Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 24: The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, recommended on Monday that Justice Yashwant Varma, currently serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court, be repatriated to the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Varma, who holds the position of the second senior-most judge at the Delhi High Court, has been embroiled in controversy following a recent incident. On March 14, a fire broke out at his bungalow in the national capital, and when fire officials went to extinguish the blaze, a large stash of burnt cash was reportedly discovered in a storeroom. This incident sent shockwaves through the judicial community.
In response to the event, CJI Khanna constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter and instructed the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court not to assign any judicial duties to Justice Varma in the interim. Following this, Delhi HC's Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya issued a notice on Monday stating that all judicial work assigned to Justice Varma would be withdrawn "with immediate effect until further orders."
The Supreme Court Collegium, after meetings held on March 20 and 24, officially recommended that Justice Varma be transferred back to the Allahabad High Court. The move was detailed in a statement released on the apex court's website.
The court also clarified that the proposal to transfer Justice Varma was entirely independent of the ongoing internal inquiry into the matter. The Collegium had carefully examined the proposal, which was discussed with the Chief Justices of the relevant High Courts, as well as Justice Varma himself, before making the recommendation.
According to the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) followed for judicial transfers, the CJI initiates the proposal in consultation with four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, and considers the views of the Chief Justices of the High Courts involved in the transfer.
Justice Varma, born in January 1969, is a graduate of Rewa University. He began his career in law primarily handling civil cases, including constitutional, industrial, corporate, taxation, and environmental matters. He was designated a senior advocate by the Allahabad High Court in 2013 and elevated to an Additional Judge at the Allahabad High Court in 2014. He was later transferred to the Delhi High Court in 2021.
The controversy surrounding the recent incident has now led to his recommended repatriation to his parent court in Allahabad.