Justice Varma on alleged cash discovery: Conspiracy to damage my credibility

Justice Yashwant Varma has asserted he is being framed in what he called a "conspiracy to malign" his reputation, strictly denying any relation to cash found allegedly at his home following the outbreak of fire last week.

Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya

Replying to questions raised by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna in a letter to Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, justice Varma claimed that neither he nor his relatives had any information about the money and rejected the allegations. The very notion or proposal that this money was stored or retained by us is absolutely far-fetched," Justice Varma stated in his written reply which was made public by the Supreme Court on Saturday evening along with a notice that the CJI has established a three-member in-house inquiry committee to investigate him.

Justice Varma's statement was in response to the letter of the CJI

who had requested written submissions on why there was money allegedly discovered in the storeroom of his house. The letter, which was written to HC chief justice Upadhyaya on March 21, 2025, instructed that Justice Varma be required to explain the money, its origin, and identify who had withdrawn the supposedly burnt money. He was also told not to destroy or alter information on his cell phones as call records were requested from telephone companies. Justice Varma said that the fire had been reported late at night and his daughter and private secretary alerted emergency services.

Investigation into his judicial behaviour 

 In the process of firefighting, all family members and employees were requested to leave the building for safety. After the fire was put out, he stated that there was no indication of cash on site. Dismayed at what he termed as an effort to destroy his judicial reputation, he reinforced that his ten-year long stay as a high court judge was unblemished by any claim concerning integrity. Justice Varma has sought an investigation into his judicial behaviour and reputation in the eyes of members of the legal community, claiming that his integrity is intact.