New Delhi, June 20 -- The Supreme Court's in-house panel that investigated the presence of charred currency notes in justice Yashwant Varma's official residence in Delhi earlier this year concluded that while there may be no direct proof linking the high court judge to the stash, "strong inferential evidence" suggests his "covert or active control" over the cash, which "belied the trust" reposed in him as a constitutional court judge.

This, the panel said, amounts to serious judicial misconduct, meriting initiation of impeachment proceedings.

In its 64-page report submitted to then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on May 3, the three-judge panel found the conduct of justice Varma to be incompatible with the standards expected ...