New Delhi: Justice Yashwant Varma has tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu amid an impeachment process to remove him over corruption allegations.
Justice Varma was a judge in the Delhi High Court when a huge stash of cash was recovered from his official residence last year. He was later transferred to the Allahabad High Court. He had then denied that the cash belonged to him.
In his resignation letter, Justice Varma did not mention any reason for this sudden decision, as reported by NDTV.
“While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect,” his letter dated April 9 stated.
Sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat have said that with him resigning, the process of impeachment to remove him as a high court judge will come to an end.
Once his resignation is accepted, Justice Varma would be entitled for pension and other benefits that a high court judge gets after retirement. He would have been deprived of the benefits had he was removed by the Parliament.
The cash was allegedly recovered after a fire at his house in Lutyens Delhi on March 14, 2025. Justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal at that time.
The burnt cash was allegedly found in a storeroom near the servants’ quarters. Justice Varma said that he never kept any cash in the storeroom that was accessible to all.
After the allegations came to light, the Supreme Court formed a three-judge committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into the matter on March 22, 2025. The panel, comprising three senior judges submitted its report to then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on May 4.
The Supreme Court then took away judicial work from Justice Varma at the Delhi High Court. It later transferred him to his parent Allahabad High Court and asked its Chief Justice not to assign any judicial work to him. In an unprecedented move, the court had also uploaded photos and videos of the cash allegedly recovered from Justice Varma’s house.
The impeachment process for the removal of Justice Varma as a judge began in July last year. In August, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla set up a three-member committee to probe the charges against him. Earlier this year, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the process was underway and the government was awaiting the report of the committee.
