Sanitation workers cleaning the area near the judge’s residence revealed that they had been noticing small burnt pieces of currency notes over the last 4-5 days while clearing waste and fallen leaves.
New Delhi: Burnt pieces of Rs 500 currency notes have been found near the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. This discovery comes at a time when Justice Varma is under investigation for alleged cash recovery from his residence, officials said on Sunday.
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Sanitation workers cleaning the area near the judge’s residence revealed that they had been noticing small burnt pieces of currency notes over the last 4-5 days while clearing waste and fallen leaves.
Inderjeet, one of the sanitation workers, told ANI, “We work in this circle. We collect garbage from the roads. We were cleaning here 4-5 days back and collecting garbage when we found some small pieces of burnt Rs. 500 notes. We found it that day. Now, we have found 1-2 pieces… We do not know where a fire broke out.”
Another sanitation worker, Surender Kumar, also confirmed the findings. He said, “We work with these garbage vans, we collect garbage. It has been 4-5 days when we found burnt Rs.500 notes. We found some pieces even now. We found some burnt notes on that day as well as today. We were not present when the fire took place. We found some burnt notes on the road.”
An official, speaking anonymously, mentioned that sanitation workers deployed in the area are hired by a private contractor.
The official said,
“During this season, large-scale shedding of leaves occurs in this area and workers are deployed to clear the streets. A few notes were detected a few days back.”
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the burnt currency notes. It remains unclear whether the burnt notes have been handed over to the police for further investigation.
Supreme Court Orders Inquiry Into Justice Varma’s Case
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has formed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma. The committee includes the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and a judge from the Karnataka High Court.
The Supreme Court also made public the inquiry report submitted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay.
In the report, Chief Justice Upadhyay stated, “I am of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.”
Chronological Order of Justice Yashwant Verma Cash Found Case
On March 14, 2025, a fire broke out at the official residence of Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma, leading to the discovery of burnt currency notes in an outhouse used as a storeroom. This incident has prompted an ongoing investigation. Below is a chronological overview of the events.
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March 14, 2025
- 11:43 PM: A fire was reported at Justice Varma’s residence. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in an outhouse serving as a storeroom, where they found partially burnt gunny sacks containing Indian currency notes.
March 15, 2025
- Morning: Debris and half-burnt items were cleared from the storeroom.
- 4:00 PM: Justice Varma and his wife returned to Delhi from Bhopal.
- 4:50 PM: Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora informed Chief Justice (CJ) Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya about the incident.
- Evening: CJ Upadhyaya notified Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and sought additional information from the police.
- 9:10 PM: The registrar-cum-secretary to CJ Upadhyaya visited Justice Varma’s residence, accompanied by Justice Varma and his private secretary. They inspected the storeroom, noting that it was used for storing miscellaneous household items and was generally left unlocked.
March 16, 2025
- Evening: CJ Upadhyaya returned to Delhi and met with CJI Khanna. The registrar-cum-secretary submitted a report detailing the visit to Justice Varma’s residence, observing half-burnt articles and debris in the storeroom.
March 17, 2025
- 8:30 AM: CJ Upadhyaya met with Justice Varma at the Delhi High Court Guest House, presenting photos and videos of the burnt currency found in the storeroom. Justice Varma expressed concerns about a possible conspiracy to frame him.
Recent Developments
- The Supreme Court established a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma.
- Justice Varma has denied any connection to the cash found, stating that neither he nor his family placed any money in the storeroom and suggesting that the allegations are part of a conspiracy to malign him.
- Sanitation workers reported finding burnt pieces of Rs.500 notes near Justice Varma’s residence, adding complexity to the investigation.
