New Delhi: A 3-member committee, set up by the Supreme Court, to inquire into allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court after a large amount of unaccounted cash was reportedly discovered at his residence in the national capital, began its probe Monday.
The inquiry panel visited Justice Yashwant Varma’s official bungalow at Delhi’s Tughlak Crescent, and reportedly spent over half an hour inside the bungalow, where allegedly a huge pile of burnt cash was discovered in the storeroom after the fire brigade had gone there to douse a blaze March 14.
Following the alleged cash discovery, which sent shockwaves across the judicial corridors, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna Friday constituted the 3-member committee to conduct an inquiry against Justice Varma and asked the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court not to assign him any judicial work for the time being.
“The Chief Justice of India has constituted a three-member committee consisting of Mr Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Ms Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge of the High Court of Delhi,” said a statement released by the Supreme Court.
On Monday, Delhi HC’s Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya withdrew judicial work from Justice Varma, the second senior-most judge of the Delhi High Court, till further orders.
“In view of recent events, the judicial work from Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with immediate effect, till further orders,” said a notice uploaded on the website of the Delhi High Court.
Later in the day, the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by CJI Khanna, recommended that the Centre repatriate Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court.
“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on 20th and 24th March 2025 has recommended repatriation of Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,” said a statement uploaded on the website of the apex court Monday.
Earlier, the apex court clarified that the proposal for the transfer of Justice Varma to his parent High Court, i.e. Allahabad HC, was “independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure”.
“The proposal was examined by the Collegium comprising of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four senior-most Judges of the Supreme Court 20th March 2025, and thereafter letters were written to the consultee Judges of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justices of the High Courts concerned, and Mr Justice Yashwant Varma. Responses received will be examined and, thereupon, the Collegium will pass a resolution,” the SC had said in a press statement.
The Centre is yet to act upon the recommendation made by the apex court Collegium to repatriate Justice Varma to the Allahabad HC.
