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CJI forwards in-house inquiry report against Justice Varma to President, PM

The Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has forwarded the report of the in-house committee that probed allegations of cash recovery at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Justice Varma’s response to the findings.

CJI forwards in-house inquiry report against Justice Varma to President, PM

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The Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has forwarded the report of the in-house committee that probed allegations of cash recovery at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Justice Varma’s response to the findings.

In an official 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 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.”

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The development comes days after reports emerged that the three-member in-house committee, comprising Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Sheel Nagu , Chief Justice if Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Anu Sivaraman of Karnataka High Court, had indicted Justice Varma in its report submitted to the Chief Justice Khanna.

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The forwarding of the report and Justice Varma’s response to the constitutional authorities now clears the way for possible impeachment proceedings, if necessary, in accordance with the procedure laid down under Article 124(4) of the Constitution.

The in-house panel, constituted by CJI Khanna on March 22, 2025, commenced its probe on March 25 and submitted its report on May 4, 2025.

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 fire-fighters.

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

Subsequently, the Supreme Court took the unprecedented step of making public the preliminary report of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice along with Justice Varma’s initial response.

In the aftermath of the allegations, Justice Varma was transferred back to his parent High Court, the Allahabad High Court, where he was recently administered the oath of office.

However, he has not been assigned any judicial work, as per instructions from the CJI. The Allahabad High Court Bar Association had earlier protested against Justice Varma’s repatriation, going on an indefinite strike.

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