Former Delhi HC judge, Yashwant Varma gave no reasonable explanation for the huge sum of money allegedly recovered from his official residence in Delhi, a parliamentary panel report said in Parliament Wednesday.
The committee, which was set up by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to probe the recovery of cash, is believed to have finally found Varma guilty.
Cash Found After Fire at Judge’s Residence
A fire broke out at Justice Yashwant Varma’s official residence, “30, Tughlak Crescent,” New Delhi on March 14, 2025, igniting the controversy. Apparently firefighters on the scene found huge amounts of burned currency notes in a storeroom of the residence.
The committee report said huge amounts of the notes in ₹500 notes lack explanations on them at the premises. The panel had not received satisfactory explanations from Varma about where and who came up with and had the cash, it said.
Panel Questions – Handling of Evidence
The parliamentary committee also questioned the way evidence from the storeroom was dealt with after the cash was recovered. It also said material evidence was not secured or preserved and the condition of the storeroom was altered prior to lawful sealing and inspection.
The panel also asked for the lost or non-availability of the subsequent currency notes.
Safeguarding evidence for scrutiny
The breakdown of material evidence was correlated with an inadequate response to the scene and the disruption of the residence’s storeroom by staff associated with the home. Conditions that precipitated the subsequent disappearance of the currency notes have yet to be explained, the committee said.
The report by the MPs’ committee raises additional doubts about how to have the money recovered and the ethics of the former judge’s conduct, and parts of it are now central to the debate surrounding the case.