Justice Yashwant Varma Cash Row: Om Birla Constitutes 3-Member Panel to Probe Allegations
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On August 13, 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the appointment of a three-member committee to investigate allegations of corruption against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court, after the recovery of half-burnt wads of currency at his residence following a fire. Birla accepted a resolution, signed by 146 Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition sides, seeking Varma’s removal under the constitutional framework involving the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, and Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Indian Constitution.
The panel includes Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice M. Mohan Shrivastava of the Madras High Court, and veteran Karnataka High Court senior advocate B. V. Acharya. Birla emphasized that the members will submit their report promptly, which will form the basis of parliamentary debate and a potential impeachment vote.
The resolution pointed to a public statement by the Supreme Court regarding the unexplained cash discovered at Varma’s Delhi residence on March 15, 2025, when he served as a Delhi High Court judge. The then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, sent a recommendation of misconduct to both the President and the Prime Minister. Birla stressed that “impeccable character and financial / intellectual integrity” underpin public trust in the judiciary, and that the facts at hand reportedly violated these principles.
This move marks a significant escalation in the judicial accountability process and highlights the Constitution’s mechanisms to address alleged misconduct by a sitting judge through parliamentary scrutiny.
