The North News
New Delhi, June 20
A three-member committee of senior judges has recommended the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, currently a judge at the Allahabad High Court and formerly of the Delhi High Court, following the discovery of large quantities of burnt currency notes at his official residence in New Delhi earlier this year. In a 64-page report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court-appointed panel concluded there was “sufficient substance” to the allegations of judicial misconduct, citing both direct and electronic evidence.
The investigation began after piles of charred ₹500 notes were found in the storeroom of 30 Tughlak Crescent, the government bungalow officially allotted to Justice Varma. According to the committee, the storeroom was under the “covert or active control” of the judge and his family. Strong “inferential evidence” suggested the cash was secretly removed and destroyed during the early hours of 15 March 2025.
The panel interviewed 55 witnesses and recorded Justice Varma’s own statement during the course of its inquiry. Its findings were triggered by a letter from the Chief Justice of India on 22 March, raising concerns over possible misconduct.
“The misconduct found proved is serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal of Justice Yashwant Varma,” the report states.
In laying out its reasoning, the committee emphasised the foundational value of probity in judicial life. It said the moral standards expected of a judge were far higher than those required of other civil servants. “Probity is the most important and indispensable attribute of a person holding judicial office and is rather the basic eligibility criteria,” the committee wrote.
It further warned that any deficiency in judicial character—either inside or outside the courtroom—directly undermines the public trust on which the legitimacy of the judiciary rests. “Such trust is directly relatable to the behaviour, conduct and performance demonstrated by the Judge… Any deficiency in this regard erodes public trust which ought to be viewed stringently.”
Justice Varma has not publicly responded to the committee’s findings. If Parliament endorses the recommendation, it could trigger rare proceedings to remove a sitting High Court judge—an action taken only a handful of times in India’s judicial history.
