Parliamentary panel finds all three charges against Justice Yashwant Verma proven in cash-at-home case

Report says cash bundles were scattered across store room, evidence tampered with after fire, and Justice Verma’s explanations were evasive and misleading

NewsArc Bureau, New Delhi

A parliamentary inquiry committee has found all three charges against former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Verma to be proven, in connection with the recovery of unaccounted cash from the store room of his official residence in 2025. The panel’s report was tabled in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, August 12.

According to the report, a large quantity of ₹500 notes was found in the store room of Justice Verma’s official residence after a fire broke out there on the night of August 14, 2025. Fire service personnel who reached the spot discovered sacks of burnt currency notes.

CHARGE ONE: LARGE UNACCOUNTED CASH FOUND AT RESIDENCE

The committee held that bundles of ₹500 notes, along with partially burnt notes, were recovered from the store room of Justice Verma’s government residence. Fire service and police personnel testified that the notes were not confined to one spot but were spread across a large portion of the room. Delhi Fire Service staffer Ankit Sehgal told the panel that he saw bundles of ₹500 notes spread across seven to eight feet of the store room. When police officer Roopchand was asked whether the cash exceeded ₹5 lakh, he said that figure was far too small an estimate.

However, since the notes were never seized, counted, or preserved as samples, the committee said it could not determine the exact amount of cash present. The charge was held to be proven.

CHARGE TWO: EVIDENCE TAMPERED WITH AFTER THE FIRE

The store room was not sealed immediately after the fire was doused. A security officer reportedly saw Justice Verma’s staff cleaning the room at around 3 am. By morning, the burnt material had been removed and the room cleaned up. The currency notes found there were neither preserved nor recovered later. The committee held that crucial evidence had not been safeguarded and had in fact been tampered with. The charge was held to be proven.

CHARGE THREE: EVASIVE AND MISLEADING RESPONSES

Justice Verma initially claimed he had no knowledge of the cash. He later changed his defence, suggesting the notes were fake or had been planted as part of a conspiracy. However, no FIR, complaint, or credible evidence was produced to support these claims, and Justice Verma neither testified himself nor produced his family or staff as witnesses. The committee described his explanation as incomplete, evasive, and misleading in effect. The charge was held to be proven.

Justice Verma resigned as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on April 9, 2026, months after the case came to light. In his resignation letter, he wrote that he did not wish to burden the high office with the reasons that compelled him to write the letter, but that with deep regret, he was resigning with immediate effect, adding that serving in the post had been an honour.