New Delhi: Justice Yashwant Varma, accused of storing unaccounted for cash in a storeroom of his house has apparently refused to resign or opt for voluntary retirement even after the report by a three-member inquiry committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, went against him.
The Supreme Court has now forwarded the report to the President and Prime Minister for further action. Though the contents of the report are not known, it is clear that had the in-house probe absolved Justice Varma of all charges, it would not have been forwarded to the President and Prime Minister.
According to sources, Justice Varma, who was a judge of the Delhi High Court when the scandal broke, was given an opportunity to resign or opt for voluntary retirement after the report was placed before the Supreme Court by the three-judge panel. Justice Varma has since been transferred to his parent Allahabad High Court but not assigned any judicial work as per directions of the Supreme Court.
“Chief Justice of India, in terms of the In-House Procedure, has written to Hon’ble the President of India and Hon’ble the Prime Minister of India enclosing therewith copy of the 3-Member Committee report dated 03.05.2025 along with the letter/response dated 06.05.2025 received from Mr Justice Yashwant Varma,” the Supreme Court has said in a press release.
As per the in-house procedure, if the accused Judge refuses to resign or opt for voluntary retirement, the CJI writes to the President and the PM for further action, including the initiation of removal proceedings in terms of Article 124(4) read with Article 218 of the Constitution.
The response given by Justice Varma has also been forwarded to the President and the PM.
It was on March 22 that CJI Sanjiv Khanna constituted the committee, after reports emerged regarding the accidental discovery of a huge stash of cash from a store-room at the out-house of Justice Varma’s official residence during a firefighting operation.
The CJI took the decision for an in-house inquiry on the basis of a preliminary report given by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice DK Upadhyay, who opined that the “the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.”
Justice Varma, in his reply to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, denied storing any cash, and said that the store-room was accessible to the staff and was unlocked. He said that when the firefighting operation took place, he was not present in Delhi. Pointing out that no cash has been seized, Justice Varma termed the entire allegations a “conspiracy to frame” him.
The Supreme Court, in a move towards public transparency, uploaded details of the matter, including photos and videos showing burning cash, on its website.
