Justice Yashwant Varma Found Guilty by Parliamentary Panel in Cash-at-Residence Case

A major development has taken place in the case involving the huge amount of cash found at the residence of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. A parliamentary committee constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to investigate the matter has found Justice Varma guilty. The committee stated in its report that he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the cash found at his official residence.

The report was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.On the night of March 14, 2025, a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence on Tughlak Crescent in New Delhi. Firefighters who arrived to extinguish the blaze reportedly found a large quantity of burnt currency notes in a storeroom, bringing the matter to light.

“Large quantities of unexplained ₹500 currency notes were found in the storeroom. The judge failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the source and ownership of the cash,” the committee said in its report. The panel found all three charges framed against Justice Varma to be proved, including the unexplained cash, interference with material evidence, and evasive or misleading explanations.

The committee also strongly criticised the manner in which the subsequent investigation was handled. It said that crucial evidence was not properly preserved and that material in the storeroom was removed before it could be sealed and inspected as required by law. The panel noted that the subsequent disappearance of the currency notes remained unexplained. However, it said there was no evidence establishing that Justice Varma personally removed the cash.

The committee concluded that Justice Varma’s explanations, including his response dated March 22, 2025, were “unsatisfactory.” It further observed that his response lacked the candour, transparency and institutional responsibility expected of a constitutional functionary. Earlier, an in-house committee constituted by then Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna had also concluded that Justice Varma exercised “direct or indirect control” over the storeroom where the cash was found. Following the controversy, he was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. An impeachment/removal process was subsequently initiated against him in Parliament. However, Justice Varma later resigned from his judicial post.