Probe Report On Justice Yashwant Varma Presented In Parliament

New Delhi, The report of an inquiry committee investigating allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, against whom removal proceedings were initiated following the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence, was tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.The secretaries general of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha laid the report in both their Houses respectively.The report is in two volumes along with oral and documentary evidence recorded during the course of the investigation.The three-member probe panel had submitted its findings to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in May.A fire broke out in the official residence of Justice Varma on the night of March 14, 2025. Firefighters called to put out the blaze allegedly discovered massive amounts of burnt currency in a storeroom.Justice Varma has since resigned, and removal proceedings against him have virtually become infructuous. His resignation, however, has not yet been notified by the law ministry.He was a judge of the Delhi High Court and repatriated to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court, following the controversy.An in-house committee constituted by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna concluded that Justice Varma had active or tacit control over the specific storeroom where the cash was hidden.In July 2025, over 200 MPs signed a motion to impeach (removal by Parliament) the judge.In August last year, Birla constituted the three-member Judges Inquiry Committee to look into the charges.People aware of the process to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges cited a top court judgment to say a judge is deemed to have resigned once he or she tenders resignation to the President and circulates its copy (makes it public).A judge's resignation is not subject to acceptance by the President.According to the procedure, the president gives formal acceptance following which it is notified by the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry.