March 22, 2025 - Justice Yashwant Varma, a judge of the Delhi High Court, has become the subject of significant scrutiny and developments after a fire at his official residence led to the discovery of a substantial amount of unaccounted cash. These events have sparked discussions within legal circles, with opinions divided on the implications for judicial integrity and the appropriate course of action. Justice Varma's spotless record in his 22-year-long career has taken a huge hit because of this and has raised questions of judicial accountability.

The fire at Justice Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence had occurred at around 11:35 pm on March 14.

The cash discovery has now brought back his previous financial transactions particularly his connection to Simbhaoli Sugars Limited, a business allegedly involved in a multi-crore banking scam. The matter dates back to February 2018 when the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) filed a complaint against the company prompting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to begin an investigation into Simbhaoli Sugars. Justice Varma had then served as a non-executive director of the company and was named an accused in the CBI FIR in the Rs 97.85 crore fraud case. OBC had accused Simbhaoli Sugars of misappropriating the money intended for farmers and diverting the funds for other purposes.

The Supreme Court Collegium has proposed Justice Varma’s transfer back to his parent Allahabad High Court and initiated an in-house inquiry. The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court has begun an inquiry. India’s top Court has clarified that the transfer proposal is independent of the inquiry and intends to prevent any potential obstacle to the probe owing to Justice Varma's presence in Delhi.

The Collegium has sought responses from Justice Varma and the Chief Justices of both the Delhi and Allahabad High Courts regarding the transfer proposal.

The matter was raised in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, March 21 with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar  calling it a “shocking case” and saying he will find a mechanism for holding a structured discussion on the matter, according to reports.