Justice Yashwant Varma resigns amid cash recovery row

New Delhi: Justice Yashwant Varma, who was at the centre of a controversy over alleged recovery of burnt currency notes from the premises of his official residence in Delhi, has resigned.

Justice Varma tendered his resignation in a letter to President Droupadi Murmu. He was last posted at the Allahabad High Court.

"While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect. It has been an honour to serve in this office," he wrote in the letter dated April 9.


Also Read: Justice Yashwant Varma resigns amid cash recovery row

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in August last year constituted a three-member committee to probe charges of corruption, ahead of potentially initiating the process to remove him as a judge.

Justice Varma has also withdrawn from the ongoing impeachment proceedings.

In a 13-page letter dated April 9 to the Judges Inquiry Committee under Judges (Inquiry) Act, Justice Varma alleged that he has been denied basic fairness and due process.

Varma has further alleged that the burden of proof has been effectively reversed without any foundational case being made out against him.

He further alleged that he was sincerely hoping that the panel will look into the allegations appropriately and in all fairness.

"Regrettably, the proceedings that have followed have been concerned almost exclusively with establishing the bare facts that a storeroom existed in the allotted premises and the cash was found there. From these facts alone, inferences of my culpability appear to have been drawn," Varma wrote.

He further alleged that the witness examination by the inquiry panel did not take place in his presence nor was he afforded any opportunity to cross-examine them. Out of the 54 witnesses who appeared before the committee, 27 were dropped without any explanation being furnished, Varma alleged.

Justice Varma was a judge of the Delhi High Court when firefighters who rushed to his official residence in the evening of March 14 last year following a fire incident allegedly found the cash at an outhouse. A video later surfaced showing bundles of cash burning in the fire.

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

The then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna ordered an in-house probe against Justice Varma who had repeatedly denied allegations of corruption and insinuations levelled against him, and termed them "preposterous, incredulous and unfounded". A three-member committee of high court judges that probed Justice Varma indicted him a fact-finding report submitted on May 4.

After this, CJI Khanna asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. After Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and Justice Varma's response on it to the President of India and the Prime Minister for his removal. Justice Varma was also sent back to his parent High Court (Allahabad) from Delhi and judicial work was taken away pending further action.