More questions arise out of Delhi Chief Justice’s report on ‘sacks of cash’ at judge’s house

Burnt pieces of a currency notes seen among debris near the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, in New Delhi, on March 23, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Supreme Court’s publication of documents and visual material related to the inquiry into the March 14 incident of fire and alleged discovery of “sacks” of half-burnt currency notes from a storeroom on the residential premises of a Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, is a stride towards transparency even as the records raise further questions which the three-member committee constituted by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to probe the matter may examine.

The published records show the Police Commissioner got in touch with Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya only at around 4.50 p.m. on March 15 when the fire had broken out at about 11.30 p.m. the previous night. On receiving the information, Chief Justice Upadhyaya immediately swung into action.

The Delhi Police Commissioner’s report to Chief Justice Upadhyaya said a security guard at the residence of Justice Varma saw “half-burnt articles” and debris being removed in the morning after the fire. A separate communication in Hindi said four to five sacks of half-burnt currency notes were found in the gutted room. A similar second communication quoted what the security guard allegedly witnessed.

Missing identity

But the published documents, which have redacted portions whose publication may impinge on confidentiality or fairness, do not inform about the identity of the person(s) who removed the articles from the room on March 15 morning. They do not reveal who had taken the videos and photographs showing the residues of what may be currency notes. They do not mention whether the police had immediately sealed the room, a measure which may have prevented access to it following the fire and the dousing operation.

Justice Varma, in his response, has said he has no knowledge of cash lying in that room. He and his wife had been in Bhopal at the time of the fire and returned only on March 15. He said his family members were neither shown nor handed over any “sacks of burnt currency”.

He has strongly rejected “the insinuation, if made, that we removed currency. The alleged removal is not known to us. None of my staff removed any article, currency or cash in any form”.

Finally, the whereabouts of the remnants of the burnt currency notes and whether it was seized or not have not been mentioned in the Delhi Chief Justice’s published report. The report also does not mention if there is an investigation underway into what caused the fire or if CCTV footage was recovered.

Different stands

The published records show different stands on whether the storeroom, located adjacent to the Central Reserve Police Force guard room, was “used to be kept locked”, as stated in the Police Commissioner’s report.

Justice Varma has countered that the storeroom was “utilised generally by all and sundry” to store unused household articles as well as (Central Public Works Department) CPWD material. The room was disconnected from the main residence. “It was surely not a room in my house,” he said.

The Registrar-cum-Secretary attached to the Delhi Chief Justice, who visited the room along with Justice Varma on the night of March 15, in his report said the private secretary of the judge informed him that the room was not kept locked.

In his concluding remarks recommending a deeper probe, Chief Justice Upadhyaya reported that his enquiry, prima facie, did not reveal possibility of entry or access to the room by any person other than those residing in the bungalow, the servants, the gardeners and CPWDpersonnel. This may lead to a presumption that the room was not accessible to a rank outsider.