On 22nd March, the Supreme Court of India launched a high-profile inquiry into an alleged cash pile found at the residence of Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma.

The Court also released documents, letters exchanged over the matter, photographs, and videos shared by the Delhi Police Chief on its website. The fire incident occurred on 14th March 2025. However, the report of burnt cash only reached the media on 20th March, when alleged sources revealed the information.

Initially, the Supreme Court and the Fire Department deemed the reports as rumours. However, after repeated denial of media reports, an official statement and evidence of the cash pile found at the judge’s residence have been made public. Delhi Fire Chief Atul Garg also accused media of running fake reports of denial of cash found at Judge’s residence.

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The Supreme Court has now formed a three-member committee chaired by Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alongside Justice GS Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court. The committee will investigate the allegations and submit a report to the Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna.

In a press release issued on 22nd March, Justice Khanna announced that Justice Varma has been barred from judicial duties pending the probe. Interestingly, he was initially transferred to the Allahabad High Court, but following backlash, Justice Varma was barred from performing any judicial duties. The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court has been instructed not to assign him any work pending the probe.

Fire ignites suspicion at judge’s residence

The fire incident occurred at Justice Varma’s residence on 14th March 2025, in the storeroom located in the official bungalow at 30 Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi. According to the police report included in the press note shared by the Supreme Court, a PCR call was placed at 11:43 PM by Justice Varma’s private secretary from a number registered to the Delhi High Court, alerting the authorities about the fire.

Two fire tenders were rushed to the scene. The fire was reportedly confined to a storeroom adjacent to a guard post manned by CRPF personnel. Initial assessment of the incident pointed towards a short circuit as the cause of the fire. However, the discovery of 4–5 half-burnt sacks containing remnants of Indian currency notes raised serious concerns. The press note confirmed that the discovery has prompted a deeper investigation into the matter.

The initial inquiry and the aftermath

On the next day, i.e., 15th March, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, received a call from the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, Sanjay Arora, at around 4:50 PM. He informed Justice Upadhyaya that a fire had occurred in one of the rooms within the premises of the bungalow occupied by Justice Varma.

Upon learning about the discovery of the burnt cash pile, Justice Upadhyaya informed CJI Khanna, who gave instructions to trace the origin of the PCR call. The Commissioner confirmed that the call was made by the private secretary, who had been alerted about the incident by a servant at Justice Varma’s residence.

Justice Upadhyaya then sent the Registrar-cum-Secretary to inspect the site. He checked the room, accompanied by Justice Varma—who had just returned from Bhopal—and his private secretary, who had made the PCR call. The Registrar reported, “It was completely dark inside the room and the walls had developed cracks… all the walls had gone black on account of the fire, and some material was hanging from the roof.” Interestingly, there was no currency found at the spot, as claimed by the police. It was later revealed that the burnt cash and other materials had been removed following the incident.

Justice Varma denies knowledge of cash

Justice Varma categorically denied any knowledge of the cash. He was travelling in Madhya Pradesh with his wife when the incident took place and returned to Delhi on the evening of 15th March. On 17th March, he met Justice Upadhyaya at the Delhi High Court Guest House at 8:30 AM. When he was shown the photographs and video reportedly depicting burnt currency, Justice Varma insisted that he had no knowledge of any cash in the storeroom.

He said, “In the room where the fire had broken out, only unusable household articles like some furniture and mattresses etc. were kept.” He then expressed apprehension that there might be a conspiracy to frame him. Justice Varma elaborated, “I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members… The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters… verges on the incredible and incredulous.”

Supreme Court steps in with formal probe

On 20th March, all the documents, photos, and videos were forwarded to CJI Khanna. On 21st March, the CJI directed Justice Upadhyaya to seek a formal response from Justice Varma by noon on 22nd March, posing pointed questions such as, “How does he account for the presence of money/cash in the room located in his premises? Explain the source of the money/cash which was found in the said room. Who is the person who had removed the burnt money/cash from the room in the morning of 15th March 2025?”

While seeking answers to the queries, Justice Upadhyaya, on the instructions of CJI Khanna, asked Justice Varma not to dispose of his mobile phone(s) and not to delete or modify any conversations, messages, or data from the mobile phone(s). Justice Khanna also sought call record details of the official or other mobile phone number(s) of Justice Varma for the last six months.

In his reply, Justice Varma denied all allegations and asserted, “Neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time… The question of explaining the source of the currency does not arise.” He also rejected claims of removal, noting, “I strongly deny and outrightly reject the insinuation… that we removed currency from the storeroom.” On 22nd March, the Supreme Court announced that it has formed a committee, pointing towards a rigorous investigation into the matter.