In the report, an in-house probe panel of three judges has held Justice Yashwant Verma responsible for keeping unaccounted cash in the storeroom of his official residence. The panel termed their actions after the fire on March 14 as "unnatural" and found sufficient grounds to recommend action against them.

The inquiry, conducted by Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice GS Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court) and Justice Anu Sivaraman (judge of Karnataka High Court), was set up by then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna after media reports on March 22 revealed that burnt cash was found in Justice Yashwant Verma's official bungalow.

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"The onus to explain the presence of cash was on Justice Yashwant Verma… He failed to do so apart from a categorical denial or a blatant plea of ​​conspiracy," the committee said.

After examining 55 witnesses, including Justice Yashwant Verma and his daughter, and reviewing videos and photographs taken by firefighters, the panel concluded that cash was indeed found in his premises. The store room was under the "secret or active control" of the judge and his family, putting the burden of explanation on them.

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The committee said, "The conduct of Justice Yashwant Verma after the fire incident defies logic and leads to the conclusion that the true picture was not presented."

The panel also pointed out that Justice Yashwant Verma did not visit the spot immediately after returning from Bhopal on March 15. Instead, he waited till 9 pm to inspect the damage, when the private secretary of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court arrived there.

In his defence, Justice Yashwant Verma claimed that he was being framed. However, the committee rejected the conspiracy theory.

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The report raised the question, "If there was a conspiracy, why was a complaint not lodged with the police or brought to the notice of the Chief Justice or the CJI?"

The panel found that the premises were under round-the-clock security, making it almost impossible for an outsider to place currency notes inside the storeroom.

The report also highlighted Justice Yashwant Verma’s failure to preserve CCTV footage from the storeroom and termed it a missed opportunity to support his version of events. He claimed the cameras were not working and the hard disk could not be recovered, but the committee pointed out that the equipment was sealed only on March 25, giving him ample time to preserve the data.

“The fact that no effort was made to retrieve or produce the CCTV footage even after knowing about the burnt cash in the storeroom makes his claim of conspiracy completely unbelievable,” the committee stressed.

Another point noted was that he promptly accepted the transfer to the Allahabad High Court without any objection or asking for reasons. The panel saw this as another evidence against him.

“Justice Yashwant Verma’s prompt acceptance of the transfer without any enquiry into the reasons reflects an acceptance of the situation and supports the findings of the committee.”

In conclusion, the panel found no credible explanation for the presence of burnt cash, nor any evidence to support the claim of conspiracy. After Justice Yashwant Verma refused to resign, CJI Sanjiv Khanna sent the findings to the President and the Prime Minister on May 4.

"Justice Yashwant Verma cannot be helped as there is no reasonable explanation for the cash," the committee said. The committee held him responsible for the unaccounted currency found in his official premises.

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