A Supreme Court-appointed inquiry panel has recommended the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court, after finding “sufficient substance” in allegations surrounding the recovery of a large cache of currency notes from his official residence in Delhi.
The panel, which examined 55 witnesses including the judge’s daughter, concluded that Justice Varma failed to offer any plausible explanation for the presence of the cash or his failure to report the matter to law enforcement or judicial authorities. It called his conduct “unnatural” and “implausible,” especially given the visual and eyewitness evidence presented during the inquiry.
The judge first came under scrutiny in March, when a fire broke out at his official bungalow. During firefighting operations, personnel allegedly saw stacks of Rs 500 notes — some half-burnt — strewn across the floor of a storeroom with exclusive access restricted to Justice Varma and his family.
Cash ‘Disappeared’, No Report Filed, Conduct Called ‘Unnatural’
According to the panel, despite several independent accounts confirming the sighting of the cash, no FIR was filed, and the storeroom was later cleared with no trace of the money. A fire department officer claimed a private secretary to the judge, Rajinder Singh Karki, instructed them to exclude any mention of the currency in official reports. A senior fire officer reportedly told the team to drop the matter because “higher-ups were involved.”
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Witnesses included police personnel, fire officers, and an eyewitness who stated, “I was shocked and surprised by such a large amount of cash; it was the first time I saw anything like it in my life.”
The inquiry committee further noted that Justice Varma’s defence — that the incident was part of a conspiracy to malign him — could not stand scrutiny. “Currency notes were seen by multiple people and recorded in real time. It is implausible they were planted to frame him,” the report stated.
The panel also flagged the possible involvement of his daughter, Diya Varma, and Karki in destruction of evidence or post-incident clean-up.
Since the incident, Justice Varma has been transferred back to the Allahabad High Court and stripped of judicial responsibilities, though he has not resigned or taken voluntary retirement. He has described the inquiry as a “fundamentally unjust” process and continues to maintain his innocence.
