Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma Resigns Amidst Corruption Probe
Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has resigned from his post as Parliament was preparing for an inquiry against him in connection with corruption allegations. Justice Varma is currently facing these charges after burnt currency notes were discovered from the premises of his Delhi residence. The embattled Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma has submitted a letter of resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. In the letter addressed to the President, Justice Varma wrote, "While I do not propose to burden your esteemed office with the reasons that have compelled me to tender this letter, it is with profound sorrow that I hereby resign from the post of Judge of the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect. It has been an honour to serve in this office."
Following a fire at Justice Varma's residence, firefighters recovered unaccounted cash. At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were traveling in Madhya Pradesh, with only his daughter and elderly mother present at home when the fire broke out. Fire department personnel filmed bundles of cash burning in the fire, a video that subsequently went viral. This incident led to corruption allegations against Justice Varma, which he denied, claiming it appeared to be a conspiracy to falsely implicate him. Following this, Chief Justice Khanna initiated an internal inquiry into the allegations and constituted a three-member committee on March 22 to conduct the investigation. This committee, comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia of the Himachal High Court, and Justice Anu Shivraman of the Karnataka High Court, commenced its investigation on March 25 and submitted its report to CJI Khanna on May 4.
Upon receiving the internal committee's report, the CJI asked Justice Varma to either resign or face impeachment proceedings. As Justice Varma initially refused to resign, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge's response to the President and Prime Minister of India for his removal. Following the allegations, Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to his parent High Court, and his judicial work was withdrawn pending further action. In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated proceedings to remove Justice Varma from his position, constituting a three-member committee to investigate the allegations. This committee initially comprised Supreme Court Justice Arvind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava, and senior advocate B. Vasudeva Acharya. Following Justice Srivastava's retirement on March 6, Chief Justice Shri Chandrashekhar of the Bombay High Court was appointed in his place. In January this year, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the investigative measures, ruling that the Lok Sabha Speaker was legally entitled to constitute a judge's inquiry committee. A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma ruled that the statutory process under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, had not been violated and that the petitioners failed to demonstrate any current violation of fundamental rights.
Source: CourtBeat News (Kannada)
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