SC Collegium recommends transfer of Delhi HC judge after claims that cash was found at his home

The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended that Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court be repatriated to the Allahabad High Court amid allegations that unaccounted cash was found at his home.

The decision came after the Collegium held two meetings on March 20 and March 24.

The cash was allegedly recovered when emergency services responded to a fire incident at Varma’s official residence on March 14. The judge said he was in Bhopal at the time.

On Saturday, the Supreme Court released a report including a video and three photographs showing the purported cash. The video and the photos showed a fireman pulling out half-burnt wads of money from a room in Varma’s home.

The redacted report showed that Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya had written to Varma on Friday, asking him to “account for the presence of money/cash” in a room located in his bungalow.

In response, Varma told Upadhyaya that “no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members” and denied that the money belonged to them.

The same day, the Supreme Court said it had set up a three-member committee to look into the allegations against Varma.

On Monday, the Delhi High Court withdrew judicial work from Varma with immediate effect till further orders.

On Friday, the Supreme Court...

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