, raising questions about accountability mechanisms for judges and the integrity of the judiciary. While Justice Varma has continued to deny wrongdoing, the serious nature of the allegations and the involvement of the Supreme Court make this a high-profile and unprecedented case in India’s judicial history.
