Probe panel starts work, visits Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence

High Court judges investigate allegations of currency found after fire at Justice Varma's residence, following proper procedure.

The three-member committee of High Court judges on Tuesday (March 25, 2025) began its in-depth inquiry into allegations of “sacks of half-burnt currency” found after dousing a fire in a storeroom at the Tughlak Crescent residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, who has been taken off judicial work and recommended for transfer to the Allahabad High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium.

The committee of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice Anu Sivaraman, visited the residence premises of Justice Varma for a little over half-hour as part of a second and a more intensive stage of the probe into the allegations.

Justice Varma’s response, which was part of the documents published by the Supreme Court along with a video and photographs, said the “gutted room remains in that state even today”.

Similarly, a report submitted by the Registrar-cum-Secretary of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice described the state of the room after the fire.

The High Court official, despatched by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya on March 15 evening, the day after the blaze on March 14, said he was accompanied by Justice Varma and his personal secretary during a 10-minute inspection of the room.

“On reaching there, I found out that it was completely dark inside the room and the walls had developed cracks. We all took out our mobile phones and switched on the torch to have a look inside the room. We saw all the walls were blacked out due to fire and some material was hanging from the roof and half-burnt articles were lying there and burnt articles/debris were lying on the floor. After spending 8-10 minutes in the room, we all came out,” the official recounted in his report to the Delhi Chief Justice on March 16.

Justice Varma also mentions the inspection in his response, adding that “no currency was either found nor was any cash in any state seen present on site” at the time.