New Delhi: Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the findings of an in-house inquiry panel that found him guilty of misconduct. He has also contested the impeachment recommendation made by the then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, calling the entire sequence of events a conspiracy.
The controversy began on the night of March 14–15, when a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi. During firefighting operations, emergency personnel discovered burnt bundles of ₹500 currency notes in the house’s storeroom, raising serious suspicions.
In response, the Supreme Court constituted a three-judge in-house inquiry panel to investigate the incident.
The panel’s findings were based on-
- Testimonies from 55 witnesses
- A detailed forensic examination
- Statements from fire department personnel
The report concluded that Justice Varma and his family were directly or indirectly responsible for storing the cash. It also stated that after the fire, there was an overnight effort to remove cash and destroy evidence intentionally.
On May 8, then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna submitted the panel’s report to the President and Prime Minister, officially recommending impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma- a rare and serious move in India’s judicial system.
Justice Varma has denied all allegations, terming the entire episode a conspiracy against him. He has now approached the Supreme Court to quash the in-house panel’s findings and set aside the impeachment recommendation, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal and institutional showdown.
Yashwant Varma defended his integrity by highlighting his unblemished judicial record spanning over a decade, stating that no allegations of impropriety had ever been made against him during his time on the Bench.
Raising concerns about the fairness of the inquiry process, he called for a broader investigation, not just into the recent accusations, but also into his overall conduct as a judge and the perception of his integrity within the legal community.
Dismissing the current charges as baseless, Justice Varma asserted that his decade-long service in the High Court had been marked by a reputation for honesty and impartiality, and urged that any assessment should take into account the views of the Bar and his track record in judicial functioning.
