All 3 charges against Justice Yashwant Varma proven: Parliament panel
What's the story
A three-member judges' inquiry committee has found all allegations against Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to be true. The allegations include possession of unexplained cash at his official residence, tampering with evidence, and providing misleading explanations. The report was tabled before the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by the committee headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, which was constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Fire incident
Inquiry related to recovery of burnt ₹500 notes
The inquiry pertained to the recovery of charred and partially burnt ₹500 notes after a fire at Justice Varma's official residence in New Delhi on March 14-15, 2025.
At that time, Justice Varma was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
The incident led to corruption allegations against him, which he denied, claiming it was a conspiracy against him.
Evidence examined
Justice Varma asked to resign or face impeachment proceedings
The committee said that large amounts of unexplained ₹500 notes were found in the storeroom, which Justice Varma could not explain.
Firefighters and police officers testified seeing bundles of notes spread across the room. However, no inventory was made or samples preserved.
When asked during cross-examination whether the amount crossed ₹5 lakh, police official Roop Chand said that figure was "too small."
Legal counsel
Justice Varma's defense during inquiry
Justice Varma was traveling in Madhya Pradesh when the fire broke out. His daughter and mother were home.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) initiated an in-house probe into the allegations on March 22, setting up a committee that submitted its report on May 4.
After receiving the report, CJI Khanna asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. Since he refused to resign, the CJI forwarded the report to the President and the Prime Minister for further action.
Report submission
Charges proved
In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated a probe against Justice Varma by constituting a three-member panel.
The committee's report noted that police and fire personnel acted under "certain apprehension" due to the official nature of the scene but couldn't determine an exact amount involved.
This, however, did not diminish the evidence that the quantity was "huge and substantial."
The committee concluded that "Articles of Charges I, II & III are proved."
Witness
Staff seen cleaning storeroom after firefighters left
It also rejected Justice Varma's argument that the storeroom was separate from his living quarters.
It noted that the room was within his compound and he admitted to keeping a locked liquor cabinet there.
The most serious findings came after firefighters left.
A security official saw Justice Varma's Private Secretary and household staff near the storeroom after the fire, cleaning up around 3:00am.
Justice Varma withdrew from proceedings before his defense evidence could be presented. He didn't call any witnesses.