Collegium shifts another judge

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer of Delhi high court judge Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma to the Calcutta high court, marking another significant judicial reshuffle in the wake of allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma following the purported discovery of cash at his residence.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and members of the Supreme Court collegium met leaders of various bar associations on Thursday and assured them that their concerns regarding Justice Yashwant Varma's transfer to the Allahabad high court would be taken into account. In addition to the transfer order, Justice Varma is also facing an in-house inquiry following a reported discovery of a large amount of cash on March 14 from his official residence.

"The CJI assured us to consider our demand over Justice Yashwant Varma's transfer," said Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari after the meeting. The bar leaders also stated that the CJI conveyed that even if the transfer to the Allahabad high court proceeds, judicial work would remain withdrawn from Justice Varma.

The meeting was prompted by a memorandum submitted by bar associations from the high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka and Lucknow, which urged the collegium to withdraw its recommendation to transfer Justice Varma. The representatives met Justices BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, apart from the CJI.

This follows a turbulent week in the judiciary, beginning with a fire at Justice Varma's residence on March 14. Firefighters responding to the incident reportedly found large amounts of cash in a storeroom, some of which were charred. At the time, Justice Varma and his wife were in Bhopal.