Justice Yashwant Varma, a Delhi High Court judge, is facing controversy after unaccounted cash was found at his bungalow over the Holi weekend. He was appointed to the court in October 2021 after previously serving at the Allahabad High Court.

Justice Varma was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court in October 2014 and became a permanent judge in February 2016.  

As per the Delhi High Court website, he was born on January 6, 1969, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh. He studied B.Com (Honours) at Delhi University's Hansraj College and earned his LL.B. from Rewa University in Madhya Pradesh.

Justice Varma enrolled as an advocate at the Allahabad High Court on August 8, 1992.  

According to the High Court website, he specialized in constitutional matters, labor disputes, industrial and corporate laws, and taxation.

From 2006 until his appointment as a judge, Justice Varma served as the Special Counsel for the Allahabad High Court and later as the state's Chief Standing Counsel.  

The controversy began when unaccounted cash was discovered at his Delhi home during the High Court's Holi break. Firefighters, called to extinguish a blaze, found the money.  

In response, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Justice Varma back to the Allahabad High Court. Sources indicate that Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna viewed the matter seriously, and the Collegium took this step to protect the judiciary’s reputation.

Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has urged the Supreme Court to "start looking at how the appointment process (to nominate judges) takes place."