Judges Inquiry Committee submits report on Justice Yashwant Varma to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

The Judges Inquiry Committee constituted to probe allegations of corruption concerning Justice Yashwant Varma has submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

According to the Press Information Bureau, the report was submitted at Parliament House on Monday by the Presiding Officer of the Committee, Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar.

The other members of the Committee - Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Senior Advocate BV Acharya - were also present when the report was handed over to the Speaker.

The report has been submitted in accordance with the statutory requirements under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. It will be laid before both Houses of Parliament in due course.

The Committee was constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker on August 12, 2025 to inquire into the allegations concerning Justice Varma.

Last month, Justice Yashwant Varma resigned from his post as a judge of the Allahabad High Court.

A fire at Justice Varma's house on the evening of March 14 had allegedly led to the recovery of unaccounted cash. At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were traveling 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.

Justice Khanna then initiated an in-house probe into the allegations and set up a three-member committee on March 22 to conduct the inquiry.

The in-house committee that probed Justice Varma 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 started the probe on March 25 and submitted its report to CJI Khanna on May 4. 

The CJI, on receiving the report of the in-house committee, asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. However, since Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge's response on it to the President of India and the Prime Minister for removal of the judge. Following the allegations, Justice Varma was sent back to his parent High Court from the Delhi High Court. His judicial work was taken away pending further action.

In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated the process to remove Justice Varma from his position by constituting a three-member panel to probe the allegations against him.

The Committee initially comprised Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Senior Advocate BV Acharya. Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar replaced Justice Shrivastava, who retired on March 6.

In January this year, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the inquiry proceedings initiated against Justice Varma, ruling that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha was legally entitled to constitute the Judges Inquiry Committee.