SC Says Justice Varma's Transfer Not Linked To Cash Discovery Probe: 'Misinformation, Rumours'

The Supreme Court refutes misinformation regarding Justice Varma's transfer to Allahabad High Court, emphasizing that it is separate from an ongoing in-house inquiry.

The Supreme Court on Friday said that the misinformation and rumours were being spread in connection with the alleged cash discovery at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. According to news agency ANI, the apex court said that the proposal for the transfer of Justice Vrama to the Allahabad high court was “independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure”.

“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,” ANI quoted the statement as saying.

The top court also added that the proposal was examined by the Collegium comprising the Chief Justice of India and four other seniormost judges of the Supreme Court on March 20, 2025.

“The proposal was examined by the Collegium comprising of the Chief Justice of India and four senior most Judges of the Supreme Court on 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 apex court added.

According to news agency IANS, the Supreme Court has initiated an internal probe against Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma as per the established in-house procedure for the constitutional judiciary, after a large amount of unaccounted cash was reportedly discovered at his residence in the national capital. CJI Sanjiv Khanna has sought a report from the Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and briefed puisne judges of the top court.

At the Delhi High Court, Justice Varma is among the most senior judges dealing with writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of any law, statutory rule, regulation, or notification pertaining to municipal tax. As per the latest roster, the Justice Varma-led division bench, which also comprised Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, dealt with sales tax cases and GST cases, Letters Patent Appeals, regular First Appeals (Original Side), Company Appeals, matters to be heard by the Commercial Appellate Division, among others.