NEW DELHI: Justice Yashwant Varma may face impeachment proceedings over the discovery of the cash pile at his bungalow on the basis of judges panel inquiry report.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has sent a three-member judges' committee, which indicted Justice Varma, then Delhi High Court judge over cash haul allegedly found at his residence here during the fire incident on March 14-15, to the President and the Prime Minister for further action.
"Chief Justice of India, in terms of the in-house procedure, has written to the President and the Prime Minister, enclosing therewith copy of the 3-member committee report of May 03, 2025 along with the letter/response of May 06, 2025 received from Justice Varma," a press release from the Supreme Court stated on Thursday.
After judges' committee submitted its report on May 4, CJI Khanna has sought a response from Justice Varma, currently a judge of the Allahabad High Court.
It was stated he may be asked to resign or face adverse recommendation for initiating impeachment proceedings.
Justice Varma had earlier refuted the allegations of recovery of any cash and termed the whole episode as a conspiracy. "I unequivocally state that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us," he had said.
On March 22, the CJI had set up the committee consisted of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and Ms Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge of the High Court of Karnataka as part of inhouse inquiry, within days of the incident has come into light.
The committee finalised its report on May 3.
In terms of the Supreme Court judgment in K Veeraswami Vs Union of India (1991), no criminal case can be registered against a judge of a High court or Supreme Court without the prior permission of the Chief Justice of India.
Justice Varma is currently posted at the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court. No judicial work has been assigned to him since the inquiry panel was set up.
