Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the findings of an in-house inquiry committee that recommended his impeachment over the alleged recovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence earlier this year.
The development comes just days ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, where the Centre is expected to introduce an impeachment motion against the judge.
In his petition, Justice Varma has raised serious concerns about the manner in which the three-member inquiry panel conducted its investigation. The committee, formed by then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, had concluded that there was sufficient evidence to warrant impeachment proceedings.
However, Justice Varma has claimed that the panel reached its conclusions without granting him a fair opportunity to be heard. “The committee failed to observe basic procedural fairness. I was not given an adequate chance to present my side,” he stated in his petition, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The controversy centres around an incident that occurred on 14 March at Justice Varma’s official bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi. A fire broke out in the outhouse around 11:35 p.m., prompting fire officials to respond. During the operation, they allegedly discovered several sacks of partially burnt currency notes in the storeroom.
The discovery led to swift action. The Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya launched a preliminary inquiry, and judicial work was withdrawn from Justice Varma. On 24 March, the Supreme Court collegium recommended his transfer back to the Allahabad High Court, his parent institution.
Justice Varma has strongly denied any link to the recovered cash. “No money was placed in the storeroom by me or any member of my family,” he asserted. He further argued that even if cash was discovered on the premises, no conclusive investigation had been conducted to establish ownership, authenticity, or the exact amount involved.
He has questioned the credibility of what he calls “inferential evidence,” and insisted that the inquiry report lacked a solid factual foundation. “The investigation was rushed and one-sided. Even the basic facts were not verified,” the petition alleges.
The inquiry committee’s report was earlier submitted to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the outgoing Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The report included photos and video footage of the alleged stash of cash and concluded that Justice Varma’s continued presence in office would erode public trust in the judiciary. According to the committee, there was “sufficient inferential evidence” to suggest that Justice Varma had at least “covert control” over the hidden money.
