Justice Yashwant Varma resigns amid impeachment proceedings over cash row

Justice Yashwant Varma has resigned as a judge at the Allahabad High Court amid an impeachment process to remove him after a huge stash of cash was found at his Delhi home last year. Varma has sent his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu.

Resignation and immediate fallout

"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 Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect," his letter read.

With his resignation, the process of impeachment to remove him as a high court judge will come to an end, NDTV quoted Lok Sabha Secretariat sources as saying.

Also Read: SC rejects Justice Varma plea against parliamentary panel probe

Cash recovery and initial probe

The impeachment is tied to the recovery of a large amount of cash from Justice Varma's official residence in Lutyens Delhi on March 14, 2025. At that time, he was serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court. The burnt cash was allegedly found in a storeroom near the servants' quarters. Justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal at that time.

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A week later, the Supreme Court had formed a three-judge committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into the matter. On May 4, a panel comprising three senior judges submitted its report to then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

In-house panel and CJI’s response

The in-house committee that probed Justice Varma comprised Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Justice Anu Sivaraman. The panel started the probe on March 25 and submitted its report to CJI Khanna on May 4.

Also Read: SC transfers Delhi HC judge after reports of unaccounted cash found at his home

The CJI, on receiving the report of the in-house committee, asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings.

However, since Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge's response on it to the President of India and the Prime Minister for the removal of the judge. Following the allegations, Justice Varma was sent back to his parent High Court, the Allahabad High Court, from the Delhi High Court. His judicial work was taken away pending further action.

Parliamentary process and court ruling

In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated the process to remove Justice Varma from his position by constituting a three-member panel to probe the allegations against him.

The committee initially comprised Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Senior Advocate B Vasudeva Acharya. Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar replaced Justice Shrivastava, who retired on March 6.

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In January this year, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the inquiry proceedings initiated against Justice Varma, ruling that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha was legally entitled to constitute the Judges Inquiry Committee.

The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma ruled that the statutory process under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 had not been breached and that the petitioner had failed to show any present violation of fundamental rights.