Justice Yashwant Varma transferred to Allahabad HC, won’t get judicial work for now

The Union government on Friday notified the repatriation of justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad high court, acting on the Supreme Court collegium’s March 24 recommendation.

The move comes in the wake of an in-house probe initiated against him following the alleged discovery of large amounts of cash at his official residence in Delhi.

Justice Varma, who has been a judge at the Delhi high court since 2021, found himself at the centre of controversy after firefighters responding to a minor fire at his Tughlak Road residence on March 14 reportedly found stacks of cash, some of which were allegedly charred. The incident led to widespread speculation and calls for a formal investigation into the matter.

On March 20, the Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, decided to move justice Varma back to his parent high court, the Allahabad high court. Three days later, the CJI set up a three-member in-house inquiry panel to examine the circumstances surrounding the cash discovery.

The panel comprises justice Sheel Nagu, chief justice of the Punjab & Haryana high court; justice GS Sandhawalia, chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court; and justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka high court. The in-house probe is expected to assess the allegations and determine whether justice Varma’s continuation as a judge is tenable.

Meanwhile, justice Varma has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he is being framed in the matter.

On March 24, the collegium, also comprising justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, sent a formal recommendation to the Union government to transfer justice Varma to the Allahabad high court.

After the government’s notification on his transfer, CJI Khanna issued a mandate for the Allahabad high court chief justice not to assign any judicial work to justice Varma, pending the inquiry. A similar mandate was earlier issued for the Delhi high court chief justice.

The move, however, has not gone without opposition. The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has protested his repatriation, demanding his impeachment instead. CJI Khanna and members of the Supreme Court collegium also met leaders of various bar associations on Thursday and assured them that their concerns regarding justice Yashwant Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad high court would be taken into account.

The issue has also gained traction in Parliament, with Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar responding to calls for greater judicial accountability. On March 21, he assured Congress MP Jairam Ramesh that he would explore mechanisms for structured discussions on judicial oversight. Later, Dhankhar met with Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and lauded CJI Khanna for initiating swift action in a “very impactful, transparent manner”.

Justice Varma’s repatriation adds to the recent spate of judicial movements in the Delhi high court. On the same day, the government also notified the long-pending transfer of justice CD Singh to the Allahabad high court. Justice Singh’s transfer was recommended by the collegium in November 2024 but had been pending government approval. Originally appointed as a judge of the Allahabad high court in September 2017, justice Singh was moved to the Delhi high court in October 2021.

On Thursday, the collegium also recommended the transfer of Delhi high court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma to the Calcutta high court, marking another significant judicial reshuffle in the wake of allegations against justice Yashwant Varma following the purported discovery of cash at his residence. Justice Sharma, who joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992 and was promoted to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service in 2003, took oath as a judge of the Delhi high court in February 2022.