Amid Cash Row, Twist In Justice Varma's Transfer Proposal After SC Clarification
The Supreme Court Collegium has initiated an in-house probe against Justice Varma and requested a report from Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay.
The proposal to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma, one of the senior-most judges of the Delhi High Court and a member of the Collegium there, to the Allahabad High Court was to ensure the institution continues to function smoothly, according to sources privy to the developments.
In the Allahabad High Court, Justice Varma, if transferred, would not be among the top three senior-most judges, which is why the decision was made.
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The Supreme Court has ordered an in-house probe into Justice Varma and sought a report from the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay. This comes after firefighters, who were responding to an incident at the judge’s bungalow last week, allegedly stumbled upon a pile of cash.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced that Justice Varma was transferred to the Allahabad High Court, and that the move was linked to the cash controversy. However, Justice Varma is yet to be transferred as the Supreme Court has not taken any decision on the judge’s transfer, according to the top court.
In a statement on Friday evening, the Supreme Court said that there is “misinformation and rumours being spread with regard to the incident at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma".
“On receiving the information, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court commenced the in-house enquiry procedure collecting evidence and information," the Supreme Court said in a press note.
“The proposal for transfer of Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma, who is the second senior most Judge in the Delhi High Court and a member of the Collegium, to his parent High Court i.e. the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, where he will be ninth in seniority, is independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure."
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association earlier wrote to the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna expressing its opposition to Justice Yashwant Verma’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court from the Delhi High Court.
“This decision of the collegium of the Supreme Court raises a serious question as to whether the Allahabad High Court is a trash bin? This matter becomes important when we examine the current situation wherein the Allahabad High Court is short of hon’ble judges and despite the continuous problems, new judges have not been appointed since the last many years. It is also of grave concern that while appointing judges by elevating members of the Bar, the Bar was never consulted," the bar association wrote in its letter to the Chief Justice of India.
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