Cash For Judge Row: 10 Big Findings Of The Prelim Report On Justice Yashwant Varma

The Supreme Court of India has made public the 25 pages probe report submitted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, detailing the sequence of events that led to the discovery of the cash following a fire at the official residence of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma. Supreme Court has also released videos and photographs provided by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, which allegedly show firefighters retrieving half-burnt wads of cash from the site.

The preliminary inquiry report by the Delhi High Court into a suspicious fire at his official residence has led to the probe of the presence of cash in a burnt-out room. The key findings of the preliminary report include:

1. A fire broke out in a store room at Justice Yashwant Varma’s official residence at 30, Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi, around 11:30 PM on March 14, 2025.
2. The incident was reported to the police the following day, by the PCR call made by Personal Secretary to Justice Yashwant Varma.
3. The store room where the fire started is adjacent to the guard room, which is manned by a CRPF battalion (70F). The store room was usually kept locked.
4. A security guard reported that some debris and half-burnt articles were removed from the scene on the morning of March 15, 2025.
5. The initial assessment suggests that the store room was used to keep discarded household items such as furniture, mattresses, and CPWD materials.
6. Investigators found that the store room was completely dark due to fire damage and the walls had developed cracks, indicating extensive damage.
7. Justice Yashwant Varma personally visited the site on March 15, 2025, spending 8-10 minutes inspecting the damage.
8. Another finding was that the room was accessible to servants, gardeners, and CPWD personnel, other than those residing in the bungalow.
9. Justice Verma claimed that in the room, only unusable household articles like some furniture and mattresses
   etc. were kept.
10. The Delhi High Court’s preliminary inquiry does not indicate any forced entry or unauthorized access by outsiders.

READ THE KEY FINDINGS

The Chief Justice of India has ordered a three-member inquiry panel to investigate the matter further.

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