Justice Varma inquiry: Panel starts day-to-day hearings on cash haul

A parliamentary committee is holding daily hearings until March 21 for the impeachment inquiry into an alleged cash haul linked to Justice Yashwant Varma. The judge has denied all allegations, stating the cash was not his or recovered from his home.

A parliamentary committee examining allegations linked to the alleged cash haul involving Justice Yashwant Varma is set to begin day-to-day proceedings from March 13, with hearings scheduled to continue until March 21 as part of the ongoing impeachment-related inquiry.

Justice Varma Denies Allegations

The committee's hearings come months after Justice Varma submitted his written response to the panel addressing the allegations that surfaced following a reported cash recovery incident linked to his residence. In his reply, Justice Varma denied the claims that the cash allegedly recovered in the incident belonged to him. He also informed the committee that he was not present at the time when the fire incident occurred, which reportedly led to the discovery of the cash. The judge further maintained that no cash was recovered from his residence, disputing the allegations associated with the reported incident and reiterating his stand before the committee.

Inquiry Panel's Mandate

The parliamentary panel, constituted to examine the matter in the context of possible impeachment proceedings, is expected to review documents, responses and other material placed before it during the course of the hearings. The committee will conduct the inquiry on a day-to-day basis between March 13 and March 21, following which it is expected to deliberate on the findings of the proceedings.

Background of the Case

The case pertains to the recovery of unaccounted and partially burnt cash from the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court. Following the internal inquiry, the former CJI, Sanjiv Khanna, forwarded a recommendation to the President and the Prime Minister of India to initiate the procedure for his removal.Subsequently, on July 21, 2025, a motion was moved in both Houses of Parliament for Justice Varma's removal. On August 12, 2025, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha formed a three-member Inquiry Committee to investigate the charges against Justice Varma. The Lok Sabha Speaker's decision came after he received a notice of the motion, signed by 146 Members of Parliament, seeking Justice Yashwant Varma's removal.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)