NEW DELHI: Amidst the controversy surrounding allegations of a large amount of unaccounted cash found at Justice Yashwant Varma's official residence in New Delhi on 14 March, the Central government on Friday issued a formal notification approving his transfer from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.
A fire at Justice Varma's official residence on 14 March allegedly led to the detection of wads of burnt cash. Justice Varma has denied the allegations.
Following this development, the Supreme Court, in a statement, directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma when he assumes charge.
“The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma, when he assumes charge as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court," read a statement issued by the Supreme Court.
The Central government's notification came a week after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court.
"In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, Delhi High Court, to be a Judge of Allahabad High Court and to direct him to assume charge of his office in the Allahabad High Court," the notification stated.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna subsequently formed a three-member in-house panel to inquire into the allegations. The panel consists of Justice Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana; Justice Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh; and Justice Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka.
The Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Varma triggered an indefinite strike by the state bar association on 25 March.
Justice Varma, in his response, stated that the room where the fire broke out and the cash was allegedly found was an outhouse, separate from his main residence.
"I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous," Justice Varma stated in his reply, a copy accessed by TNIE.
"The suggestion that one would store cash in an open, freely accessible and commonly used storeroom near the staff quarters or in an outhouse verges on the incredible and incredulous. It is a room which is completely disassociated from my living areas, and a boundary wall demarcates my living area from that outhouse. I only wish that the media had conducted some enquiry before I came to be indicted and defamed in the press," he added.