The Supreme Court building in New Delhi was the scene of some drama recently, with Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, making moves after receiving a confidential report on May 4, 2025. This report came from a three-member in-house inquiry committee. Their investigation was sparked by the discovery of half-burnt currency notes at the official Delhi residence of former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma. This discovery was made after a blaze on March 14, 2025. Chief Justice Khanna wasted no time in putting together a committee on March 22, 2025, to dig deep into what really happened. They went through forensic material, call and internet data records, and even interviewed witnesses, including police and fire officers who were on the scene. Justice Varma himself was given a chance to speak his piece before the committee. Reports floating around say that the committee found cash at the residence, raising eyebrows and suspicions all around.
The panel had three main questions on their minds: where did Justice Varma get the money, where did it come from, and who took it away on March 15, the day after the fire. Once the report was all wrapped up, Chief Justice Khanna sent it over to Justice Varma. He had been transferred to the Allahabad High Court in April 2025 as a result of this incident. Now, it’s Justice Varma’s turn to respond to the inquiry. Not really sure why this matters, but the Supreme Court hinted that Chief Justice Khanna has a few options up his sleeve depending on what the report says. If the committee thinks there’s something fishy going on and it’s time to kick off proceedings to remove the judge, the Chief Justice could suggest that Justice Varma step down or retire early. But if Justice Varma is feeling stubborn, the CJI might have to take things up a notch and inform the bigwigs – the President and the Prime Minister – about what’s going on. That could lead to some serious removal proceedings, which no one wants to deal with, let’s be real.
Back in 1991, there was a big case that set the rules for dealing with judges in hot water. The K. Veeraswami vs Union of India case decided that you could only go after a High Court judge, a Chief Justice of a High Court, or a Supreme Court judge for criminal stuff after a nice chat with the Chief Justice of India. The committee that put this report together was made up of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh; and Justice Anu Sivaraman, a judge of the High Court of Karnataka. They got the ball rolling after the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, D.K. Upadhyaya, did a little digging of his own and thought there was more to this whole situation than met the eye.
So, that’s where we’re at right now. The Supreme Court is waiting for Justice Varma’s response, and Chief Justice Khanna is thinking about what to do next. It’s a pretty messy situation, not gonna lie. But hey, that’s the world of law and order for you. And who knows what’s gonna happen next? Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there’s more to this story than we’ve seen so far. Let’s keep our eyes peeled for the next chapter in this legal drama.
