Dhankhar calls all-party meet today on cash recovery at Delhi judge's house

Jagdeep Dhankhar met JP Nadda, Kharge on Monday over cash row at judge's home; calls all-party meeting today to discuss matter amid judiciary-legislature concerns

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday called an all-party meeting to address the cash recovery incident at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.

 

During the Parliament session today, Dhankhar said he held discussions with Leader of House JP Nadda and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday regarding this matter. During these talks, it was proposed that a meeting be convened with the floor leaders of all political parties.

 

"I have scheduled a meeting after convenience at 4.30 pm today with the floor leaders as suggested by Leader of the Opposition and agreed to by Leader of the House and timing has also been indicated to the concerned. I am sure we will have very fruitful interaction and find a way out because legislature and judiciary perform optimally when they perform best in their respective realm with expedition," the Chairman said.

 

 

VIDEO | Parliament Session 2025: Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar (@VPIndia) says, "Hon'ble Members, I had the benefit yesterday of the wise counsel, experienced counsel of the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition who were gracious enough to respond to my… pic.twitter.com/B28fJOn7KC

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 25, 2025

"The issue undoubtedly is serious enough. We three of us together took note of the developments and also took note of the healthy development that for the first time in an unprecedented manner the Chief Justice of India took the initiative to put everything in the public domain but then a suggestion emanated from Leader of the Opposition and agreed by Leader of the House that the issue needs to be deliberated at my instance with the floor leaders," Dhankhar added.

 

What is the case?

 

On March 14, a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence. While the fire was doused by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the first responders — including DFS personnel and possibly the police — discovered stacks of cash in the storeroom, some of which were partially burned. At the time of the incident, Justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal.

 

Following the incident, the Supreme Court released three images and a video related to the discovery of cash at the residence of Justice Varma. This decision followed the formation of an in-house committee by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to investigate the matter. Additionally, Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya was instructed not to allocate any judicial work to Justice Varma.  

 

Justice Varma denies allegations  

 

Justice Varma denied all allegations, saying that neither he nor his family members had ever placed any cash in the storeroom.  

 

In his response to Justice Upadhyaya, Justice Varma said the discovery of cash at his home appeared to be a "deliberate attempt to frame and malign him."

 

“Neither I nor any of my family members had any knowledge of cash nor does it have any bearing or relation with me or my family. No such cash or currency was shown to my family members or staff who were present on that fateful night," he said.  

 

"I also strongly deny and outrightly reject the insinuation if made, that we removed currency from the storeroom. As stated above, we were neither shown nor handed over any sacks of burnt currency. In fact, and as stated above, the limited debris which was sought to be salvaged continues to exist in one part of the residence," Justice Varma said.