Justice Yashwant Varma Resigns as Inquiry Continues Over Cash Discovery
New Delhi: Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has resigned from his post. He has submitted his resignation to the President. His resignation follows a controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of cash at his residence.
Following this incident, he was transferred from the Delhi High Court back to the Allahabad High Court. Justice Varma was sworn in at the Allahabad High Court on April 5, 2025.
An internal investigation is currently underway into the allegations against him. According to sources, if the allegations are found to be serious, impeachment proceedings could be initiated against him in Parliament. Therefore, his resignation is being linked to this controversy.
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Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court came to light on March 15, 2025, when news surfaced that burnt and partially burnt 500 rupee notes were found in his official residence in Delhi. A video of the incident went viral on social media, leading to allegations of corruption against him. However, Justice Varma vehemently denied these allegations, calling them a conspiracy.
As the controversy escalated, the matter reached Parliament. During the monsoon session, 145 Lok Sabha MPs initiated a motion of impeachment against Justice Varma. MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties submitted a memorandum to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. This action was taken under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution. The motion received support from several parties, including the Congress, TDP, JDU, JDS, and Shiv Sena (Shinde). Signatories included leaders such as Anurag Thakur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rahul Gandhi, Supriya Sule, and KC Venugopal.
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Given the seriousness of the matter, an internal investigation was initiated on March 22, 2025, under the leadership of the Chief Justice of India. A panel of three High Court judges was also formed to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma.
Later, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Varma's transfer from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, which the government approved. Subsequently, he took oath as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on April 5, 2025. However, questions continued to be raised about this transfer.
