Supreme Court Releases Video of Burnt Cash at Justice Yashwant Varma’s Residence; Delhi HC Judge Denies Allegations

The Supreme Court of India has released a report, including a video and three images, purportedly showing semi-burnt currency notes allegedly found at the official residence of Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma. The discovery was reportedly made on March 14, during a firefighting operation at the judge’s residence. The materials were submitted to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora.

#WATCH | The Supreme Court released the inquiry report filed by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya into the controversy relating to High Court Justice Yashwant Varma. In his report, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice said that he is of the prima facie opinion… pic.twitter.com/1xgMh8xWNW

— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2025

Following the disclosure, an internal inquiry was initiated by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice Upadhyaya was directed not to assign judicial work to Justice Varma amid the ongoing controversy.

Justice Varma Rejects Allegations, Calls It a Conspiracy

Justice Yashwant Varma has strongly denied any connection to the alleged unaccounted cash. Expressing shock over the released visuals, he stated, “I was shocked to see the video, as it depicted something that was not present when I last saw the site. This appears to be a deliberate conspiracy to malign me.”

In his detailed response to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, Justice Varma clarified that the fire broke out in a storeroom near the staff quarters of his government-allotted residence. He explained that the area was used for storing household items, including old furniture, crockery, and garden tools, and was not directly connected to his main residence.

Justice Varma’s Family Was Away During the Fire

On the night of the fire, Justice Varma and his wife were in Madhya Pradesh, while only his daughter and elderly mother were present at the residence. He returned to Delhi the following day via an IndiGo flight from Bhopal. His daughter and private secretary were the ones who alerted the fire department when the blaze erupted.

Justice Varma also mentioned that during the firefighting operation, all family members and staff were kept at a safe distance and none of them witnessed any cash at the scene.

“All Transactions Are Through Proper Banking Channels”: Justice Varma

Refuting all allegations, Justice Varma asserted that neither he nor his family ever stored cash in the storeroom. He emphasized that all financial transactions were conducted through banking channels, UPI, and card payments.

He also pointed out that there was no formal seizure of any alleged cash by authorities. “There was no mention of cash being recovered or seized at the time the site was handed back to us,” he stated, adding that neither he nor his household staff saw any burnt currency.

Justice Varma Questions the Lack of Evidence

Justice Varma raised doubts about the absence of sacks allegedly containing burnt currency. “We were not shown any such sacks or remnants of cash. My staff confirmed that only debris and salvageable items were cleared from the storeroom. If such an amount of cash was truly recovered, why was it never presented to us at the time?”

Judge Dismisses Allegations as Baseless

Reiterating his stance, Justice Varma emphasized that the storeroom was a shared space, separate from his living quarters, and dismissed the allegations as unfounded and illogical.