Delhi HC Rejects Plea for CBI Probe into Cash Found at Ex-Judge Yashwant Varma's Home

The Delhi High Court on Monday, September 21, 2026, refused to entertain a petition seeking the registration of a First Information Report and an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a Special Investigation Team into the alleged recovery of a large amount of cash after a fire at the Lutyens' Delhi residence of former judge Yashwant Varma.

Justice Amit Bansal strongly criticized the plea, characterizing it as a "wild witch hunt" and remarking that petitioner Ghanshyam Upadhyay, a practising lawyer, possessed alternative remedies under the law. During the proceedings, the court questioned the petitioner's standing to pursue the matter and asked why he had not approached a trial court to seek the registration of an FIR.

Responding to the bench, Mr. Upadhyay submitted that the circumstances surrounding the episode were extraordinary in nature and asserted that a lower court would be unable to do justice to the case. He argued before the bench that criminal law can be set into motion by anyone and stated that there was no legal embargo preventing his application.

After Justice Bansal clearly indicated that the High Court would dismiss the petition, Mr. Upadhyay chose to withdraw it in order to evaluate other legal avenues available to him. The lawyer had previously moved the Supreme Court of India with the same plea, but that petition was dismissed in August 2026.

The controversy originated from a fire that broke out at Mr. Varma's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi at approximately 11.35 p.m. on the night of Holi, March 14, 2025, during his tenure as a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court. Firefighters responded to the emergency call and extinguished the blaze, following which the alleged discovery of large sums of cash triggered widespread controversy.

Following the incident, Mr. Varma was transferred to his parent high court, the Allahabad High Court. While subsequently facing impeachment proceedings initiated in the Lok Sabha, he submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on April 9, 2026, rendering the rare removal proceedings infructuous ahead of his scheduled retirement on January 5, 2031.