New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium formally confirmed on Monday its recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma back to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court. This decision comes amid an ongoing inquiry following allegations of a substantial cash discovery at his official residence.
The Collegium’s resolution, posted on the Supreme Court’s website, stated, “The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on March 20 and 24, 2025 has recommended the repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.”
The transfer recommendation follows a series of events that began with a fire at Justice Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence on March 14. During the firefighting operation, “four to five semi-burnt stacks of Indian currency” were allegedly discovered in a storeroom, according to official communications included in the inquiry report.
Justice Varma has categorically denied these allegations. “The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous,” he stated in his response to the inquiry. He further claimed that the allegations “clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign him.”
On March 21, the Supreme Court addressed growing speculation around the incident, stating, “There is misinformation and rumours being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma.” The statement confirmed that Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya had initiated an in-house inquiry after receiving information about the incident. In his preliminary findings dated March 21, Chief Justice Upadhyaya noted: “The enquiry conducted by me, prima facie, does not reveal possibility of entry or access to the room by any person other than those residing in the bungalow, the servants, the gardeners and CPWD personnel, if any.” He concluded that “the entire matter warrants a deeper probe.” In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court uploaded the in-house inquiry report on its website on March 22, including photos and videos of the alleged cash discovery.
The Supreme Court has since constituted a three-member inquiry committee comprising Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court), Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka High Court) to conduct a more thorough investigation.
Justice Varma’s judicial work has been withdrawn pending the outcome of this inquiry. His proposed transfer will take effect once the Centre accepts the collegium’s recommendation.
Justice Varma began his legal career in 1992 and was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court in 2014. He became a permanent judge in 2016 before being appointed to the Delhi High Court in October 2021. Meanwhile, lawyers of Allahabad High Court Bar Association said that they will stage an indefinite strike from March 25 onwards following Justice Yashwant Varma’s proposed transfer to Allahabad High Court.