Cash at Judge house: CJI sends in-house committee report to PM, President for further action

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is understood to have recommended the Union Government to initiate a motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma.

The CJI on Thursday forwarded the inquiry panel’s report on the incident regarding cash at Justice Varma’s residence to the PM and President, along with Justice Varma’s response.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Supreme Court said: 

"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."

While the details of the panel's report are not yet known, the sources said that Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has recommended that a motion for the removal of Justice Varma be initiated.

According to the sources, since Justice Varma has refused to resign, CJI Khanna had therefore informed the President and Prime Minister to initiate removal proceedings under Article 124(4) of the Constitution.

This would involve referring the matter to Parliament for impeachment, requiring a motion supported by MPs and a three-member inquiry under the Judges (Inquiry) Act.

On March 22, a three-judge committee was formed under the in-house procedure established by the Supreme Court’s full court in 1999. The committee, formed to probe claims of burnt currency found at Varma’s residence, comprised Justices Sheel Nagu, G.S. Sandhawalia, and Anu Sivaraman.

Shortly after, Justice Varma was transferred to his parent Allahabad High Court and has been assigned no judicial duties since.

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The in-house committee report relied on testimony from 50 witnesses: firefighters, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, and Varma’s security staff, along with a damning video of burning cash.

Justice Varma’s claim that the storeroom was accessible to others and the cash’s origins unknown crumbled under scrutiny. The committee noted that some cash mysteriously vanished post-fire, raising questions of tampering.

A fire broke out at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence on the evening of March 14, allegedly leading to the discovery of unaccounted cash by firefighters at the scene.

At the time of the incident, Justice Varma and his wife were away in Madhya Pradesh, while only their daughter and elderly mother were present at the house.

Subsequently, a video emerged, showing bundles of cash engulfed in flames during the fire.

India