New Delhi: All three charges against Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma stand proved, according to a report of an inquiry committee investigating allegations against the judge over the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash at his official residence in Delhi. The report was placed before the Lok Sabha Wednesday, in accordance with the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
The charges framed against the judge were three-fold—the discovery and possession of unexplained Indian currency notes within official premises, failure to preserve and cause interference with material evidence, and furnishing of evasive and misleading explanations.
The report said that the judge had “failed to furnish a satisfactory explanation regarding the presence, source or ownership” of a substantial number of unexplained Rs 500 currency notes that were found in the store room of his official residence.
“Material evidence was not secured or preserved; the evidentiary condition of the storeroom was disturbed before lawful sealing and inspection; and the later non-availability of the currency notes remains unexplained,” the report adds.
However, it clarifies that this finding does not rest on direct proof that the judge personally removed the cash. It only found that there was failure to secure and preserve material evidence, disturbance and alteration of evidentiary condition of the storeroom before it could be lawfully sealed and inspected, and unexplained non-availability of this evidence later.
The committee further asserted that the explanation furnished by Justice Varma, “did not exhibit candour, transparency and institutional responsibility expected in the circumstances”.
“It remained evasive and unsatisfactory when tested against the evidence of independent official witnesses and corroborative material,” it added.
Cash was allegedly found at Justice Varma’s residence on the intervening night of 14 and 15 March last year. The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended his repatriation from Delhi High Court back to the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court had also constituted a three-member high level committee headed by Justice Sheel Nagu to investigate the allegations of unacccounted cash at home.
During the Monsoon Session of the Parliament last year, over 200 MPs submitted notices of motion on 21 July for initiating proceedings for removal of the judge. The notice was admitted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha on 12 August 2025. The Speaker then constituted a three-member Committee for the probe in August.
The committee originally comprised Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice Maninder Mohan Shrivastava, and Karnataka High Court senior advocate B. V. Acharya.
On Justice Shrivastava’s retirement, the committee was reconstituted, with Justice Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court as a member.
However, Justice Varma resigned as a judge of the Allahabad High Court in April this year, a month before the three-member probe panel submitted its findings to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in May.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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