‘Conspiracy, preposterous’: Justice Varma denies allegations of cash found at his residence
Justice Varma submitted his reply after Delhi HC Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya sought it, following an in-house probe initiated by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma has denied the allegations regarding the charred cash found at his official residence, saying neither he nor his family members placed any money in the storeroom.
In his response to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, Justice Varma said the allegations appeared to be an attempt to frame and malign him.
Justice Varma submitted his reply after Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya sought his response, following an in-house probe initiated by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
He also criticised the media for making allegations without conducting a proper enquiry, leading to defamation. Justice Varma stated that he was unaware of any cash being stored in the outhouse storeroom.
Justice Varma submitted his reply following a request from Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, in connection with an in-house probe initiated by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.
He added that the media should have verified the facts before making accusations and damaging his reputation. Justice Varma clarified that he was unaware of any cash being kept in the outhouse storeroom.
Justice Varma says he and his family had no 'knowledge' of cash
As recorded in the report, Justice Varma said, “Neither I nor any of my family members had any knowledge of cash, nor does it have any bearing or relation to me or my family. No such cash or currency was shown to my family members or staff who were present on that fateful night… We were neither shown nor handed over any sacks of burnt currency.
Describing the incident, Justice Varma said that a fire broke out in the storeroom near the staff quarters of his official residence during the night of March 14-15, 2025.
He said that the storeroom was typically used by various people to store items like unused furniture, bottles, crockery, mattresses, old carpets, speakers, garden tools, and CPWD materials.
“This room was generally utilised by all and sundry to store articles such as unused furniture, bottles, crockery, mattresses, used carpets, old speakers, garden implements as well as CPWD material. This room is unlocked and accessible both from the official front gate as well as the backdoor of the staff quarters. It is disconnected from the main residence and is surely not a room in my house as has been portrayed and suggested in the article which appeared in the Times of India and certain other news reports,” he added.
Daughter and mother were at home during the fire, says Justice Varma
Justice Varma said that he and his wife were in Madhya Pradesh on the day of the incident, with only his daughter and mother at home. He returned to Delhi on the evening of March 15, 2025, along with his wife, on an Indigo flight.
“On that date, my wife and I were not in Delhi and travelling in Madhya Pradesh and it was only my daughter and aged mother who were at home. I returned to Delhi only on the evening of 15 March 2025 from Bhopal travelling on an Indigo flight with my wife. When the fire broke out around midnight, the Fire Service was alerted by my daughter and my Private Secretary and whose calls would be duly recorded,” said Justice Varma.
“During the exercise to douse the fire, all staff and the members of my household were asked to move away from the scene of the incident in view of safety concerns,” he added.
Justice Varma denied that he or his family members placed any cash in the storeroom, calling the suggestion ‘preposterous’ and rejecting all such claims.
“I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous,” said Justice Varma.
He also said that the storeroom, separate from his living areas and demarcated by a boundary wall, was never used by him or his family to store cash.
“The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous. The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous. It is a room which is completely disassociated from my living areas and a boundary wall demarcates my living area from that outhouse. I only wish that the media had conducted some enquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press,” said the Delhi High Court judge.
A massive cache of cash was reportedly found following a fire at Justice Varma's Lutyens' Delhi residence around 11.35 pm on March 14, the night of Holi. Fire department personnel quickly responded to extinguish the flames.
