The Supreme Court of India is set to constitute a special bench to hear a plea filed by Justice Yashwant Varma, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, challenging an internal inquiry report that implicates him in a "cash-at-home" controversy. The controversy emerged in March when firefighters, responding to a fire at Justice Varma's official residence in Delhi, discovered large amounts of cash.

Following the discovery, an in-house panel was established by the Supreme Court to investigate the matter. This three-judge panel, comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court, examined over 50 witnesses. The panel concluded that the recovered cash was under the "covert or active control" of Justice Varma or his family. The panel also noted that Justice Varma's explanations were unconvincing, and he claimed he was being framed. The in-house panel recommended the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma and forwarded their report to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Justice Varma has challenged the legality and validity of the in-house inquiry committee, calling it a "parallel, extra-constitutional mechanism". He argues that the committee's report was based on "conjecture" and interpretation rather than direct evidence, and that he was not given a fair opportunity to respond to the findings. Justice Varma also questioned the jurisdiction and authority of the committee to probe a sitting judge, arguing that neither the Chief Justice nor the Supreme Court had the power to take disciplinary action against High Court judges.

The Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai, has recused himself from hearing the case, stating that he was part of the decision-making process related to the inquiry. He stated, "I was part of decision making, I cannot hear this matter, will set up an appropriate bench". He also mentioned discussions with his predecessor, Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Gavai has assured that a special bench will be constituted to hear the matter.

The impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma began after 145 Members of Parliament (MPs) from both ruling and opposition parties submitted a notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, along with a team of lawyers, mentioned the plea on Justice Varma's behalf before the bench presided over by Chief Justice Gavai, seeking an urgent listing of the petition due to the constitutional issues involved.

Justice Varma was divested of his judicial work and sent back to the Allahabad High Court in April following the cash discovery.