The government on Friday sanctioned the transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma back to his parent Allahabad High Court in connection with the ongoing cash haul case. Justice Varma has been instructed to report and assume his responsibilities at the Uttar Pradesh-based High Court.

This decision follows the government’s announcement a day earlier that it was evaluating Justice Varma’s case and would finalize his transfer shortly.

In a related move, the Centre also approved the Supreme Court Collegium’s long-pending recommendation to repatriate another Delhi High Court judge, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, to the Allahabad High Court. His transfer had been awaiting clearance for months.

Back in November 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and including Justices B.R. Gavai and Suryakant, had proposed Justice Singh’s repatriation to his original High Court.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh and Justice Yashwant Varma were both transferred to the Delhi High Court in October 2021. However, after a substantial amount of cash was reportedly discovered at Justice Varma’s residence during a fire incident last week, the Collegium recommended his return to the Allahabad High Court. Following this development, the Delhi High Court registry also relieved him of all judicial work.

Justice Varma’s transfer, however, sparked protests from the Allahabad Bar Association, which initiated an indefinite strike. The association firmly opposed the appointment of a judge facing corruption allegations and declared it would not accept such decisions.

Various other Bar associations extended their support to the Allahabad Bar, urging the Chief Justice of India to revoke Justice Varma’s transfer order. They further warned that if their concerns were not addressed, high court bar associations nationwide would stage demonstrations.

Earlier this week, Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna constituted a three-member panel to conduct an in-depth investigation into the allegations, which have caused significant upheaval in the legal community.

Justice Varma, however, has refuted all accusations, asserting that he is being subjected to defamatory media reports.