No proof of cash found in house, Justice Varma tells LS committee

Allahabad high court judge justice Yashwant Varma, who is facing impeachment proceedings following reports of unaccounted cash found at his official residence in Delhi last year, told an inquiry panel set up by the Lok Sabha that he could not be condemned on the basis of a “reverse burden of proof” when there was no prima facie evidence to establish either the recovery or seizure of any currency, according to people aware of the matter.

- Utkarsh Anand

In his response submitted to the Lok Sabha-appointed inquiry committee on January 12, justice Varma strongly disputed the factual foundation of the allegations against him, asserting that no cash was ever recovered from his residence, either in his presence or in the presence of his family members, and that no contemporaneous record or memo documenting the existence, quantity or seizure of currency was ever prepared.

The judge’s response focussed entirely on factual assertions at this stage, while also apprising the committee that his challenge to the very constitution of the inquiry panel was pending before the Supreme Court. No legal grounds against the constitution of the committee were raised in his response for now, people familiar with the submission said.

Justice Varma emphasised that he was not present at his official residence when the fire occurred in March 2025 and that the entire episode took place during his absence from the premises for more than two days, while he was at a remote location in Madhya Pradesh. He also underlined that he was not the first responder at the site and had no role in any alleged discovery of cash, the people cited above said.