Our Correspondent/ New Delhi
The report of the inquiry into Justice Yashwant Varma is set to be tabled in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, bringing the controversial cash-at-residence episode back into the spotlight and giving Parliament a key role in examining the findings.
Justice Varma resigned from office on April 9, 2026, bringing to an end the historic parliamentary removal proceedings initiated against him following the alleged discovery of burnt and unaccounted cash at his official Delhi residence in March 2025.
The controversy began on March 14, 2025, when firefighters responding to a fire at an outhouse of his official residence reportedly found large quantities of burnt cash. Justice Varma denied ownership of the money.
An in-house judicial committee subsequently found strong evidence indicating his control over the storeroom and recommended initiation of removal proceedings after he declined to step down. Justice Varma was later transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a removal motion signed by more than 140 MPs and constituted a three-member inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
Justice Varma challenged the inquiry process before the Supreme Court, but the court dismissed his petitions in January 2026, upholding the Speaker’s jurisdiction.
The parliamentary inquiry was nearing its final stage, with the committee preparing to record Justice Varma’s final defence, when he tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on April 9, 2026, with immediate effect.