CJI Sanjiv Khanna Forwards In-House Inquiry Report On Justice Yashwant Varma To President & Prime Minister

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has forwarded to the President of India and the Prime Minister the report submitted by the three-judge panel which held an in-house inquiry against Justice Yashwant Varma in relation to the alleged discovery of unauthorised cash currency notes at his official residence.The response given by Justice Varma has also been forwarded to the President and the PM. "Chief Justice of India, in terms of the In-House Procedure, has written to Hon'ble the President of India and Hon'ble the Prime Minister of India enclosing therewith copy of the 3-Member Committee report dated 03.05.2025 along with the letter/response dated 06.05.2025 received from Mr Justice Yashwant Varma," said the Supreme Court in a Press Release.The fact that the inquiry report has been forwarded to the President suggests that the allegations have, prima facie, been found to be credible.As per the in-house procedure, if the inquiry report finds substance in the allegations, the CJI advises the Judge to resign or seek voluntary retirement. If the Judge refuses to do so, CJI then writes to the President and the PM for further action, including the initiation of removal proceedings in terms of Article 124(4) read with Article 218 of the Constitution. It was on March 22 that CJI constituted the committee, after reports emerged regarding the accidental discovery of a huge stash of cash from a store-room at the out-house of Justice Varma's official residence during a firefighting operation. At the time, Justice Varma was a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court. After the controversy, Justice Varma was transferred to the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court. Judicial work has been withdrawn from Justice Varma as per the instruction of the CJI.CJI took the decision for an in-house inquiry on the basis of a preliminary report given by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice DK Upadhyay, who opined that the "the entire matter warrants a deeper probe."Justice Varma, in his reply to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, denied storing any cash, and said that the store-room was accessible to the staff and was unlocked. He said that when the fire operation took place, he was not present in Delhi. Pointing out that no cash has been seized, Justice Varma termed the entire allegations a "conspiracy to frame" him.The Supreme Court, in a move towards public transparency, uploaded the reports and documents related to the fire incident, including the photos and videos showing burning cash.

CJI Sanjiv Khanna Forwards In-House Inquiry Report On Justice Yashwant Varma To President & Prime Minister

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The fact that the inquiry report has been forwarded to the President suggests that the allegations have, prima facie, been found to be credible.

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