Storeroom where burnt cash was found under active control of Justice Varma and family: Panel
New Delhi, May 30 (PTI): A Supreme Court-appointed committee, which has indicted Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma in a cash-discovery row, has said the access to the storeroom where burnt cash was found was under the "active control" of the judge and his family, sources said.
They said the panel has found some evidence that indicate that the burnt cash was removed from the storeroom on May 15 after a fire incident came to light.
Earlier this month, the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides sharing with them the committee report, along with the response received from Justice Varma.
The sources said the panel, which considered evidence including electronic evidence, has opined in its report that the allegations are serious enough to commence proceedings for Justice Varma's removal.
The panel has analysed the evidence and recorded the statements of more than 50 people, including Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora and the Delhi Fire Services chief, who were among the first responders to the fire incident at Justice Varma's official Lutyen's Delhi residence at 11:35 pm on March 14.
Justice Varma was a judge of the Delhi High Court then.
The allegation was repeatedly denied by Justice Varma in his responses to the Delhi High Court chief justice and the Supreme Court-appointed panel.
The apex court administration recently rejected a plea seeking the committee report under the Right to Information Act.
The RTI application had also sought a disclosure of the communication between the then CJI and the president and the prime minister over the matter.
The in-house procedure entails that the CJI writes to the president and the prime minister for impeachment after the advice to the judge to resign is not complied with.
"Chief Justice of India, in terms of the in-house procedure, has written to the President of India and the Prime Minister of India, enclosing therewith copy of the three-member committee report dated May 3 along with the letter/response dated May 6 received from Justice Yashwant Varma," the apex court said in a statement on May 8.
The committee had confirmed the cash-discovery allegations against Justice Varma in its inquiry report, the sources had previously said.
The three-member panel comprised Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court. The report was finalised on May 3.
The sources had also said former CJI Khanna had nudged Justice Varma to step down in view of the critical findings in the report, which was forwarded to the judge for his response, in line with the principle of natural justice.
The controversy was raised following a news report in the cash-discovery row and had led to several steps, including a preliminary inquiry by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, judicial work being taken away from Justice Varma in the Delhi High Court and later, his transfer to the Allahabad High Court sans judicial work.
On March 24, the apex court collegium recommended the repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent, Allahabad High Court.
On March 28, the top court asked the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma for now.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
