NEW DELHI: Amid the political furore over the alleged discovery of cash from his residence, Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the allegations and asserted that the claims were part of a conspiracy to tarnish his reputation.
In a written response to Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya on March 22, Justice Varma said that the fire, which allegedly led to the discovery of cash, broke out in an outhouse used for discarded household items rather than in his main residence.
“I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous. The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous,” Justice Varma said.
He criticised the media for not conducting proper verification before publishing defamatory claims. Justice Varma strongly refuted reports of cash being seized from the fire site, emphasising that no one present was shown any recovered money.
“That takes me to the video clip which has been shared with me. Assuming without admitting that the video was taken immediately at the time of the incident at the site, none of it appears to have been recovered or seized. The second aspect which I need to underscore is that none of the staff was shown any remnants of cash or currency that may have been present on site,” he stated in his response.
A security guard reportedly informed authorities that debris and partially burnt items were removed from the room on the morning of March 15. Justice Varma dismissed any insinuations that his family or staff was involved in removing cash.
“I also strongly deny and outrightly reject the insinuation, if made, that we removed currency from the storeroom. As stated above, we were neither shown nor handed over any sacks of burnt currency. In fact, and as stated above, the limited debris which was sought to be salvaged continues to exist in one part of the residence,” he said.
He further clarified that he and his wife were not even in Delhi at the time of the fire. “I along with my wife returned from Bhopal on Indigo Flight No. 6E 2303 only on the evening of 15 March 2025. Therefore, the question of its alleged removal is not known to us. In any event none of my staff removed any article, currency or cash in any form,” he added.
According to reports, a fire at the judge’s residence on March 14 had inadvertently led to the alleged recovery of cash amounting to Rs 15 crore by fire tenders.
Partially burnt items removed from room: Guard
A security guard reportedly informed authorities that debris and partially burnt items were removed from the room on the morning of March 15. Justice Varma dismissed any insinuations that his family or staff was involved in removing cash.“I also strongly deny and outrightly reject the insinuation, if made, that we removed currency from the storeroom.”
