‘With deep anguish I…’: What Justice Yashwant Varma said in his resignation letter to President Murmu

A year after the discovery of a huge stash of currency notes at his Delhi residence, Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has tendered resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. Inside the resignation letter, Justice Yashwant Varma expressed profound anguish while also describing it as an honour to have served the President during her tenure.

What did Justice Yashwant Varma write in his resignation letter?

In a letter sent to the President on 9 April, the 57-year-old Justice Varma said he was tendering his resignation with “deep anguish”.

Yashwant Varma said, “Your Excellency, while I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect. It has been an honour to serve in this office.”

Justice Yashwant Varma has been facing heat since March 2025, after wads of currency notes were found at his residence following a huge fire on the night of Holi on 14 March. He was then a judge of the Delhi High Court.

Over a year after the recovery of the cash, Yashwant Varma has resigned from his position, making the impeachment process no longer meaningful. This means that the pending impeachment proceedings, intended to remove Yashwant Varma from his office, have become infructuous due to his resignation.

Consequently, a three-member inquiry committee comprising Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, and senior advocate B V Acharya was conducting an inquiry, a condition precedent to an impeachment motion.

The case saw many twists and turns after Justice Varma refused to step down following advice from CJI Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Sanjiv Khanna then wrote to President Murmu to proceed further in the impeachment of Varma. He was also moved to the Allahabad High Court.

Back in January, the Supreme Court had dismissed his plea challenging the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to admit an impeachment motion and the validity of a panel set up to inquire corruption charges against him, saying a provision in law cannot be used as a weapon to scuttle parliamentary proceedings.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a multi-party motion for Justice Varma's removal on 12 August last year.

CJI Khanna later constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry.

What did Justice Varma say?

Justice Varma had maintained that no cash was ever placed in the storeroom “either by me or any of my family members and (I) strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us”. He also alleged a conspiracy to frame him.

“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. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous,” Justice Varma said.

Asserting that the room was disassociated from the living areas of his residence, Justice Varma said, “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.”

(With agency inputs)