Cash discovery row: CJI Sanjiv Khanna writes to President and PM, shares report of SC panel on Justice Yashwant Varma

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday, forwarded the three-member in-house committee inquiry report to President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi on the issue of recovery of cash from the residence of sitting high court judge, justice Yashwant Varma.

CJI Khanna had written to the President enclosing the response received from Justice Varma on May 6.

A release issued by Supreme Court said, “Chief Justice of India, in terms of the In-House Procedure, has written to Hon’ble the President of India and Hon’ble the Prime Minister of India enclosing therewith copy of the 3-Member Committee report dated 03.05.2025 along with the letter/response dated 06.05.2025 received from Mr Justice Yashwant Varma."

SC panel confirms allegations against Justice Varma

The Supreme Court-appointed in-house inquiry committee confirmed the presence of cash found at High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence during the fire on the night of March 14, according to its report submitted to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

After finalising the report on May 3, the three-member panel submitted it to the CJI. The panel consists of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Karnataka High Court’s Justice Anu Sivaraman.

Justice Varma had been given two days to respond to the findings, according to a report by India Today.

What are the ‘cash discovery’ allegations against Justice Varma?

A pile of cash was recovered from Justice Yashwant Varma's house, after a fire broke out in his residence and family members of the judge called emergency services, who then called the police. The incident happened on March 14, during Holi celebrations.

On March 20, the Supreme Court panel had proposed that Justice Varma, who was a judge of the Delhi High Court at the time, be transferred to Allahabad.

The proposal came after the discovery of the cash. The apex court clarified that the “proposal for the transfer…is independent and separate from the in-house enquiry procedure” initiated by the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice D K Upadhyay after receiving information about the cash discovery.