New Delhi: A year after the controversy of alleged cash recovery at his official residence, Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma submitted his resignation to the President.
“While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect,” the letter dated April 9th reads.
“It has been an honour to serve in this office.”
The resignation comes at a time when a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of burnt cash being found at his official residence in Delhi was to commence Friday. The prosecution for the same had completed examination of its witnesses and the defence was to commence its arguments today, ThePrint has learnt.
With this resignation, the proceedings against him under the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968 officially stand closed. It had started after burnt cash amounting to Rs 15 crore was allegedly found at his official residence in Delhi. Later, he was transferred from the Delhi High Court to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court.
The resignation leaves the door open for a criminal investigation once the President accepts his resignation.
Constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in August 2025, the three-member committee of Supreme Court’s Justice Arvind Kumar, the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Chandrashekhar and senior advocate of the Karnataka High Court, B.V.Acharya was to look into the allegations against Justice Varma. Nine witnesses were examined by this panel.
In January, the Supreme Court held there was no procedural infirmity in the constitution of an inquiry panel by the Lok Sabha Speaker to look into the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash from the judge’s official residence.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and S.C.Sharma dismissed Justice Varma’s petition that challenged the constitution of the three-member committee as part of the impeachment proceedings moved against the judge.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Clean-up job by Justice Yashwant Varma’s aides: What panel probing judge cash row found