LS Speaker Om Birla forms 3-member panel to probe Justice Yashwant Varma in charred cash row

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced a three-member panel to probe allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who is at the centre of a cash row after the recovery of burnt currency notes from his official residence in Delhi.

The three members of the panel include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge; Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice of Madras High Court; and BV Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court.

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“The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee,” Birla said in Lok Sabha.

The development comes days after the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varma’s plea seeking to quash the findings of a Supreme Court-appointed in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty in the charred cash row.

#WATCH | Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announces a 3-member panel to probe allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.

He says, “The members of the Committee include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice… pic.x.com/hKTt4PiZFt

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025

What is the Justice Yashwant Varma controversy?

The controversy dates back to March 14, 2025, when a fire at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi allegedly led to the discovery of large amounts of unaccounted cash by firefighters.

Justice Varma and his wife were reportedly travelling in Madhya Pradesh at the time, while only his daughter and his aged mother were present at home.

Following the incident, a video showing bundles of burnt cash surfaced and was shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

While Justice Varma denied having any knowledge about the unaccounted charred cash, the discovery led to the allegations of corruption in the judiciary, prompting the Supreme Court to constitute a three-member committee to probe the matter.

Meanwhile, the findings of the three-member committee concluded that there was “strong inferential evidence” of his “covert or active control” over the charred cash found at the storeroom of his Delhi residence.

Justice Varma, who was posted at the Delhi High Court at the time of the incident, was transferred back to the Allahabad High Court, his parent high court.