The Supreme Court collegium Monday confirmed its recommendation to transfer Delhi high court’s Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad high court. The decision comes amid an in-house inquiry into the alleged discovery of a large sum of cash from his official residence, which led to the withdrawal of his judicial work.
The Allahabad high court bar association has announced an indefinite strike in protest.
The transfer recommendation was made public through a resolution uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website.
"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 resolution stated.
The collegium’s decision to send him back to Allahabad has sparked protests among lawyers there. The Allahabad high court bar association has announced an indefinite strike, opposing what they view as an attempt to dump a controversial judge on them.
"The Chief Justice has been requested not to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad high court... no court is a dumping ground. He should be in Delhi under the watch of the Supreme Court until proceedings are completed," said Anil Tiwari, President of the Allahabad high court bar association to NDTV.
He also called for a review of all judgments delivered by Justice Varma. "...also, all judgments by Justice Varma should be reviewed to infuse public confidence again," he said, while demanding an inquiry by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.
This is the second time the bar association has opposed Justice Varma’s transfer.
Last week, when reports of the proposed transfer emerged, the association issued a statement declaring that the Allahabad high court is not a "trash bin."
The controversy erupted after a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence around 11.35 pm on March 14. During the firefighting operation, officials reportedly discovered stacks of burnt cash in a storeroom.
Justice Varma, denied any connection to the cash.
The next day, Delhi high court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya initiated an in-house inquiry and began collecting evidence.
"There is misinformation and rumours being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma," the Supreme Court said in a statement on March 21.
It added that the inquiry had commenced before the collegium’s meeting on March 20.
The apex court’s recommendation will take effect once the Centre accepts it.
On March 22, the Supreme Court uploaded the in-house inquiry report, including photos and videos of the alleged cash stash, on its website. The report showed "four to five semi-burnt stacks of Indian currency" discovered during the firefighting operation on Holi night.
Justice Verma called the allegations a conspiracy to frame him and malign his reputation. "The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous," he said.
He also rejected claims that he or his family members placed the money in the storeroom, calling the accusations "outrageous and fabricated."
Delhi high court’s inquiry report noted that the police commissioner’s March 16 report stated the guard at Varma’s residence confirmed that debris and partially burnt articles were removed on the morning of March 15.
"The enquiry conducted by me, prima facie, does not reveal the 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," the report by Justice Upadhyaya read.
It concluded that the matter required a deeper probe.
Following this, the Supreme Court constituted a three-member inquiry committee comprising Punjab and Haryana high court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Karnataka high court’s Justice Anu Sivaraman.
The Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, had examined the transfer proposal with four senior-most judges on March 20. The decision was followed by letters to consultee judges of the apex court, chief justices of the concerned high courts, and Justice Varma himself.
Justice Varma began his legal career as an advocate in 1992. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad high court in 2014 and became a permanent judge in 2016. In 2021, he was transferred to the Delhi high court.