The inquiry committee report on Justice Verma was presented in Parliament, all allegations found to be correct

A three-member inquiry committee formed to investigate the discovery of cash at the residence of former Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Verma during a fire incident has found all allegations against him to be true. The report of the inquiry committee, headed by Supreme Court Judge Justice Aravind Kumar and formed under the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968, was presented in both houses of Parliament on Wednesday. The other two members of the committee are Bombay High Court Chief Justice Justice Shri Chandrachud and senior advocate of the Karnataka High Court BV Acharya. The two-volume report was presented in both houses by the Secretaries General of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, respectively. The inquiry report pertains to the discovery of burnt, half-burnt, and wet currency notes of Rs 500 during a fire incident at Justice Verma's official residence in Tilak Crescent, Delhi, on the night of March 14, 2025.

The inquiry committee stated in its report that unaccounted cash was found at Justice Verma's official residence, and he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for its source. The committee found that he tampered with evidence and did not provide satisfactory answers to questions during the investigation. After the investigation began, he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court in April. More than 200 parliamentarians had submitted a proposal to the Lok Sabha Speaker last year during the monsoon session to remove the judge from office. Following this, the Speaker formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.

Justice Verma had presented his stance before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, stating that the store room where the fire occurred was being used to store useless items such as furniture, bottles, and crockery, and it was not connected to the main residence. He said that he and his wife were not present at the residence at the time of the incident, and no cash or currency notes were found by any member of his family or staff after the fire was extinguished. He claimed that no cash was kept at the location by him or any member of his family. He expressed suspicion of a conspiracy based on the material presented to him. Later, amid the controversy, Justice Verma resigned from his post.