The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking registration of an FIR and a CBI probe into allegations concerning the discovery of unaccounted cash at the official residence of former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
Justice Amit Bansal permitted petitioner and advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay to withdraw the plea after observing that an alternative remedy was available to him and questioning his locus to maintain the petition.
The petition had sought registration of an FIR and constitution of a special investigation team to probe the alleged recovery of cash from Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi in March 2025.
During the hearing, the court described the proceedings as a “wild witch hunt” and indicated that it was not inclined to entertain the plea.
Petitioner Sought Independent Probe
Upadhyay argued that neither a magistrate nor a special court was competent enough to deal with the matter in a manner that would ensure justice.
Standing counsel Premtosh Kumar Mishra, appearing for the government, CBI and Delhi Police, opposed the petition and submitted that Upadhyay had no locus to seek the relief claimed.
Mishra also argued that an alternative remedy was available to the petitioner.
He pointed out that Upadhyay had earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking similar relief, but that petition was dismissed without granting him liberty to move the High Court.
The High Court ultimately allowed Upadhyay to withdraw the petition.
Fire At Official Residence Led To Cash Allegations
The allegations surfaced after a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence while he was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
Videos purportedly showing bundles of currency notes burning at the premises later emerged.
Justice Varma and his wife were travelling in Madhya Pradesh at the time of the fire, while his daughter and elderly mother were present at the residence.
Justice Varma maintained that neither he nor any member of his family had placed money at the site.
In-House Inquiry Was Constituted
The then Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, constituted a three-member in-house inquiry committee to examine the allegations.
The committee submitted its report in May 2025 and found Justice Varma’s explanation unsatisfactory.
Justice Khanna thereafter asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. After Justice Varma declined to step down, the inquiry report along with his response was forwarded to the President and the Prime Minister with a recommendation to initiate the constitutional process for his removal.
Justice Varma was subsequently repatriated to his parent Allahabad High Court, and judicial work was withdrawn from him pending further action.
Parliamentary Inquiry Followed
The Lok Sabha admitted a motion seeking Justice Varma’s removal in 2025 and constituted an inquiry committee.
The Rajya Sabha declined to admit a parallel motion, citing procedural infirmities.
Justice Varma resigned in April while the parliamentary inquiry was still underway.
In August, the three-member inquiry committee found that Justice Varma’s explanation concerning the unaccounted currency at his official residence was “evasive” and “misleading”.
