THE Government on Friday notified the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court, the order coming amid a row over alleged discovery of a huge amount of cash from his official residence here.The Law Ministry issued a notification announcing his transfer. Recommending his repatriation to the Government on Monday, the Supreme Court Collegium had asserted the move was separate from an in-house probe ordered by the top court over the alleged discovery of cash from Justice Varma’s residence after a fire incident around 11.35 on the night of Holi, March 14. Following the incident, Chief Justice of India had directed the Delhi High Court to withdraw judicial work from the judge. On March 21, the Supreme Court said Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya had initiated an in-house inquiry against Justice Varma and there was a separate proposal to transfer the judge. Justice Upadhyaya was stated to have commenced the inquiry prior to a meeting of the apex court Collegium on March 20.

 

 

CALLING it “premature”, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a PIL seeking Delhi Police to register an FIR over the alleged discovery of burnt wads of cash from the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said an in-house inquiry was in progress and there would be several options open to the Chief Justice of India after the probe’s conclusion. The bench, therefore, refused to examine the plea of advocate Mathews J Nedumpara and three others. 

 

 

STRONGLY opposing the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court, its Bar Association President on Friday called it the “darkest day for India’s judiciary” and announced they will boycott his swearing-in ceremony. Justice Varma’s transfer notification comes days after a large amount of cash was allegedly found at his official residence in Delhi. The Allahabad High Court lawyers have been on strike since Tuesday, and Friday marks the fourth day of their protest against the transfer. Speaking to PTI on Friday, Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari said, “The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has decided to boycott his swearing-in ceremony. Our strike may change its form, but the fight will continue.” Tiwari further stated, “I don’t know what compelled the Government to issue this transfer notification, but we still trust that it will intervene. We have called an emergency meeting tonight with senior advocates to decide our next course of action.” Asserting that the transfer was unfair, Tiwari said, “We are fighting for the common people. This is injustice, and the Allahabad High Court has been turned into a dumping ground.”