A three-judge in-house inquiry panel constituted by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has confirmed that a large sum of cash was recovered from a storeroom in the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma on March 14—directly contradicting the judge’s assertions of innocence, reported by The Times of India (TOI).
The panel—comprising Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Karnataka High Court’s Justice Anu Sivaraman—submitted its findings to the CJI, who has since sought a formal response from Justice Varma within two days. CJI Khanna, due to retire on May 13, is reportedly intent on bringing the matter to its logical end.
Inquiry Panel’s Key Findings
According to the TOI report, the panel’s investigation, which involved examination of 50 witnesses including the Delhi Police Commissioner, Chief of Delhi Fire Services, and security staff, confirmed that bundles of cash were found burning during a fire at the Tughlaq Crescent residence of the judge, who was in Bhopal at the time.
Significantly, the report noted the “mysterious disappearance” of some of the unburnt cash, a concern that had also been raised by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay in an earlier communication to CJI Khanna dated March 21. Security personnel posted at the residence reportedly observed the vanishing of some of the currency before police could secure the area.
Video Evidence and Prior Reports
When video footage and photographs—obtained by the Delhi Police and shared with Chief Justice Upadhyay—were shown to Justice Varma, he allegedly claimed the incident was part of a conspiracy to malign him. The visuals, which showed burning bundles of cash inside the storeroom, were handed over to the CJI only on March 20.
Chief Justice Upadhyay remained unconvinced by Justice Varma’s explanation and urged a deeper inquiry. This led to the constitution of the inquiry panel on March 22. On the same day, the Supreme Court collegium repatriated Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court with specific directions that he not be assigned any judicial work.
Justice Varma’s Denial
In his written response, Justice Varma denied all allegations, stating:
“I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous.”
He further said that upon his return from Bhopal on March 15, he personally inspected the storeroom and found no trace of any cash.
“I was totally shocked to see the contents of the video since that depicted something which was not found on site as I had seen it… this clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me,” Justice Varma stated.
The inquiry panel also reviewed the call detail records of Justice Varma as part of its probe, although no specific conclusions from the CDRs have been made public as yet.
The matter remains under active review by the CJI. Depending on the response from Justice Varma and further deliberations, administrative or disciplinary proceedings may follow.
Source: TOI
