SC Panel Finds 'Sufficient Substance' In Allegations Against Justice Yashwant Varma Over Burnt Cash Discovery At Delhi Residence: Report

A Supreme Court-appointed panel has found “sufficient substance” in allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, after multiple witnesses reported seeing a large quantity of currency notes, some partially burnt, at his residence in Delhi, India Today reported.

The committee reportedly found eyewitness accounts and visual evidence, including photos and videos, showing stacks of Rs 500 notes inside a storeroom that was later cleaned out and the currency notes 'disappeared'.

Justice Varma’s failure to report the incident was flagged as 'unnatural' by the committee and it recommended his removal.

The fire that led to the discovery of the large amount of cash occurred in March.

Among the 55 witnesses examined were Delhi Fire Service and Delhi Police officials who were first responders.

Ten of them , Ankit Sehwag (Fire Officer, DFS), Pradeep Kumar (Fire Officer, DFS), Manoj Mehlawat (Station Officer, DFS), Bhanwar Singh (Driver, DFS), Pravindra Malik (Fire Officer, DFS), Suman Kumar (Assistant Divisional Officer, DFS), Rajesh Kumar (from Tughlaq Road Police Station), Sunil Kumar (Incharge, ICPCR), Roop Chand (Head Constable), and Umesh Malik (SHO, Tughlaq Road Police Station) testified to seeing the currency notes.

The panel noted that access to the room, where the fire broke out and the cash was found, was controlled solely by the judge and his family.

A private secretary allegedly instructed fire officials to exclude mention of the cash in their reports.

Fire services said they were asked by a superior officer not to pursue the matter further as “higher ups were involved.”

Though Justice Varma called the allegations a conspiracy, the panel found his claim "implausible", citing real-time documentation and multiple credible eyewitnesses.

It also flagged the roles of his daughter Diya Varma and secretary Rajinder Singh Karki in the “destruction of evidence or cleaning of the spot.”

Justice Varma, who was transferred back to the Allahabad High Court in the wake of the incident, has not been assigned any judicial work.

He has not resigned or opted for retirement and continues to deny wrongdoing.