New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna met bar leaders on Thursday to discuss the proposed transfer of Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. The transfer recommendation has sparked opposition from several bar associations across the country.

Sources said the CJI's office called the representatives of the bar bodies for a meeting with Justice Khanna at around 1.45 pm and the meeting is still underway.

Several bar associations submitted a memorandum to the CJI’s office, urging the withdrawal of the collegium’s recommendation. The memorandum was presented by the bar associations of the high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka, and Lucknow.

The bar leaders have also raised concerns regarding an alleged incident at Justice Varma’s official residence, where burnt wads of cash were reportedly discovered following a fire on March 14. They have questioned why no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered regarding the incident.

Allahabad High Court Bar Association's protest

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has launched an indefinite strike from March 25 in protest against the proposed repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent high court.

The controversy began after a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s residence in Lutyens’ Delhi at around 11:35 pm on March 14. Fire officers rushed to the scene, where they allegedly found burnt cash in the aftermath of the incident.

Supreme Court’s response

In light of the situation, the Supreme Court collegium recommended the transfer of Justice Varma, from whom work had already been withdrawn by the Delhi High Court following a directive from the CJI. To investigate the matter further, the CJI constituted a three-member committee on March 22 to conduct an in-house inquiry. The committee’s report, along with an inquiry conducted by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay, is set to be made public.

Justice Varma denies allegations

Justice Yashwant Varma has strongly refuted the claims, asserting that neither he nor any of his family members had ever placed cash in the storeroom where the burnt wads were allegedly found.

PTI