Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar has been included in the three-member committee probing corruption allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma. He will join the panel from March 6, replacing Madras High Court Chief Justice Maninder Mohan Shrivastava, who retires on March 5. The reconstitution was carried out by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The controversy relates to Justice Varma’s alleged cash scandal. On March 14, 2025, firefighters reportedly found a large cache of currency notes at his official residence when he was a judge of the Delhi High Court. The discovery sparked widespread outrage.

Following this, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed an in-house inquiry committee. The panel included Justice Sheel Nagu (then Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court), Justice GS Sandhawalia (then Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (judge of the Karnataka High Court).

Justice Varma was later transferred to the Allahabad High Court and was relieved of judicial duties during the probe.

In May, the in-house panel submitted its report which reportedly made preliminary findings holding Justice Verma accountable. After he refused to resign, CJI Khanna forwarded the report to the President and the Prime Minister.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had dismissed Justice Varma’s separate plea challenging the in-house inquiry process and the Chief Justice of India’s recommendation for his removal.

Separately, an impeachment process had already been initiated. In August last year, a three-member committee was constituted under Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, after 146 Lok Sabha MPs moved an impeachment motion against him. Justice Varma’s challenge to the formation of this committee was also rejected by the Supreme Court.

Click Here To Read Official Notification