The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition filed by a lawyer seeking Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged discovery of burnt currency at the official residence of former Delhi High Court judge, Yashwant Varma, after a blaze in March last year.

Justice P.S. Narasimha observed orally that the petition filed by Ghanshyam Upadhyay was a shot at “cheap publicity”.

Mr. Upadhayay said the criminal liability related to the allegations surrounding the discovery of the burnt currency would survive the resignation of Justice Varma in April 2026. The lawyer contended that the resignation has deprived the former judge of any immunity from prosecution.

A three-member in-house committee of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Justice Anu Sivaraman had submitted a fact-finding report to Chief Justice of India (now retired) Sanjiv Khanna on the incident in May 2025.

The CJI had asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. The report was subsequently referred to the President of India and the Prime Minister by the CJI.

In August 2025, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted a committee to investigate the allegations. Justice Varma resigned from office before the committee gave its report.

Published - August 07, 2026 02:48 pm IST