PTI
New Delhi/Allahabad
Beleaguered Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, who is facing impeachment proceedings for his removal over allegations of corruption after wads of burnt currency notes were recovered from his residence in Delhi last year, has resigned.
Officials said on Friday that the rare removal proceedings initiated by the Lok Sabha against Justice Varma have been rendered “infructuous” following his resignation with immediate effect. The judge submitted his resignation in a letter sent to President Droupadi Murmu on April 9.
To prevent his removal by Parliament, a resignation was the only option left for the judge, who withdrew from the ongoing inquiry proceedings by a Lok Sabha-appointed panel. The judge was due to superannuate on
January 5, 2031.
The purported discovery of a huge stash of cash took place after a fire broke out at the Lutyens’ Delhi residence of Justice Varma, then a Delhi High Court judge, at around 11:35 pm on the night of Holi on March 14, 2025, prompting the fire department personnel to rush to the spot and douse the flames.
In his letter, Justice Varma, 57, said he was tendering his resignation with “deep anguish” and that it was an honour to
serve the office.
“Your Excellency, While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect. It has been an honour to serve in this office,” the letter said.
The President of Allahabad High Court Bar Association Rakesh Pande welcomed Justice Varma’s resignation that brought an abrupt end to the impeachment proceedings but said he should have taken the step earlier and put an end to a needless controversy.
“If Justice Yashwant Varma wanted to resign, it would have been better for all of us had he done it much earlier. This merely created unnecessary controversy. It tarnished the image of everyone involved – the high court, the entire judiciary, and him,”
Pande said.
A judge of a constitutional court can only be removed from office through an impeachment motion passed by Parliament.
Calling himself a victim of a “vilification” campaign, Justice Varma also wrote a separate letter to the Inquiry Committee appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and expressed his “anguish”. He also listed out reasons for withdrawing himself from the inquiry.
The judge said his continued participation would legitimise an earlier inquiry where he was asked to “answer the unanswerable” question on the source of money from his residence.
In his 13-page letter, Justice Varma said that in his entire career as a judge of a High Court for over 11 years, he was not once alleged to have indulged in corruption or judicial impropriety. The judge further said he would be doing himself and the institution the greatest disservice by “continuing to participate in the present proceedings”.
“I therefore withdraw from these proceedings with immediate effect and have instructed my Advocates accordingly. I withdraw with the deepest sadness, conscious of the gravity of my decision and with the hope that history will one day record the unfairness with which a sitting High Court Judge was treated and that has marked this entire episode from its inception,” Justice Varma wrote.
