Justice Yashwant Varma Sworn in at Allahabad High Court As Judge Amid Ongoing Graft Probe

Justice Yashwant Varma was officially sworn in as a judge of the Allahabad High Court today, April 5, following his recent transfer from the Delhi High Court - his parent court - amidst a continuing in-house investigation concerning unaccounted cash found at his residence, reported barandbench.com.

The transfer, recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium, came in the wake of a fire incident at Justice Varma's Delhi home on March 14, during which firefighters discovered a stockpile of cash.

Photo Credit: www.allahabadhighcourt.in

At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were reportedly away in Madhya Pradesh, while only his daughter and elderly mother were present at the residence.

The incident sparked serious allegations of corruption and even led to calls for Justice Varma's impeachment.

In response, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna initiated an in-house inquiry on March 21, appointing a panel of three High Court judges to probe the matter. Justice Varma, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing, suggesting that a conspiracy may be behind the entire episode.

Despite resistance from both the Allahabad and Lucknow Bar Associations, who had staged protests and even called for an indefinite strike, the Central government approved the transfer on March 28.

The Bar Association suspended its strike the following day after CJI Khanna instructed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to allocate any judicial responsibilities to Justice Varma until the inquiry concludes.

Nonetheless, Justice Varma took his oath of office today in Allahabad, where he will remain on the bench without being assigned judicial duties for the time being.