 "Justice Yashwant Varma has been a Delhi High Court judge since October 2021. Image Courtesy: X")
Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court is being transferred to the Allahabad High Court following an “adverse report” against him.
A large sum of money was recovered at his residential house last week, prompting the Supreme Court Collegium, presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, to make the decision.
The incident has also sparked calls for accountability and transparency in the judiciary.
Here’s all we know about him.
Who is Justice Yashwant Varma?
Justice Varma has been a Delhi High Court judge since October 2021.
Born on January 6, 1969, in Allahabad, he completed his BCom (Hons) from Hansraj College, Delhi University, and later earned his LLB from Rewa University, Madhya Pradesh.
He enrolled as an advocate in the Allahabad High Court on August 8, 1992.
He handled a wide range of cases, including those involving the constitution, labour and industrial laws, corporate law, taxation, and related legal fields.
According to his profile on the Delhi High Court website, he was also the Special Counsel for the Allahabad High Court from 2006 till his elevation.
From 2012 to August 2013, Justice Yashwant Varma served as the Chief Standing Counsel for Uttar Pradesh. The Court thereafter appointed him a Senior Advocate.
He began serving as an additional judge at the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014, and was promoted to permanent judge on February 1, 2016.
Justice Varma focused on constitutional law, labour and industrial laws, corporate law, taxation, and related fields during his time as a lawyer at the Allahabad High Court.
On October 11, 2021, he was then moved to the Delhi High Court.
The controversy
A huge amount of money was found after a fire broke out in the building and the judge’s family called emergency services, who in turn called the police.
According to NDTV, the incident took place on March 14 during the Holi festivities.
Justice Varma was out of town when the fire started, according to a TOI report.
First responders discovered a significant quantity of cash in a room after the fire was doused, which prompted them to make official entries regarding the recovery of what seemed to be unaccounted money.
However, there was no estimate of the amount of money in the house.
The transfer
When the case made its way to top government officials, the Supreme Court collegium unanimously resolved to remove Justice Varma back to his parent High Court in Allahabad.
In addition to the CJI, this group consists of seniority-based top-court judges. The collegium now consists of Justices B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S. Oka, and Vikram Nath, as per The Print.
Amid the controversy, senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj said before Delhi HC Chief Justice (CJ) DK Upadhyaya, “Today’s incident has pained many of us. Please take some steps on the administrative side so that these incidents do not happen in future and the truthfulness of judicial system is maintained…We are shaken and demoralised.”
The CJ remarked, “So is everybody. We are conscious…”
Notably, the transfer is still being processed and has not yet received government approval.
On Friday, Justice Yashwant Varma did not appear in court because the court master stated that the division bench was on “leave.”
SC’s in-house inquiry
The Supreme Court opened its own inquiry into the case on Friday.
According to Bar and Bench sources, the top court asked Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya for a report.
The development follows a full court meeting on Friday morning where all SC judges expressed the view that a punitive transfer would not enough and that the judge must face more substantial consequences.
Then, with transfer as the first step, the court unanimously consented to an in-house probe.
Calls for transparency and accountability
The Justice Varma incident has heightened calls for institutional changes, with legal professionals demanding stronger measures for the judiciary’s integrity and credibility.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh sought Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar’s response on the case and reminded him about a pending notice regarding the impeachment of the judge. To which, Dhankhar responded that he will get in touch with the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition to find a mechanism for a structured discussion on the issue.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising has urged the collegium to “immediately disclose the exact amount of money recovered” to prevent speculation surrounding the case.
Kapil Sibal, a senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP, underlined the seriousness of judicial corruption and demanded immediate changes to the judge appointment procedure.
“The issue of corruption within the judiciary is a very serious one. This is not something that has been raised for the first time; it has been ongoing for years. It is time for the Supreme Court to review how appointments are made. The process should be more transparent and carefully conducted,” he said, further criticising the government, saying, “Corruption is a very serious issue, and despite what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, it has only increased.”
With inputs from agencies