Indicted by in-house panel, Justice Yashwant Varma to resign or face impeachment

A three-member in-house committee constituted by Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna to probe the alleged recovery of unaccounted cash from the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma on March 14, 2025, after a fire broke out at his residence, has indicted the judge in its report.

Justice Varma, sources said, has been given time till Friday (May 9), to respond to the report by the in-house panel submitted to the Chief Justice Khanna on May 4.

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After being indicted by the panel, Justice Verma has the option to resign, failing which the report would be sent to President Droupadi Murmu with recommendation for his impeachment.

The three-member in-house committee constituted on March 22 by Chief Justice Khanna comprised the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice GS Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court.

The committee commenced its probe on March 25 and submitted its report to the Chief Justice Khanna on May 4.

The inquiry was initiated following the recovery of large amounts of unaccounted cash from Justice Varma’s residence in Delhi on March 14, 2025 – the Holi Day, after a fire broke out at his residence on March 14, evening.

At the time of the fire, Justice Varma and his wife were in Madhya Pradesh. Only his daughter and aged mother were present at the residence.

Justice Varma had denied any wrongdoing, alleging a conspiracy to frame him. However, in an unprecedented strep, Chief Justice Khanna made public the report submitted by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya [ig1] on the incident, response of Justice Yashwant Varma, and other documents, by uploading them on the Supreme Court website.

Subsequently, Justice Varma was transferred back to his parent high court, Allahabad High Court, where he recently took oath.

While constituting a three-member in-house committee to probe the recovery of unaccounted cash, the chief justice had, on March 22, asked Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya [ig2] not to assign Justice Yerma any judicial work. A position that continued even after he was transferred to Allahabad High Court.

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association had earlier gone on strike protesting against his transfer to parent High Court.

The future course of action will depend on Justice Varma’s response to the Chief Justice of India within the time granted.