New Delhi: Even as the committee constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker to probe charges against him following the alleged discovery of huge amount of burnt currency notes from the outhouse of his official residence in Delhi on March 14, 2025, has made little headway, Allahabad high court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma has resigned from his post. He had not been allotted any judicial work since his transfer to the Allahabad high court.“While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect,” read his letter dated April 9 addressed to the President of India.However, while the resignation, which has come months after he remained adamant that there had been no wrongdoing on his part, would bring the ongoing impeachment proceedings technically to a close, the fact remains that yet another judge may have got away from the due process as prescribed by the Constitution by resigning before he could be formally impeached by both houses of Parliament. The impeachment process results in a lot of facts emerging and hears testimony from both sides, as parliament turns almost into a courtroom. These processes reveal the truth and shed light on places where illumination is most needed.Once his resignation is formally accepted, Justice Varma, like others before him, would be entitled to all perks and pension due to a former High Court. It would almost be as if there had been no case to begin with.Also read: Justice Varma Case: Too Many Questions Unanswered, Many of Them for Supreme CourtBut this latest twist leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Here are some of them:Was he guilty of corruption or not? The damning report by a three-judge committee constituted by the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, clearly said that “cash/money was found in the store room of 30 Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi officially occupied by Justice Varma” and that the “access to the store room (where the cash was kept) has been found to be within the covert or active control of Justice Varma and his family members and that by way of strong inferential evidence. The report also said that the burnt cash/money was got removed from the store room during the wee hours of 15.03.2025 from 30 Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi. But, till date, nobody knows who the cash belonged to. While Justice Varma has often asserted that the room where the burnt currency notes were found was not part of his residential building, the fact that notes were present there has not been denied. So, who did the money belong to? Was it part of some bribe in lieu of a fixed case or was the Judge a victim of some grand conspiracy? As first reported by this reporter, the panel comprising Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court G.S. Sandhawalia and Karnataka high court judge Justice Anu Sivaraman had found ample evidence with regard to presence of currency notes.Does the matter deserve to be just brought to a close? No, most certainly not. The judge may have resigned but the question as to whom did the money belong to needs a detailed answer. For example, as the judges’ report said “burnt cash/money was got removed from the store room during the wee hours”. It remains to be found as to who took out this money and who it really belonged to. Only a proper inquiry can establish that. The police must also answer where the money or its remains are?The judge’s own reputation needs to be protected too. If, as Justice Varma’s supporters assert, the entire incident was meant to harm his reputation and get rid of him, it may well be the case that a proper inquiry could establish the same and, thereby, restore some of his lost reputation. Even he would want it. But, will it be done? Going by established precedence, it won’t be. The matter ends now that the judge has resigned. But his resignation is neither an acknowledgment of his guilt nor a clean chit.What about the damning report of the judges’ committee? The three-judge committee, spent 10 days talking to 55 witnesses, visiting the site of the incident, and finally concluded, basis the testimony of 10 eye-witnesses who had acknowledged having seen burnt or half-burnt currency notes: “Keeping in view the direct and electronic evidence on record, this Committee is firmly of the view that there is sufficient substance in the allegations raised in the letter of Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India dated 22.03.2025 and the misconduct found proved is serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge of the Allahabad High Court.” The report could to be the foundation on which a proper inquiry can be conducted.Will we ever know the truth? Possibly not. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Judge would be allowed to lead a peaceful retired life. But we do live in uncertain times, where it would take just one conscientious person at the helm to decide that the case deserves a fresh look. What happens to the work done so far by the committee of jurists? While the committee would now be wound up in light of the resignation, it would serve all the institutions, including the Judiciary, well if whatever work the three jurists have done, if any, so far, is made public. Having said that, the chances of that happening are bleak – almost impossible.Unless these questions, at least the more important ones, are answered, the hit that the reputation of the higher judiciary took would not be erased and the Justice Varma saga would remain etched in our minds forever, for all the wrong reasons.