A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking to halt the swearing-in of Justice Yashwant Varma, who was recently transferred from the Delhi High Court to Allahabad. The petition, filed by advocate Vikash Chaturvedi through advocate Ashok Pandey, argues that the transfer and proposed oath-taking violate constitutional principles.
The petitioner questions the legitimacy of administering an oath to Justice Varma, given that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has already directed the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice not to assign him any judicial work.
“When the Chief Justice of India has ordered that Justice Yashwant Varma should not be given any work, what purpose does his oath-taking serve?” the plea states.
It further argues that a judge swears an oath to faithfully perform judicial duties, and withholding work from Justice Varma after taking the oath diminishes its constitutional significance, reducing it to a mere formality.
The PIL contends that a judge can only be denied judicial work if formally removed by a Presidential order. However, the petitioner stated that if the High Court assures that Justice Varma will be assigned work like other judges, there would be no objection to the oath ceremony.
Additionally, the petitioner has sought the quashing of Justice Varma’s transfer from Delhi to Allahabad, arguing that the High Court Chief Justice, as the master of the roster, is responsible for allocating work and that the CJI has no role in this matter.
Justice Varma came under scrutiny after a fire broke out at his residence on March 14, allegedly leading to the discovery of unaccounted cash by firefighters. Reports suggest that a video of the burnt cash was shared by the Delhi Police Commissioner with the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. At the time of the incident, Justice Varma and his wife were in Madhya Pradesh, while his daughter and elderly mother were at home.
Following these allegations, the CJI initiated an in-house probe on March 21, forming a three-member committee to investigate the matter. The Supreme Court also made public a report from the Delhi High Court Chief Justice on the incident, along with Justice Varma’s response.
Based on the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendation on March 24, the Central government officially notified Justice Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court on March 28. Subsequently, the Supreme Court instructed the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice not to allocate any judicial work to him.
