An internal judicial committee uncovered significant discrepancies between Justice Yashwant Varma’s statements and the actual evidence concerning a fire incident at his official residence, The Leaflet reported.
The fire, which occurred on March 14, led to the discovery of sacks containing burnt currency. Justice Varma, who was the then sitting judge of Delhi High Court and was subsequently repatriated to Allahabad High Court, claimed that the room where the currency was found was accessible to anyone visiting the residence. However, the committee’s investigation contradicted this assertion, suggesting that the room was not freely accessible.
The three-judge panel, established by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on March 22, included Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court.
The committee’s findings have been forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, potentially paving the way for Justice Varma’s removal from service.
Sources privy to their report shared some of the details with The Leaflet.
Sources told the media outlet that the inquiry highlighted that not all the currency was destroyed in the fire and that the room had been thoroughly cleaned the following day, hindering the assessment of the exact amount of burnt, partially burnt, and untouched currency. This clean-up was seen as a potential attempt to destroy crucial evidence.
Meanwhile, senior lawyer Indira Jaisingh reiterated her demand that the committee’s report be made public.
This report must be made Public
— Indira Jaising (@IJaising) May 13, 2025
The Leaflet reports that, among others, Justice Varma falsely claimed that the room where sacks of burnt currency were discovered was accessible to any person who visited the residence.https://t.co/CJIcxZKkTA
Jaising had tweeted the same on May 5, a day after the Supreme Court received the panel’s report.
The committee reportedly scrutinised the actions of Justice Varma’s then Secretary, a Delhi High Court staff member, suggesting possible involvement in the removal of evidence. Witnesses, including court staff, security personnel, and emergency responders, were interviewed, and their testimonies raised concerns about the destruction of evidence post-incident, according to The Leaflet.
“The panel has found that some unnamed person made several trips in private vehicles to clean the room and also move out the material, burnt and otherwise, from the scene of the incident. This led to a lot of unanswered questions,” a source told The Leaflet.
Several attempts were made to mislead the probe committee but the same failed miserably, sources told The Leaflet. Speculation around Justice Varma’s daughter-in-law’s involvement in removing evidence was debunked, as passport records confirmed that she and her husband were not in the country at the time, sources told the outlet.
Justice Varma had refused to resign when asked if he wanted to resign or face further action.
“Prime facie it is a fit case for impeachment. But, it is for the government to take the matter forward,” the source told The Leaflet.
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