Delhi High Court Withdraws Judicial Work from Justice Yashwant Varma Ahead of Probe

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court declared on Monday that Justice Yashwant Varma has been immediately stripped of judicial responsibilities following the discovery of sacks containing burnt cash at his home, PTI reported.

A notice on the court's website, issued under the registrar (listing)'s name, stated, "Due to recent developments, the judicial duties of hon'ble Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma are withdrawn with immediate effect until further notice."

An additional note indicated that the court master of division bench III, presided over by Justice Varma, would assign new dates for cases scheduled before this announcement.

This development comes as the Supreme Court on Saturday released the inquiry report of Delhi High Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya along with videos and pictures in the alleged corruption case.

As per Delhi HC CJI's 25-page report, "four to five semi-burnt sacks of Indian currency notes" were found in the judge's Lutyens' Delhi residence.

Video evidence reportedly depicts officers sifting through heaps of charred cash at Justice Varma’s home, sparking speculation about the money's origins and purpose.

In response, Justice Varma has firmly rejected the accusations. He clarified that the location where the fire broke out and the cash was allegedly discovered was an outhouse, separate from the main residence where he and his family live.

"I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous. The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible, and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous. It is a room completely disassociated from my living areas, and a boundary wall demarcates my living area from that outhouse. I only wish that the media had conducted some inquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press,” said Justice Yashwant Varma, as quoted in the High Court Chief Justice's report.

Here's a timeline of Justice Yashwant Varma's Case:

March 14, 2025: A huge fire broke out at Delhi HC Judge Yashwant Varma's residence.

March 15, 2025: The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who was in Lucknow at the time of the incident, was informed by the Delhi Police Commissioner.

March 16, 2025:The next day, after returning to New Delhi, Justice Upadhyaya first visited CJI Sanjiv Khanna and then on his directions, contacted Justice Yashwant Varma.

March 17, 2025: Delhi HC CJI Upadhyaya met with Justice Yashwant Varma at the Delhi High Court Guest House, where the former is currently residing. Meanwhile, Justice Varma informed the Delhi HC Chief Justice that the storeroom was open to all and unused items were kept there. Justice Varma also expressed his apprehension that this may be some ‘conspiracy’ against him.

March 21, 2025: CJI Sanjiv Khanna issued some directions to Justice Yashwant Varma, to retain data in his phone and not delete any messages or call records from the last six months.

March 22, 2025: As per the official statement of Justice Yashwant Varma released by the Supreme Court, he has denied the allegations and has maintained that there was no money found in the storeroom; he also said that the room that caught fire, is not attached to his living area and is accessible to a lot of people including the guards, gardeners, staff and CPWD personnel.

March 22, 2025: Following the submission of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya's report, CJI Sanjiv Khanna constituted a 3-member inquiry committee, comprising of, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court G.S. Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Judge Anu Sivaraman.

March 22, 2025: The report submitted to the Chief Justice of India by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, the CJI's response, the statement of Delhi HC Judge Yashwant Varma and the photos and videos from the time of the fire incident, have all been published online by the Supreme Court of India.