Supreme Court confirms cash found at Delhi HC Judge Yashwant Varma’s residence
In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court, made public an in-house inquiry report, including photos and videos, regarding the alleged discovery of a significant amount of cash at the residence of Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma.
The 25-page report, submitted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, contains photographic and video evidence of the purportedly recovered cash, which was allegedly found in a storeroom during a firefighting operation on the night of March 14. The report also includes Justice Varma’s response, in which he has “unequivocally” denied any connection to the cash and described the allegations as an attempt to malign him.
Following the report’s recommendations, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has formed an in-house committee to investigate the matter further. Additionally, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Upadhyaya has been instructed not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma.
The top court’s statement further confirms the composition of the inquiry committee, which includes Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice G S Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge of the Karnataka High Court).
According to the report, a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence in Lutyens’ Delhi around 11:35 PM on March 14. Firefighters reportedly discovered four to five semi-burnt stacks of Indian currency in a storeroom during the firefighting operation. The Delhi Police Commissioner later reported the incident to the High Court Chief Justice on March 15.
Chief Justice Upadhyaya’s report noted that access to the storeroom was limited to residents of the bungalow, domestic staff, and CPWD personnel. “The inquiry conducted by me, prima facie, does not reveal the possibility of entry or access to the room by any person other than those residing in the bungalow,” the report stated, adding that the matter warranted a deeper investigation.
Justice Varma has strongly refuted the allegations, stating that neither he nor his family members had placed any cash in the storeroom. He has dismissed the claims as “totally preposterous” and suggested that the incident was a conspiracy against him.
“The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is absurd. The room in question is completely separate from my living quarters and is located near the staff accommodations,” Justice Varma said in his response.
In response to the allegations, the apex court directed Justice Upadhyaya to seek clarification from Justice Varma regarding the cash’s origins and who removed the burnt money from the site on the morning of March 15. Justice Varma was also instructed not to delete any data or messages from his mobile phone.