Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma has been named in a CBI FIR related to a sugar mill cash row. The case involves alleged financial irregularities linked to the sale of sugar mills. The FIR reportedly includes serious accusations against multiple individuals. Authorities are investigating the extent of involvement and financial transactions.
Justice Yashwant Varma currently facing scrutiny due to the alleged discovery of significant cash in his residence.
This is not his first encounter with controversy, as he was previously named as a non-executive director in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and an Enforcement Directorate (ED) Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) linked to an alleged bank fraud case involving Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd.
Prior to his appointment as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014, Justice Varma served as a non-executive director at Simbhaoli Sugars, a prominent private company.
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The company’s account was designated as a non-performing asset in 2012.
The FIR referenced in two Allahabad High Court judgments involved other accused individuals seeking anticipatory bail or the quashing of the FIR filed by the CBI on February 22, 2018, concerning the predicate offense.
Just five days after the CBI initiated the FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the ED filed its ECIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on February 27, 2018. This FIR was based on a complaint from the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), which had extended a Rs.150 crore loan to Simbhaoli Sugars.
The bank alleged that the loan was provided under the pretext of supporting farmers, but the sugar mill acted dishonestly and fraudulently. Notably, OBC later merged with Punjab National Bank (PNB).
The case originates from February 2018, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began an investigation into Simbhaoli Sugars after receiving a complaint from the Oriental Bank of Commerce.
The bank accused the company of misusing a Rs.97.85 crore loan that was meant to support farmers, instead diverting the funds for other uses. By May 2015, Simbhaoli Sugars had already been identified as a “suspected fraud” and reported to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Prominent Indian journalist and author, Rahul Shivshankar recently tweeted about a Supreme Court ruling related to the Simbhaoli Sugars case, highlighting an important judicial decision.
He wrote on Social Media Platform ‘X’,
“SC last year set aside an Allahabad HC decision to order a CBI probe into the Simbhaoli Sugars matter in which Judge Yashwant Varma was named as an accused.”
In March of last year, the Supreme Court set-aside a decision by the Allahabad High Court that had ordered a CBI investigation into loans granted by a consortium of banks led by SBI, including PNB, to Simbhaoli Sugars.
The Supreme Court stated that the High Court had made an error, as no investigation was necessary, but clarified that authorities were still permitted to take action for fraud as per the law. It also declined to quash the insolvency proceedings initiated by SBI against the company and upheld the CBI’s refusal to accept a settlement offer from Simbhaoli, affirming that the bank’s decision was justified.