Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant caught in cash stash controversy | How it unfolded - video Dailymotion

Stacks of cash, a fire, and a High Court judge—what really went down at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence?

Transcript

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.