Judge Varma Cash Case: What Did Delhi HC Chief Justice Find? 10 Points

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Sunday released the probe report by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya into the ongoing controversy over the alleged recovery of unaccounted money from High Court Judge Yashwant Varma's residence.

In the 25-page report, which includes photos and videos of Varma's residence, Delhi Chief Justice Upadhyaya recommends a deeper probe into the matter.

On examining the incident reported, the material available, and the response of Justice Yashwant Varma, what I find is that the Commissioner of Police in his report dated 16.3.2025 has reported that as per the guard posted at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, the debris and other partially burnt articles were removed from the room where the fire had broken out in the morning of 15.3.2025," Justice Upadhyaya said.

Also read | Burning Cash Scam: Justice Yashwant Varma's 6-Month Call Records Shared With Delhi HC CJI Upadhyaya | LIVE

The matter has sparked widespread outrage across the nation, raising questions about judicial integrity.

10 Key Findings in Delhi HC Chief Justice's Report

1. A fire broke out at Justice Varma's residence on March 14th at around 11:30 pm in a storeroom near the office. Varma was in Madhya Pradesh at the time of the incident. His daughter and mother were present in the house during the mishap.

2. Varma was informed about the incident on March 15th by Sanjay Arora, Commissioner of Police, Delhi. After which, he made a PCR call and sought certain information from the top cop.

3. Delhi CJI instructed the Registrar-cum-Secretary attached to him to visit the spot. Upon reaching the spot, the Private Secretary called Varma's Private Secretary to take a look at the site.

4. Varma's Secy Visits Site, Uses Torch Take Note of Situation

The Delhi CJI in the report stated that his Private Secretary visited the room with Varma's PS where the fire took place. A report was then submitted to Justice Upadhyaya.

"On reaching the spot, he found that it was completely dark inside the room, and the walls had developed cracks. The report further mentions that, with the help of a mobile phone's torch, Justice Yashwant Varma had a look inside the room, where it was found that all the walls had turned black due to the fire, some material was hanging from the roof, and half-burnt articles were lying there. Additionally, burnt articles/debris were lying on the floor. He spent about 8-10 minutes in the room and thereafter came out."

Also read | 'Gandhi Mein Aag Lag Rahi Hai Bhai’: What Fireman Said Seeing Burning Cash At Justice Varma's Home

5. Varma Reveals What Was Kept in the Room:

As per the report submitted by Justice Upadhyaya, Delhi HC Judge Varma took a look into the room and revealed what things were kept in the storeroom where the fire took place.

"The room was being used as a storeroom to keep useless household articles and remained accessible to all and was not kept locked," the report read.

6. Delhi CJI Upadhyaya arrived in Delhi in the evening of March 16th. Delhi CJI Upadhyaya met Varma on March 17th, when the latter responded by saying, "in the room where the fire had broken out, only unusable household articles like some furniture and mattresses etc. were kept."

7. Varma Was in Bhopal at the Time of the Incident

Upadhyaya, in the report, stated, "He also informed me that, at the time of the incident, he was in Bhopal and got the information from his daughter. Justice Varma further told me that, at the moment, black burnt material (soot) was lying in the room. I thereafter showed him the photographs and the video on my WhatsApp, which were shared with me by the Commissioner of Police. He then expressed some apprehension about a conspiracy against him."

8. Varma Claims Conspiracy

The Delhi CJI, in the probe report, revealed that Varma claimed that some "conspiracy" had been leveled against him.

"He then expressed some apprehension about some conspiracy against him," the report read.

9. Amid the controversy, a proposal was made to repatriate Justice Yashwant Varma to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.

10. Delhi CJI Seeks Deeper Probe

The inquiry, prime facie conducted by Delhi CJI Upadhyaya reveals "no possibility of entry or access to the room by any person other than those residing in the bungalow, the servants, the gardeners and CPWD personnels, if any."

The Delhi CJI seeks a deeper probe.