New Delhi: The three-member Lok Sabha inquiry committee tasked with investigating Justice Yashwant Varma has found him guilty on all three articles of charge regarding unaccounted cash discovered at his official residence. In its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, the panel concluded that every charge was fully proved, shedding light on the controversy that began when burnt currency was allegedly found at the judge’s home last year.
Addressing the first charge, the panel determined that substantial unexplained five-hundred-rupee denomination currency notes were present in a storeroom at Justice Varma’s residence on Tughlak Crescent in New Delhi. The report highlighted that the judge failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the presence, source, or ownership of the money.
Regarding the second charge, the inquiry held Justice Varma responsible for failing to preserve material evidence. The committee noted that the evidentiary condition of the storeroom was disturbed prior to lawful sealing and inspection, and the subsequent disappearance of the cash remained unexplained. The panel clarified that its finding did not depend on proof that the judge personally removed the money, but rather on his acquiescence in the disturbance of the site and the resulting loss of critical evidence.
The committee was similarly critical of the judge’s responses in its assessment of the third charge. It found that Justice Varma’s explanations, particularly his written reply in late March 2025, lacked the candour, transparency, and institutional responsibility expected of a high court judge. The panel deemed his stance evasive and unsatisfactory when weighed against the testimony of independent official witnesses and corroborative material, concluding its findings with an unequivocal declaration that all charges stood proved.
The incident originates from a fire that broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence on the night of March 14, 2025, where responding firefighters discovered the burnt currency. Justice Varma, who was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court at the time before being repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, has since tendered his resignation, rendering the removal proceedings largely academic once formally notified by the Union Law Ministry.
