Justice Yashwant Varma sworn in as judge of Allahabad High Court

Prayagraj: Justice Yashwant Varma was sworn in as judge of Allahabad High court on Saturday. His name was listed ninth in the seniority list of judges on the official Allahabad High Court website.

This followed the Supreme Court collegium’s resolution on March 24 repatriating justice Varma to the Allahabad high court in connection with a controversy from the discovery of a large amount of cash at the judge’s official residence earlier in March.

Justice Varma denied accusations of corruption against him. In a report released by the Supreme Court, Varma had dismissed the allegations as a “conspiracy to malign” him.

The controversy erupted after a fire was reported at justice Varma’s official residence on Tughlak Road at 11.35pm on March 14. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) quickly extinguished the blaze, but first responders — including personnel from DFS and possibly the police — are believed to have discovered large stacks of cash in the storeroom, some of which were reportedly charred. Justice Varma, who was a Delhi high court judge at the time, and his wife were in Bhopal.

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Subsequently, the chief justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna initiated an in-house inquiry on March 22 and tasked a panel of three High Court judges to examine the allegations against Justice Varma.

The collegium, comprises CJI Khanna and justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, met on March 20 to discuss the repatriation of Justice Varma back to his parent high court.

On March 24 evening, the Collegium published an official statement recommending Justice Varma’s transfer. “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,” stated the resolution by the collegium.

Also Read: HC judge Yashwant Varma de-rostered, set to get repatriated

The collegium’s decision was met with furious resistance from the Allahabad high court’s bar association (HCBA), which called for the judge to be impeached. The HCBA termed the incident as the “blackest day” in the history of judiciary.

Justice Varma denied any connection to the cash reportedly discovered at his residence, asserting that neither he nor his family members had any knowledge of the money. Calling the allegations “totally preposterous”, he maintained his innocence.