Parth Bajaj
On April 3, 2025, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking to prevent the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Yashwant Varma. Justice Varma, who was recently transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, is currently under an in-house investigation concerning allegations of possessing illicit cash at his residence . The petition, filed by Advocate Vikash Chaturvedi through Advocate Ashok Pandey, argues that Justice Varma’s transfer and oath-taking violate principles of Indian Constitution
The petitioner raised concerns over the uncertainty surrounding the oath, given that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna had already directed the High Court Chief Justice not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma. “The question is, when the Chief Justice of India has ordered that Sri Yashwant Verma should not be allocated any work, then for what purpose will he be administered the oath by the Chief Justice of this High Court?” the plea questioned. The petition further contended that if Justice Varma is not assigned judicial work after taking the oath, the process would be rendered meaningless and unconstitutional.
Additionally, the PIL sought the quashing of Justice Varma’s transfer from Delhi to Allahabad. The controversy began when a fire broke out at his Delhi residence on March 14, leading to the discovery of unaccounted cash by firefighters. A video of the recovery of burnt cash was also apparently shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the High Court. Justice Varma and his wife were in Madhya Pradesh at the time, while only his daughter and elderly mother were present at home.
Following the incident, the Chief Justice of India initiated an in-house probe on March 21, forming a three-member committee to investigate the allegations. The Supreme Court later released a report by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice detailing the incident along with Justice Varma’s response. On March 24, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended his transfer, and the Central government issued a notification on March 28 confirming his posting to the Allahabad High Court.
Despite these developments, the Supreme Court instructed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma till further order.
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