Chief Justice Recommends Initiating Procedure To Remove Cash Row Judge: Sources

After receiving a report from the three-member panel looking into allegations of a huge pile of burnt cash being found in a storeroom attached to the bungalow of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Verma, the Chief Justice of India has written to the President and Prime Minister and recommended that proceedings be initiated to remove him, sources said.

In a statement on Thursday, the Supreme Court said, "Chief Justice of India, in terms of the In-House Procedure, has written to Hon'ble the President of India and Hon'ble the Prime Minister of India enclosing therewith copy of the 3-Member Committee report dated 03.05.2025 along with the letter/response dated 06.05.2025 received from Mr Justice Yashwant Varma."

While the details of the panel's report are not yet known, the sources said that Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has recommended that a motion for the removal of Justice Verma be initiated. 

A large pile of cash had allegedly been recovered from a storeroom attached to Justice Verma's house in Lutyens' Delhi following a fire call on March 14, which was Holi. The judge had said that the storeroom is used by several people and he was not aware of any cash being kept there. 

A three-member committee consisting of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Justice GS Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka High Court Judge Anu Sivaraman was then constituted for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Justice Varma.

The panel submitted its report to Chief Justice Khanna on Sunday, which has now been sent - along with Justice Verma's reply - to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

After the allegations emerged, the Supreme Court collegium recommended Justice Verma's transfer from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, which was cleared by the Centre. This was opposed by bar associations in Allahabad and Lucknow and it was then decided that, despite taking oath as a judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Verma would not be given any judicial work while the inquiry against him was on.