Fire, burnt cash, and now impeachment: Here's why 200+ MPs submitted notice for Justice Yashwant Varma's removal on day one of Monsoon session

On the first day of Indian Parliament's monsoon session, Monday (Jul 21), over 200 MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha submitted notices of motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma. For months, the Delhi High Court judge has been embroiled in a controversy involving massive piles of cash. In March 2025, hidden piles of cash were found at his Delhi residence. Now, parliamentarians have submitted notices asking for his removal. As per report,s 145 Lok Sabha members have submitted notices to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Similarly, 63 Rajya Sabha members have filed notices of motion for his removal to chairman Jagdeep Dhankar.

A "constitutional process"

In a statement, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that the impeachment motion notice against Varma is a "constitutional process". Confirming the filing of the notice, he said, "This is a constitutional process. The conduct of an individual judge in terms of propriety is equally important for the independence of the judiciary. We have filed our notice in this regard."

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday also confirmed that he has received motion, signed by MPs, for impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma. He noted that it meets the numerical requirement of signing by MPs for setting in motion a process for removal of a High Court judge.

Committee to be formed?

Citing sources in the know, news agency ANI has reported that a committee is likely to be constituted to probe the allegations. This committee would likely include a judge of the Supreme Court, a chief justice from any of the High Courts and a distinguished jurist.

What happened? The burnt wads of cash

On March 14, four to five semi-burnt sacks of Indian currency notes were discovered in Yashwant Varma's Lutyens home following a fire incident. The discovery was made as a fire broke out at his home. As per reports, Justice Yashwant Varma was out of town when a fire broke out at his residence, prompting his family to call the fire brigade and the police.

Once the fire brigade extinguished the fire, they discovered a large sum of cash piled inside one of the rooms. The money was recovered by the local police and the case was escalated to senior officials. Eventually, high-ranking officials in the government were alerted.