Justice Yashwant Varma has strongly refuted allegations regarding the presence of cash in his residence’s storeroom, calling it a deliberate conspiracy to malign him. His statement comes in response to an inquiry initiated by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice following reports of a fire incident at his residence.The fire broke out in the storeroom in the intervening night between March 14 and 15. According to Justice Varma, this space was generally used to store miscellaneous items, including unused furniture, bottles, crockery, mattresses, used carpets, old speakers, garden implements, and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) material.During the fire incident, Justice Varma’s mother, his only daughter, and the household staff were present at the residence.
They were instructed to move away for safety reasons while fire personnel worked to douse the flames. Upon returning to the scene after the fire was extinguished, Justice Varma and his family found no cash or currency on-site.“This clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign me,” he asserted, unequivocally denying that any cash was ever placed in the storeroom by him or his family members.
Justice Varma strongly denounced the suggestion that the alleged recovered cash belonged to him. “The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous,” he stated.He also found it implausible that anyone would store cash in a commonly used, open-access storeroom near the staff quarters or outhouse.Expressing his disappointment with media reports, he stated, “I wish that the media had conducted some inquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press.”He further highlighted that when the site was restored to him after fire personnel and police had left, there was no sign of cash or currency.“What baffles me is the complete absence of any sacks of allegedly burnt currency that were ever recovered or seized,” he added, emphasising that none of his staff was shown any remnants of such cash.He urged that the matter be examined in light of a statement made by the Chief of the Fire Service, which, according to news reports, does not confirm the presence of any such currency at the site.
