NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday announced the immediate withdrawal of Justice Yashwant Varma from judicial duties days after substantial cash was found at his official residence during a fire-fighting operation.
“In view of recent events, the judicial work from Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with immediate effect, till further orders,” the cirular reads.
The court also issued a separate circular removing Justice Varma’s scheduled cases from Monday’s hearing list.
Also read: Probe against Yashwant Varma may not conclude early, Delhi fire chief may be asked to explain ‘U-turn’
The circular read: “W.P.(C) 6728/2024 listed before special division bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ravinder Dudeja at item no. 1 is deleted as the same is listed before Hon’ble DB-II.”
This action came after Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had directed the Delhi high court Chief Justice to temporarily suspend Justice Varma’s judicial assignments.
On March 14, during Holi festivities, a fire reportedly occurred in the early hours at Justice Varma’s official Tughlaq Road residence in Lutyens Delhi.
Emergency responders, including police and fire services, arrived to control the blaze and reportedly discovered significant cash holdings in one of the property’s outhouses. Senior officials were notified, who subsequently informed the Chief Justice of India on March 15.
The CJI then directed the Delhi high court Chief Justice to provide a report on the incident, including Justice Varma’s explanation regarding the alleged cash discovery.
The Supreme Court stated on Friday that upon receiving this information, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice began internal investigation procedures, gathering evidence prior to the collegium meeting on March 20.
Justice Yashwant Varma, however, denied allegations that a large sum of burnt currency was recovered from his official residence after a recent fire incident.
Also read: Key details from Delhi HC CJ’s report on Justice Varma cash row
In a lengthy letter to Delhi high court’s chief justice, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Justice Varma called the claims “baseless” and “preposterous”, asserting that neither he nor his family had any connection to the alleged cash.
“I state unequivocally 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 wrote.
“The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous.” Questioning the credibility of the allegations, he added, “The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous.”
