SC collegium recommends transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma back to Allahabad HC amid cash discovery row

Supreme Court Collegium has issued resolution recommending transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge of High Court of Delhi, back to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court. This decision, made on March 20 and 24, comes amid an ongoing inquiry into allegations surrounding a large amount of cash found at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence.

The Allahabad high court Bar Association (HCBA) strongly opposed justice Yashwant Varma’s transfer, questioning whether the Allahabad high court was being treated as a “dumping ground.”

Justice Varma, who is the second senior-most judge in the Delhi High Court and a member of the Collegium, will be ranked ninth in seniority at the Allahabad High Court.

According to LiveLaw, the Supreme Court Collegium’s resolution did not provide specific reasons for the transfer of Yashwant Verma, leading to speculation and misinformation regarding its timing and implications.

The Supreme Court has clarified that the transfer proposal of Yashwant Verma is separate from the inquiry into the cash discovery, but this has been met with skepticism and rumors.

Pending the outcome of an investigation into the discovery of a large amount of cash at his residence, Justice Yashwant Varma has been stripped of his judicial responsibilities. The Delhi High Court issued a circular to this effect, removing him from his duties with immediate effect until further notice, on March 24.

Notably in Delhi High Court, justice Varma’s bench dealt with cases involving sales tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST).

What is the Yashwant Varma Cash Discovery Row?

The cash discovery row centres around Justice Yashwant Varma, a judge at the Delhi High Court, and the discovery of a substantial amount of cash —reportedly around ₹15 crore— at his residence following a fire on March 14, 2025.

The controversy stems from a reported fire at Justice Varma’s official residence on Tughlak Road at around 11:35pm on March 14.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) responded and extinguished the fire within minutes. However, first responders—including personnel from DFS and possibly the police—are believed to have discovered stacks of cash in the storeroom, some of which were reportedly charred.

Justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal at the time.

Justice Varma has vehemently denied any connection to the cash, suggesting a conspiracy to malign his reputation.

Justice Verma claims the cash was found in an outhouse, separate from the main residence, and that neither he nor his family had placed it there.

The Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, has formed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations. The in-house committee 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, judge of the Karnataka high court.