CJI meets Bar body members over justice Varma’s transfer
The meeting was prompted by a memorandum submitted by bar associations from high courts
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and members of the Supreme Court collegium met leaders of various bar associations on Thursday and assured them that their concerns regarding justice Yashwant Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad high court would be taken into account. In addition to the transfer order, justice Varma is also facing an in-house inquiry following a reported discovery of a large amount of cash on March 14 from his official residence.
“The CJI assured us to consider our demand over justice Yashwant Varma’s transfer,” said Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari after the meeting. The bar leaders also stated that the CJI conveyed that even if the transfer to the Allahabad high court proceeds, judicial work would remain withdrawn from justice Varma.
The meeting was prompted by a memorandum submitted by bar associations from the high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka and Lucknow, which urged the collegium to withdraw its recommendation to transfer justice Varma. The representatives met justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, apart from the CJI.
This follows a turbulent week in the judiciary, beginning with a fire at justice Varma’s residence on March 14. Firefighters responding to the incident reportedly found large amounts of cash in a storeroom, some of which were charred. At the time, justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal.
In a parallel development on Monday, Delhi high court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay withdrew all judicial work from justice Varma, as per CJI Khanna’s directive. Later in the day, the Supreme Court collegium recommended repatriating justice Varma to his parent high court, the Allahabad high court. This recommendation is now pending approval from the Union government.
Justice Varma has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations a “conspiracy to malign” him. He has asserted that neither he nor his family members had any knowledge of the money found at his residence, dismissing the claims as “totally preposterous.”
His transfer to the Allahabad high court has sparked resistance from the Allahabad HCBA, which has questioned whether the court is being used as a “dumping ground” for judges facing controversy.
Several Bar Associations, including those from the high courts of Allahabad, Kerala, Karnataka, and Gujarat, also issued a joint statement on Thursday, requesting the CJI to initiate a criminal investigation against justice Varma and to withdraw the recommendation to transfer him to Allahabad.
The statement also raised concerns about alleged tampering of evidence at justice Varma’s official residence, particularly regarding the removal of certain items on March 15. It emphasised that had criminal proceedings been initiated earlier, key evidence might have been preserved. The bar bodies warned that if their demands were not met, representatives would convene in Allahabad to show solidarity with the Allahabad HCBA.
Additionally, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the top court by Mathews J Nedumpara, seeking the registration of an FIR against justice Varma and challenging the three-member committee constituted by the CJI for the in-house inquiry. Notably, this PIL is scheduled to come up before a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday.
