A three-member judges inquiry committee has found all three charges against Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma proved, including possession of substantial unexplained cash at his official residence, interference with material evidence and furnishing evasive and misleading explanations.
The committee constituted by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla tabled its report before the Lok Sabha on Wednesday,The inquiry concerned the discovery of burnt and partially burnt ₹500 notes following a fire at Justice Varma’s official residence in New Delhi, on the intervening night of March 14 and 15, 2025. Justice Varma was then a judge of the Delhi High Court.
“The committee therefore records its final findings that Articles of Charges I, II & III are proved,” the report said.The committee was headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar and included former Bombay High Court Chief Justice and now Supreme Court Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Senior Advocate BV Acharya.
The committee found that substantial unexplained ₹500 denomination notes were present in the storeroom and that Justice Varma failed to satisfactorily explain their presence, source or ownership.It relied on the testimony of Delhi Fire Services and Delhi Police personnel who described bundles, heaps and stacks of notes spread across the room. Fire operator Ankit Sehwag said he saw bundles of ₹500 notes over an area extending seven to eight feet from the entrance.
Another firefighter said currency was spread from the door to the end of the storeroom. A police officer said he saw heaps of burnt and half-burnt notes on the floor from the door to the opposite wall, as well as stacks placed on a ledge.When asked during cross-examination whether the amount exceeded ₹5 lakh, police official Roop Chand said that figure was “too small”.
However, the currency was neither seized nor counted. No inventory or panchnama was prepared and no samples were preserved.A fire at Justice Varma's house on the evening of March 14 had allegedly led to the recovery of unaccounted cash. At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were traveling in Madhya Pradesh. Only his daughter and aged mother were at home when the fire broke out. A video later surfaced showing bundles of cash burning in the fire.
The incident led to allegations of corruption against Justice Varma, who denied the accusations and said that it appeared to be a conspiracy to frame him.The Chief Justice of India (CJI) then initiated an in-house probe into the allegations and set up a three-member committee on March 22 to conduct the inquiry.The panel started the probe on March 25 and submitted its report to CJI on May 4.
The CJI, on receiving the report of the in-house committee, asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. However, since Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge's response on it to the President of India and the Prime Minister for removal of the judge.
Following the allegations, Justice Varma was sent back to his parent High Court from the Delhi High Court. His judicial work was taken away pending further action.In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated the process to remove Justice Varma from his position by constituting a three-member panel to probe the allegations against him.The Committee initially comprised Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Senior Advocate BV Acharya. Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar replaced Justice Shrivastava, who retired on March 6.
Justice Varma tendered his resignation from office in April this year before the process of removal could be completed. His resignation is yet to be accepted and notified.
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