Image Source: Agencies

June 4, 2025: CJI BR Gavai has advocated for a "quick, decisive and transparent response" to address judges' misbehavior as the government considers a plea to remove Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court after he was indicted for recovering undeclared funds from his home here.
"Any system, no matter how robust, is subject to issues of professional misconduct," CJI Gavai stated during a roundtable discussion on "Maintaining Judicial Legitimacy and Public Confidence" held Tuesday evening at the UK Supreme Court.
"Unfortunately, there have been cases of misbehavior and corruption that have come to light even within the judiciary," he remarked. Such incidents invariably have a detrimental effect on public trust, possibly undermining belief in the overall integrity of the system.
But the way to restore this trust is to act quickly, decisively, and openly to confront and resolve these problems," the CJI stated. In India, the Supreme Court has regularly responded to such incidents by taking prompt, appropriate action to rectify the misbehavior.
Then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna had recommended Justice Varma's removal to the government last month, days after a three-judge inquiry panel indicted him for recovering unaccounted cash during a fire incident at his home here on March 14 while he was a judge of the Delhi High Court.
The three-member committee, which included Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice GS Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court, reportedly came to the conclusion in its report, which was submitted to the CJI on May 4, that there was unmistakable proof that a sizable cash stash had been recovered from the storeroom of Justice Varma's official residence in New Delhi at the time of the fire.
Justice Varma was sent from the Delhi High Court to his parent high court, the Allahabad High Court, on March 28 in accordance with the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation dated March 24. Since then, he has not been given any judicial duties "for the time being."