The three-member committee, which was set up to probe allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma after a huge pile of cash was recovered from the premises within his official residence, has submitted its report on the row to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

Justice Varma landed in the controversy after the discovery of a huge pile of burnt cash in the storeroom attached to his official bungalow in the national capital after the fire brigade had gone there to douse a blaze on March 14. 
After the row and several protests by lawyers, he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court, where he took oath as a judge in April. However, as per the Supreme Court’s directions, he will not be assigned any judicial work.

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“The three-member Committee consisting of Mr Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and Ms Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, constituted for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge, has submitted its report dated 03.05.2025 to the Chief Justice of India on 04.05.2025,” the Supreme Court said in a press release issued on Monday (May 5).

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While Justice Varma denied any wrongdoing, CJI Khanna constituted a 3-member committee in the last week of March to conduct an inquiry into the cash recovery episode. 

The investigators collected burnt notes from the scene of the fire, got videos of the firefighting tested at forensic labs, and asked Justice Varma and his staff to preserve their phones and call records.

All judicial work was taken away from Justice Varma, who was the second senior-most judge of the Delhi High Court, before he was sent to Allahabad. 

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The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, recommended to the Centre to repatriate Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. He was shifted to Uttar Pradesh despite very strong opposition by the bar associations in Lucknow and Allahabad.

In April, the Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking an FIR against Justice Varma, calling the plea “premature”.