The Union government on Friday approved the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court in the cash haul case. The government notified the repatriation, acting on the March 24 recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium. Justice Varma has been directed to assume his position, but the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court has been asked not to assign any judicial work to him for the time being as a judge there.

After the government’s notification, Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna issued a mandate for the Allahabad high court chief justice not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma, pending the inquiry.
Additionally, the Centre also approved the repatriation of another Delhi High Court judge, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, to the Allahabad High Court. The repatriation recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium had also been pending.

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In November 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium, led by CJI Sanjeev Khanna and also comprising Justices BR Gavai and Suryakant, had recommended Justice Singh’s repatriation to his parent court.

Both, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh and Justice Yashwant Sharma had been transferred to the Delhi High Court in October 2021.

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The Collegium had recommended Justice Varma’s repatriation to the Allahabad High Court after the recovery of a cash pile from his residential premises during a fire incident on March 14. Following the incident, the Delhi High Court registry had also withdrawn all judicial work assigned to Justice Varma.
The CJI has already constituted a three-member panel to conduct a detailed probe into the cash pile recovery that sent shockwaves in legal circles. The probe is expected to assess the allegations and determine whether Justice Varma’s continuation as a judge is tenable.

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Justice Varma has dismissed the charges and claims that he is being defamed in the press.

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However, the decision of his transfer by the Supreme Court Collegium was met with protests by the Allahabad Bar Association, which started an indefinite strike saying it would not tolerate judges facing corruption charges and urged the CJI to withdraw Justice Varma’s transfer recommendation. The Allahabad Bar Association is demanding his impeachment instead.

Justice Varma landed in a controversy after firefighters responding to a fire at his Tughlak Road residence on March 14 found stacks of cash, some of which were allegedly charred. The incident led to widespread consternation and calls for a thorough investigation into the matter.

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