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 stated 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 stated.
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 were 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 stated.
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 crores by fire tenders. The incident sent shockwaves through the legal and political circles prompting the Supreme Court Collegium to recommend Justice Varma’s repatriation to the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of India initiated an in-house probe, following which the Delhi HC Chief Justice had sought Justice Varma’s response.
Justice Varma expressed shock over a video shared by the Commissioner of Police, stating that what was depicted did not match what he observed at the site. He referred to a March 16 report submitted by the Registrar-cum-Secretary to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, who was among the first officials to visit the site and made no mention of cash recovery.
"You had thereafter requested for the PPS to be permitted to visit the site and to which I had readily agreed. The PPS arrived later that night and when I, my PS along with the PPS inspected the gutted room, no currency was either found nor was any cash in any state seen present on site. This also stands corroborated by the report of (PPS) which has been provided to me. Post that inspection and on your instructions, the gutted room remains in that state even today," he stated.
Justice Varma firmly denied that any burnt currency was recovered and raised doubts about the authenticity of the allegations.
"What baffles me is the complete absence of any sacks of allegedly burnt currency which were ever recovered or seized. We categorically assert that neither my daughter, PS nor household staff were shown these so-called sacks of burnt currency. I stand by my consistent position that when they accessed the storeroom, there was no currency, burnt or otherwise, which could be seen. I request you to bear in mind that the storeroom is removed from my residence and is used as a general dump room for disused articles and other sundry household articles. I wonder who would countenance an allegation that currency would be kept in a storeroom in a corner of the house," he stated.
Justice Varma also pointed to a broader pattern of events targeting him, referencing past social media posts about an FIR registered against him and others by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2018.
"It was this which prompted me to observe that this clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me. It also lends credence to my firm belief that the entire incident is part of a sequence of events which occurred in the recent past including the unfounded allegations that circulated on social media in December 2024, which too I had apprised you about during the course of our meeting, and your first reaction of the incident being that of arson. It was the lack of knowledge of connection with the purported discovery of currency is what prompted my reaction in our first interaction in respect of this episode and when I had alluded to a conspiracy to frame me," Justice Varma stated.
Justice Varma reaffirmed that neither he nor his family had stored any cash in the outhouse and urged an inquiry into his professional record.
"I unequivocally state that neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time. Our cash withdrawals, made from time to time, are all documented and always through regular banking channels, the use of UPI applications and cards. Insofar as the allegation of the recovery of cash, I once again make it clear that no one from my house ever reported seeing any currency in burnt form in the room. In fact, this gets further corroborated from there being no cash or currency which we saw when the site was restored to us after the fire personnel and the police had left the scene quite apart from we being not apprised of any recovery or seizure which was made on the spot. This may also be viewed in light of the statement of the Chief of the Fire Service which I have gathered from news reports."
Reflecting on how the allegations have impacted him, he stated: "In the life of a judge, nothing matters more than reputation and character. That has been severely tarnished and irreparably damaged. The baseless allegations that have been levelled against me have proceeded on mere innuendos and an unproven assumption that the cash allegedly seen and found belonged to me."
Justice Varma lamented that the controversy has scarred his professional standing, cultivated over more than a decade of judicial service, leaving him with no means to defend himself.
"I would also beseech you to bear in consideration that in all my years as a Judge of a High Court, no such allegation had ever been made in the past nor any doubt cast on my integrity. In fact, I would be grateful if an enquiry is made with respect to my functioning as a judge and what is the perception of the legal fraternity with regard to my integrity and honesty in the discharge of my judicial functioning," he added in his response.
