Panel Finds Merit in Allegations of Cash Discovery at Justice Yashwant Varma’s Delhi Residence
A three-member judicial panel investigating allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma has found substance in claims that cash was recovered from his official residence in Delhi following a fire on March 14, The Indian Express has learned.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna is understood to have shared the panel’s report with Justice Varma on May 4, now serving at the Allahabad High Court, and reportedly offered him the option to resign in light of the panel’s findings.
Sources indicate that before formal court proceedings began on May 5, CJI Khanna informally discussed the contents and conclusions of the report with fellow Supreme Court judges over tea.
The investigative panel, constituted by CJI Khanna on March 22, includes Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice G S Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge at the Karnataka High Court).
The panel interviewed multiple witnesses, including police and fire personnel who responded to the blaze at Justice Varma’s residence, Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg, three firefighters, three personal security officers of the judge, CRPF personnel, and senior Delhi Police officials such as Commissioner Sanjay Arora, DCP Devesh Mahala, and Additional DCP Sumit Jha.
Justice Varma was transferred from the Delhi High Court on March 20 and was sworn in at the Allahabad High Court on April 5.
While Justice Varma’s next course of action remains unclear, one of the possibilities before him is to seek a meeting with the Supreme Court Collegium, currently headed by CJI Khanna and comprising Justices B R Gavai, next in line to become CJ, and Justice Surya Kant.
This precedent was last followed in 2008 when the Supreme Court established a similar in-house probe into allegations against then Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen.
Given that CJI Khanna is set to retire on May 13, the timeline for any further action in the matter is significantly constrained.
In a formal response to Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, Justice Varma denied the presence of any cash at his residence, asserting that no such discovery was made in the presence of his staff. Justice Upadhyaya included Varma’s denial in his preliminary report to CJI Khanna, which was made public on March 22.
The Justice Soumitra Sen case provides a potential roadmap. In 2008, the then CJI K G Balakrishnan offered Justice Sen a chance to resign or retire voluntarily based on the in-house committee’s findings.
Justice Sen declined at the time but eventually resigned after an impeachment motion was introduced in the Lok Sabha. Six months later, CJI Balakrishnan recommended his impeachment to the President.
Whether Justice Varma will follow a similar path or choose a different course remains to be seen, especially with the window for action narrowing rapidly as CJI Khanna’s retirement nears.
