Stacks of cash, a fire, and a High Court judge—what really went down at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence?
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00:00This cash was discovered on March 14, 2025, following a fire at the residence of Delhi
00:08High Court Judge Yashwant Verma.
00:10Here's how the events unfolded.
00:12On March 14, 2025, a fire breaks out at the judge's residence.
00:17Firefighters dousing the flames in an outhouse used as a storeroom discover half-burnt sacks
00:21full of cash.
00:23Justice Verma and his wife were in Bhopal at the time.
00:25On March 15, Delhi High Court's registrar visits the site, but Justice Verma dismisses
00:30the storeroom as a dump for household waste.
00:32Meanwhile, a police report confirms the removal of burnt cash and debris.
00:36On March 17, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay meets Justice Verma
00:41and shows him videos of the charred notes.
00:43Verma says he was being framed.
00:45On March 20, Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna is informed.
00:49Discussions begin on transferring Verma back to the Allahabad High Court.
00:52On March 21, Justice Upadhyay submits a preliminary report to CJI Khanna, urging Verma to explain
00:58the cash's source and its removal.
01:00CJI Khanna also directs Justice Upadhyay to request call records of Verma and officials
01:05from the past six months, along with details of his staff, security officers, and guards
01:09during the period.
01:10On March 22, Verma denied knowledge of the cash, questioning why it wasn't officially
01:15seized.
01:16Justice Upadhyay shares Verma's call record details with the Supreme Court.
01:20On March 23, the Supreme Court releases an inquiry report, then a fresh video surfaces
01:25showing firefighters pulling out charred cash from the house.
01:29One of the men on the spot is heard remarking, Mahatma Gandhi has caught fire, a reference
01:33to burning notes.
01:34But how are cases against judges handled?
01:37India's judiciary often investigates its own members internally rather than through
01:41criminal prosecution.
01:43Past cases show a pattern of internal inquiries led by the Chief Justice of a high court.
01:50Judges often resign or are reassigned before facing action.
01:54Rare Impeachment
01:55No judge has ever been impeached by the Parliament.
01:58In 1993, Supreme Court Judge B. Ramaswamy faced impeachment, but the motion failed in
02:03the Lok Sabha.
02:04In 2011, Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen resigned after the Rajya Sabha passed
02:09an impeachment motion against him.
02:11Even with found guilty, judges like P.D. Dinakaran in a land grabbing case and S. N. Shukla
02:16in a corruption case faced minimal repercussions.
02:19CJI Khanna has set up a three-member committee to investigate the Yashwant Verma case.
02:24Whether it leads to real action or follows familiar patterns remains to be seen.