A Supreme Court-appointed three-member committee has launched an investigation into the alleged discovery of cash linked to Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma. On Tuesday, the panel, consisting of Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice GS Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge of the Karnataka High Court), visited Justice Varma’s official residence at 30, Tughlak Crescent, in Delhi. The judges spent about 30-35 minutes inspecting the premises before leaving.
The controversy began after a fire broke out in the storeroom of Justice Varma’s official residence on March 14 in the upscale Lutyens’ Delhi area. Firefighters and police personnel reportedly discovered cash during their efforts to extinguish the fire. On March 22, the Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, formed the three-member panel to investigate the discovery of “four to five semi-burnt sacks” filled with Indian currency notes.
The discovery, which occurred around 11:35 PM on March 14, prompted immediate attention from fire officials who rushed to the scene. In response, Justice Varma strongly denied the allegations, stating that neither he nor any of his family members had ever placed any cash in the storeroom. In a statement submitted to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, Justice Varma described the claims as part of a conspiracy to defame him.
Amid the controversy, the Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, issued a resolution on March 24 repatriating Justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. This came shortly after Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya removed Justice Varma from his judicial duties and reassigned his cases to another bench.
The Collegium, which includes Justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka, and Vikram Nath, had discussed the issue last Thursday, before the cash discovery allegations had been made public. In light of the developments, the Delhi High Court issued a circular on March 24 stating that Justice Varma’s judicial duties were withdrawn with immediate effect until further notice.
