A high-powered parliamentary inquiry committee found former High Court judge Yashwant Varma guilty on all three charges of judicial misconduct. The three-member panel submitted its report to both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.

The findings mark a significant institutional verdict in one of the most high-profile corruption probes involving the Indian judiciary.

All Three Charges Against Varma Proved

The committee, constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, concluded that investigators established clear proof for every article of charge framed against the former judge:

  1. Unexplained Cash Discovery: Substantial quantities of burnt, half-burnt, and wet ₹500 currency notes lay scattered in a storeroom at his official 30 Tughlaq Crescent residence in New Delhi.
  2. Failure to Preserve Evidence: Officials failed to properly secure or preserve the material evidence and crime scene before formal sealing.
  3. Evasive Explanations: The judge provided evasive, misleading, and unsatisfactory explanations regarding the source, ownership, and control of the recovered cash.

The panel observed that Varma exercised effective control over the residential premises. Consequently, judges rejected his defense that he lacked knowledge of or access to the outhouse storeroom.

Midnight Fire Uncovered Stacks of Burnt Currency

The scandal erupted on the night of March 14, 2025, when a fire broke out inside Varma’s official Delhi residence. Firefighters responding to the blaze stumbled upon massive heaps of charred ₹500 currency notes inside an attached storeroom.

Following initial police reports, then-Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna set up a three-judge in-house inquiry committee. The Supreme Court panel concluded that Varma held “active or tacit control” over the room where the money was stored.

Subsequently, over 200 Members of Parliament signed an impeachment motion in July 2025. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla then constituted the statutory three-member probe panel, headed by Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar, to formally investigate the allegations.

Although Varma resigned from judicial service prior to the completion of the probe, the parliamentary panel completed its mandate and placed its findings permanently on the record of Parliament.

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