New Delhi: In an unprecedented move aimed at ensuring transparency, the Supreme Court has uploaded a report submitted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya regarding allegations of a cash stash found at the residence of High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who has categorically dismissed the accusations as a "conspiracy".

The report, now available on the Supreme Court's official website, includes Justice Varma’s response to the allegations along with relevant documents.

Sources have revealed that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, in consultation with collegium members Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice AS Oka, and Justice Vikram Nath, unanimously decided to make the documents public. This step was taken to uphold the judiciary’s integrity and counter misinformation surrounding the case.

According to the report on the Supreme Court Website, Justice Varma has categorically denied the allegations, calling them a conspiracy to malign him. Referring to a video shared by the police chief, he stated, “I was shocked to see the contents of the video since it depicted something that was not found on-site as I had seen it. This appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me.”

"I unequivocally state that neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time. Our cash withdrawals, made from time to time, are all documented and always through regular banking channels, the use of UPI applications and cards. In so far as the allegation of the recovery of cash, I once again make it clear that no one from my house ever reported seeing any currency in a burnt form in the room," said Justice Varma.

"Assuming without admitting that the video was taken immediately at the time of the incident at the site, none of it appears to have been recovered or seized. The second aspect which I need to underscore is that none of the staff was shown any remnants of cash or currency that may have been present on site," he added.

On Friday, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry against Justice Varma.

"The three-member Committee constituted by the CJI consisting 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 Anu Sivaraman, judge of the High Court of Karnataka, will conduct an inquiry into the allegations against justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting judge of the High Court of Delhi," said a press statement released by the Supreme Court.

According to the press release the chief justice of the Delhi High Court for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to justice Yashwant Varma.

“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, said Justice Varma, Judge of the Delhi High court accused of stacking cash in his official bungalow.

Justice Verma in his report submitted to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court said, “The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is preposterous.

"The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or 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."

He further said, “ I returned to New Delhi on the evening of March 15, 2025 when I was apprised of the entire incident. I vividly recollect your (Chief Justice of Delhi High Court) first phone call to me on that evening when you apprised me of having received information of an incident of arson at my residence.

"I expressed shock and complete disbelief since till that time I was led to believe that it was merely a fire caused by a short circuit. I recall my apprising you of the nature of the premises and the articles which are usually put away for storage in that room.

"You had thereafter requested for the PPS to be permitted to visit the site and to which I had readily agreed. The PPS arrived later that night and when I, my PS along with the PPS inspected the gutted room, no currency was either found nor was any cash in any state seen present on site.

"This also stands corroborated from the report of which has been provided to me. Post that inspection and on your instructions, the gutted room remains in that state even today.

"We had then agreed to meet the next day before the commencement of Court. It was during our meeting at the High Court Guesthouse that I was first shown the video and other photographs which had been shared with you by the Commissioner of Police. I was shocked to see the contents of the video since that depicted something which was not found on-site as I had seen it.

"It was this which prompted me to observe that this clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me."

Justice Verma referred to an earlier incident of December 2024 and said, “It also lends credence to my firm belief that the entire incident is part of a sequence of events which occurred in the recent past including the unfounded allegations that circulated on social media in December 2024 [which too I had apprised you about during the course of our meeting] and your first reaction of the incident being that of arson.”

Justice Verma further said, “It was the lack of knowledge of connection with the purported discovery of currency is that prompted my reaction in our first interaction in respect of this episode and when I had alluded to a conspiracy to frame me.”

“At the cost of repetition, I unequivocally state that neither I nor any of my family members had stored or kept any cash or currency in that storeroom at any point of time.

"Our cash withdrawals, made from time to time, are all documented and always through regular banking channels, the use of UPI applications and cards.”

“Insofar as the allegation of the recovery of cash, I once again make it clear that no one from my house ever reported seeing any currency in a burnt form in the room.”

“In fact, this gets further corroborated from there being no cash or currency which we saw when the site was restored to us after the fire personnel and the police had left the scene quite apart from we being not apprised of any recovery or seizure which was made on the spot.

"This may also be viewed in light of the statement of the Chief of the Fire Service which I have gathered from news reports.

"We have, since that fateful night, been continuously trying to find an explanation for the allegations which are being levelled and with us being required to prove an allegation which is premised on cash being discovered and the same presumed to belong to me or my family members.

"That presumption requires me to not only furnish an explanation with respect to the existence of an article allegedly present in a commonly used outhouse and general storeroom which was freely accessible but also requires me to 'account' for the same.

"That takes me to the video clip which has been shared with me. Assuming without admitting that the video was taken immediately at the time of the incident at the site, none of it appears to have been recovered or seized.

"The second aspect which I need to underscore is that none of the staff was shown any remnants of cash or currency that may have been present on site.

"I have made my own enquiries from the staff present who have also stated that there was no 'removal' of currency which was allegedly found at the site or removed from the premises.

"The only thing which was cleared was debris and what they considered to be salvageable. That is still present in the house and can be seen kept apart in one part of the residence.

"What baffles me is the complete absence of any sacks of allegedly burnt currency which were ever recovered or seized. We categorically assert that neither my daughter, PS nor household staff were shown these so-called sacks of burnt currency.

"I stand by my consistent position that when they accessed the storeroom, there was no currency, burnt or otherwise, which could be seen.

"I request you to bear in mind that the storeroom is removed from my residence and is used as a general dump room for disused articles and other sundry household articles. I wonder who would countenance an allegation that currency would be kept in a storeroom in a corner of the house and which is freely accessible from amongst others the back wicker gate I would beseech you to also bear in consideration that no currency was recovered from the premises that we actually occupy and use as a family.

"That part of the premises is as indicated above removed from the living quarters. It is in the aforesaid background that I urge you to absolve me of these unfounded and baseless allegations.

"In the life of a judge, nothing matters more than reputation and character. That has been severely tarnished and irreparably damaged.

"The baseless allegations that have been levelled against me have proceeded on mere innuendos and an unproven assumption that the cash allegedly seen and found belonged to me.

"This incident has scarred my reputation built over more than a decade as a Judge of a High Court, and it has left me with no means to defend myself.

"I would also beseech you to bear in consideration that in all my years as a Judge of a High Court, no such allegation had ever been made in the past nor any doubt cast on my integrity.

"In fact, I would be grateful if an enquiry is made with respect to my functioning as a judge and what is the perception of the legal fraternity with regard to my integrity and honesty in the discharge of my judicial functioning," the judge said.

While certain portions of the documents, including specific names, have been redacted for confidentiality, the Supreme Court has ensured that key details remain accessible to the public.

In the report submitted to CJI Sanjiv Khanna, Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya detailed Justice Varma’s account of the incident. Justice Varma stated that he was in Bhopal when he first received information about the alleged cash stash from his daughter. He further mentioned that black, burnt material (soot) was found at the scene upon his return.

Upon reviewing photographs and a video shared by the Commissioner of Police, Justice Varma expressed concerns about a possible conspiracy against him.

The documents also reveal that on March 21, CJI Sanjiv Khanna provided three key questions for the Delhi High Court Chief Justice to ask Justice Varma:

1. How does he account for the presence of money/cash in the room located in his premises?

2. What is the source of the money/cash found in the room?

3. Who removed the burnt money/cash from the room on the morning of March 15, 2025?

Additionally, the CJI sought details of the official staff of the High Court Registry, personal security officers, and security guards posted at Justice Varma’s residence over the past six months. He also recommended obtaining call records from mobile service providers for Justice Varma’s official and personal numbers for the same period.