Justice Yashwant Varma's transfer to Allahabad HC not linked to cash pile recovery, clarifies Supreme Court

Hours after an alleged incident of recovery of a pile of cash at the official residence of its sitting judge Justice Yashwant Varma and reports of his transfer, the Supreme Court has clarified that the collegium action was not linked to the case.

Terming it a case of “misinformation”, the Supreme Court said the proposal for Justice Varma's transfer to Allahabad High Court was “independent and separate from in-house enquiry procedure.”

The top court said upon receiving information, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice commenced an in-house enquiry procedure collecting evidence and information.

In a statement, the Supreme Court said, “On receiving the information, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court commenced the In-house enquiry procedure collecting evidence and information.”

“The proposal for transfer of Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma, who is the second senior most Judge in the Delhi High Court and a member of the Collegium, to his parent High Court i.e. the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, where he will be ninth in seniority, is independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure.”

High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya would submit a report to CJI Sanjiv Khanna today itself, it added. Following its examination, the court would proceed for "further and necessary" action.

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It further said, “The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, who had commenced his enquiry prior to the Collegium meeting on 20th March 2026, will be submitting his report to the Chief Justice of India today i.e. on 21 March 2025. The report will be examined and processed for further and necessary action.”