The Supreme Court has ruled that while videos and photographs of cash allegedly recovered from Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence should never have found their way onto the court’s own website, the misstep does not undo the in-house inquiry that ultimately indicted him.
The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih noted that the in-house procedure contains no requirement for placing incriminating evidence in the public domain. Even so, they stressed that Justice Varma himself had not objected at the outset, instead participating fully in the inquiry and only questioning the publication after the committee concluded there was substance to the allegations.
“Such uploading may not have been proper,” the court observed, “but it is a fait accompli. Once a duly constituted inquiry has recorded findings about the failures and omissions of the petitioner, no benefit can be claimed from that impropriety.”
The top court dismissed Justice Varma’s writ petition challenging both the inquiry report and the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna’s recommendation to the President and Prime Minister for his removal.
The controversy began when, on March 23, the Supreme Court uploaded inquiry materials—including police-provided videos and photographs—showing cash found during a firefighting operation at Justice Varma’s residence on March 14, when he was away. The material also included the Delhi High Court Chief Justice’s report and Justice Varma’s written response.
The judgment also reaffirmed that the Chief Justice of India has the authority to recommend a judge’s removal while forwarding an in-house inquiry report to the President and Prime Minister.
