In a significant development, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has constituted a three-member internal committee to investigate allegations surrounding Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma after videos shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner showed charred bundles of currency recovered from the judge's official residence. The matter escalated following a preliminary report by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay, who called for a deeper investigation.
As per agency report, in an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court uploaded Justice Upadhyay’s report on its official website. The 25-page document, accompanied by videos and photographs, details the aftermath of a fire that broke out on the night of March 14 in a storeroom at Justice Varma's residence in Lutyens’ Delhi. The report mentions that four to five partially burnt sacks were found, allegedly containing remnants of Indian currency.
Chief Justice Upadhyay, in his report dated March 21 and made public a day later, stated that according to a report submitted by the Police Commissioner on March 16, a guard posted at Justice Varma’s residence informed authorities that debris and burnt materials had been removed from the affected room. Based on the available evidence and Justice Varma’s response, the Chief Justice recommended a thorough probe.
The internal inquiry committee formed by the CJI includes Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice G S Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge of the Karnataka High Court). While no fixed timeline has been announced for the completion of the inquiry, the Supreme Court stated that Justice Varma has been relieved of any judicial responsibilities pending the outcome of the investigation.
The report mentions that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, and the visuals provided by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora show firemen dousing flames and recovering charred currency notes.
Responding to the allegations, Justice Varma strongly denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the claims as part of a conspiracy to malign him. In a detailed written reply to Chief Justice Upadhyay, he expressed shock upon viewing the video footage, stating that the scenes depicted did not match what he observed firsthand. He asserted that neither he nor any member of his family had stored cash in the storeroom and that they were unaware of any money being recovered from the premises.
Justice Varma said the room in question was generally used for storing miscellaneous items such as unused furniture, carpets, gardening tools, and crockery. He maintained that any cash withdrawal from his side was always carried out through official banking channels, including UPI and card transactions.
He further criticized the media for circulating unverified allegations without proper fact-checking and reiterated that his family and domestic staff had not seen or been informed about any burned currency.
Following the circulation of the police video and the preliminary findings by Justice Upadhyay, the Supreme Court emphasized the need for institutional transparency and integrity. The decision to form an internal committee and publicly share the findings reflects the judiciary’s commitment to uphold accountability even at the highest levels.
