CJI Sanjiv Khanna sends inquiry report on Justice Yashwant Varma to President, PM

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has forwarded the report of in-house committee constituted to probe the allegations of cash discovery at Justice Yashwant Varma's residence, to the President of India and the Prime Minister..The response of Justice Varma to the report has also been forwarded.In a statement released today, the top 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 the 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.".Bar & Bench had earlier reported that the in-house committee comprising two Chief Justices and one High Court judges has indicted Justice Varma.It was also reported that CJI had asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings..The committee that probed him comprised Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Justice Anu Sivaraman. The panel had started the probe on March 25 and submitted its report to CJI Khanna on May 4..A fire at Justice Varma's house on the evening of March 14 had allegedly led to the recovery of unaccounted cash by the fire fighters. Justice Varma and his wife were not in Delhi then and were travelling in Madhya Pradesh. Only his daughter and aged mother were at home when the fire broke out. A video later surfaced showing bundles of cash burning in the fire..The incident led to allegations of corruption against Justice Varma, who denied the accusations and said that it appeared to be a conspiracy to frame him. The CJI then initiated an in-house probe into the allegations and set up the three-member committee on March 22 to conduct the inquiry.The video of the burnt cash was shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the High Court. It was then made public by the Supreme Court, which also in an unprecedented development published a preliminary report of Delhi High Court Chief Justice on the incident along with Justice Varma's response..Following the allegations, Justice Varma was sent back to his parent High Court, the Allahabad High Court, where he recently was administered oath of office. However, the judicial work of the judge has been temporarily taken away on instructions of the CJI. The Allahabad High Court Bar Association had earlier gone on strike to protest Justice Varma's repatriation. Considering the pendency of the in-house probe, the Supreme Court on the judicial side refused to entertain a plea seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Justice Varma.Soon after the in-house probe started, Justice Varma reportedly sought legal advice from a team of senior lawyers. Senior Advocates Siddharth Agarwal and Arundhati Katju and Advocates Tara Narula, Stuti Gujral and one other lawyer had visited his residence.