The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has decided to suspend its strike against the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court, pending the outcome of an in-house inquiry into the allegations against him.
In a resolution passed on March 29, the HCBA announced that the ongoing boycott of judicial work would be put on hold until the three-judge inquiry committee submits its report on the unaccounted cash recovered from Justice Varma’s residence on March 14. Regular court proceedings will resume from April 1, 2025.
Key decisions taken during the HCBA meeting included:
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Suspending the strike until the inquiry report is received, with further actions to be decided based on its findings.
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Establishing a Photo Identification Center to facilitate smoother judicial proceedings for litigants and advocates.
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Organizing a national-level press conference in Prayagraj on April 26-27, 2025, to rally support from High Court Bar Associations across the country.
The controversy arose when a fire at Justice Varma’s residence led to the discovery of unaccounted cash by firefighters. At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were traveling, and only his daughter and elderly mother were present at home. The incident sparked calls for impeachment and prompted Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to initiate an in-house probe by a three-judge committee.
Amid the ongoing debate, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court, a move that was strongly opposed by the HCBA. Following the Central government’s clearance of the transfer on March 28, the Supreme Court directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma for the time being.
While the HCBA has suspended its protest for now, it has resolved that its members will not attend Justice Varma’s oath-taking ceremony at the Allahabad High Court.
