NEW DELHI, Mar 28: Despite strong protests by the bar association, the Centre on Friday issued an order transferring the tainted Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to Allahabad High Court, his parent body, as per the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium.
The Law Ministry issued a notification announcing his transfer. The Centre has also notified the transfers of Orissa HC judge, Justice Arindam Sinha, and Delhi HC judge, C.D. Singh, to Allahabad High Court.
The Supreme Court has asked the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, for the time being, not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma, when he assumes charge as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court.
Recommending his transfer earlier this week, the Supreme Court Collegium had asserted the move was separate from an in-house probe being ordered over the alleged discovery of cash from Justice Varma’s home after a fire incident on the night of Holi on March 14.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association had given a call for indefinite strike in protest against the proposed transfer of Justice Varma from whose official residence in Delhi sacks of cash were allegedly recovered after the fire incident. In a strongly worded letter to the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association had said, “This decision of the Collegium of the Supreme Court raises a serious question as to whether the Allahabad High Court is trash bin?
“This matter becomes important when we examine the current situation wherein the Allahabad High Court is short of judges,” the letter issued by Anil Tiwari, president of the bar association, reads, while adding that new judges have not been appointed for “many years.” “We are not ready to accept corruption,” it added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
