In a major development, Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has resigned while an impeachment inquiry against him is still going on.

He sent his resignation directly to the President of India. In his letter, he said:

“It is with deep anguish that I tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad with immediate effect”.

He also sent a copy of the letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

In the letter, Justice Varma said he did not want to trouble the President by giving detailed reasons. He also mentioned that it was a privilege to serve as a judge.

This resignation comes while a committee of the Lok Sabha is still investigating allegations against him under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.

The committee was set up by speaker Om Birla after 146 Members of Parliament supported an impeachment motion. The panel includes:

• Justice Arvind Kumar
   
• Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
   
• Justice Vasudeva Acharya
   

The issue came to light on March 14, 2025, when firefighters found a large amount of cash in an outhouse at Justice Varma’s official house in Delhi, when he was serving in the Delhi High Court. This caused major public outrage.

After this, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed an internal inquiry team of three judges:

• Justice Sheel Nagu
   
• Justice GS Sandhawalia
   
• Justice Anu Sivaraman
   

Justice Varma was then transferred to the Allahabad High Court, and his judicial work was stopped during the investigation.

In May, the inquiry report said there was prima facie evidence against him. After this, CJI Khanna informed the President and the Prime Minister because Justice Varma refused to resign at that time.

The Supreme Court of India also made documents public, including photos and videos of the burning cash, for transparency.

Justice Varma challenged these actions in court, but:

• The Supreme Court rejected his request to cancel the in-house inquiry and the recommendation for his removal.
   
• It also rejected his challenge against the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to form the inquiry committee earlier this year.

In a major development, Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has resigned while an impeachment inquiry against him is still going on.

He sent his resignation directly to the President of India. In his letter, he said:

“It is with deep anguish that I tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad with immediate effect”.

He also sent a copy of the letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

In the letter, Justice Varma said he did not want to trouble the President by giving detailed reasons. He also mentioned that it was a privilege to serve as a judge.

This resignation comes while a committee of the Lok Sabha is still investigating allegations against him under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.

The committee was set up by speaker Om Birla after 146 Members of Parliament supported an impeachment motion. The panel includes:

• Justice Arvind Kumar
   
• Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
   
• Justice Vasudeva Acharya
   

The issue came to light on March 14, 2025, when firefighters found a large amount of cash in an outhouse at Justice Varma’s official house in Delhi, when he was serving in the Delhi High Court. This caused major public outrage.

After this, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed an internal inquiry team of three judges:

• Justice Sheel Nagu
   
• Justice GS Sandhawalia
   
• Justice Anu Sivaraman
   

Justice Varma was then transferred to the Allahabad High Court, and his judicial work was stopped during the investigation.

In May, the inquiry report said there was prima facie evidence against him. After this, CJI Khanna informed the President and the Prime Minister because Justice Varma refused to resign at that time.

The Supreme Court of India also made documents public, including photos and videos of the burning cash, for transparency.

Justice Varma challenged these actions in court, but:

• The Supreme Court rejected his request to cancel the in-house inquiry and the recommendation for his removal.
   
• It also rejected his challenge against the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to form the inquiry committee earlier this year.