Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma resigns amid ‘cash at home’ case probe

Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court submitted his resignation to the President on Friday, months after being transferred from the Delhi High Court, following a controversy over alleged cash discovery at his residence.

Varma, who took oath on April 5, 2025, had been facing an in-house inquiry over the allegations.

The transfer from Delhi to Allahabad came amid scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the reported cash recovery, which triggered administrative and legal attention within the judiciary.


The resignation comes after he continued to face the possibility of parliamentary removal proceedings in connection with the case, even as the in-house probe into the allegations remained underway.

A fire that triggered the ‘cash at home’ scandal

The controversy dates back to March 14, 2025, when a fire broke out at Justice Yashwant Varma’s official residence in Delhi while he was away.

Firefighters responding to the incident discovered large quantities of cash, including burnt and partially burnt currency notes, inside a room on the premises, triggering alarm within judicial and government circles.

Subsequent reports and visuals showing charred currency notes intensified scrutiny, with the Supreme Court taking the unusual step of making details of the incident public and initiating an internal probe into the origin of the money.

Probe findings, transfer and push for removal

Following the incident, the Supreme Court collegium transferred Varma from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court and initiated an in-house inquiry.

A three-judge panel later examined dozens of witnesses and evidence, concluding that the judge and his family had control over the premises where a large cache of burnt cash was found.

The panel termed the misconduct serious enough to warrant removal, setting the stage for possible impeachment proceedings. The case has since remained under judicial and parliamentary scrutiny, with Justice Varma contesting the findings even as the inquiry process continued.