A three-judge panel has recommended the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Chief Justice of India. This follows an inquiry into the discovery of bundles of cash in the store room of his official residence at 30 Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi.
Fire Incident Triggered Probe
The incident came to light on March 14, 2025, when a fire broke out in the store room. Justice Varma, who was then serving as a judge in the Delhi High Court, denied any knowledge of the cash. He stated that the store room was distant from the main house and had not been accessed by any member of his family. On March 22, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member probe panel to investigate the matter. Subsequently, Justice Varma was transferred back to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court, but was not assigned any judicial work.
Panel Finds Evidence of Serious Misconduct
The inquiry panel comprised Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court. After reviewing evidence, the panel concluded that there was “sufficient substance in the allegations” and found “direct and electronic evidence” indicating misconduct by Justice Varma.
“The misconduct found proved is serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge of the Allahabad High Court,” the panel stated in its report.
The panel’s inquiry focused on three primary questions:
Was burnt currency found in the store room at 30 Tughlak Crescent? – Yes.
Is the store room within the premises of the residence? – Yes.
How does Justice Varma explain the presence of cash? – He could not.
Justice Varma Fails to Offer Plausible Explanation
According to the report, bundles of burnt currency were removed from the store room in the early hours of March 15. At that time, Justice Varma was in Bhopal. The panel noted that “the factum of the burnt cash having been found in the store room was undeniably established,” thereby shifting the burden of explanation to Justice Varma.
The panel in it’s remark said “Where the presence of burnt cash in the store room is established, it is for Justice Varma to account for the same by either successfully raising a defence of planting of cash in the store room which he failed to do or by proving a conspiracy theory with evidence or material that the money did not belong to him, including disclosing the identity of the actual owner of the cash.”
As no such defence or evidence was presented, the panel concluded that Justice Varma could not be exonerated, leading to the recommendation for his impeachment.
The Supreme Court-appointed panel interviewed 55 witnesses and recorded Justice Varma’s statement, and submitted a 64-page report first sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Justice Varma’s Legal Career and Judicial Appointments
Justice Varma was born on 6 January 1969 in Allahabad. He pursued the B.Com [Honours] degree course at Hansraj College Delhi University and was awarded the LLB degree by Rewa University in Madhya Pradesh. He was enrolled as an Advocate on 8 August 1992.
“As an advocate at the Allahabad High Court had a varied practice handling matters relating to constitutional, labour and industrial legislations, corporate laws, taxation and allied branches of law,” the official website of the Delhi HC reads.
He was the Special Counsel for the Allahabad High Court from 2006 till elevation. He held the office of the Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 till August 2013 when was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Court.
Justice Varma Was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014. He took oath as a Permanent Judge of that Court on February 1, 2016. Justice Varma was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi on October 11, 2021.
