Bench besieged

At the heart of the Justice Varma controversy is a consequential issue: the institutional confrontation between judiciary and executive

- BY KANU SARDA

ONCE A SHARP, eloquent debater from St Joseph's College, Allahabad— the kind who entered competitions not just to participate but to win— Justice Yashwant Varma carved a name for himself as a figure driven by intellect and ambition. But today, that image is shadowed by controversy. Long known for his courtroom clarity, Varma finds himself at the centre of a storm after unaccounted cash was reportedly found at his Delhi residence while he was away from the city.

Varma belonged to that rare breed: intellectually sharp, clear in thought, firm in his opinions, and quietly efficient. Born on January 6, 1969, in what was then Allahabad (now Prayagraj), he grew up in a family steeped in legal tradition. His father, the late Justice A. N. Varma, served as a judge of the Allahabad High Court from 1978 to 1992. In such an environment, dinner-table conversations often revolved around law, justice and public service—shaping Yashwant's worldview long before he donned the robe. He later moved to Delhi for higher studies, where he honed both his intellect and confidence. At Hansraj College, University of Delhi, he pursued BCom (Honours), delving deep into numbers, commerce and critical thinking.

But it was not just academics that engaged him. Known among his peers for incisive reasoning and eloquence, he eventually gravitated towards the legal arena, enrolling for LLB at Rewa University, Madhya Pradesh. Returning to Allahabad, he registered as an advocate on August 8, 1992, embarking on a wide-ranging legal practice. He handled matters across constitutional law, labour disputes, corporate litigation, taxation and more. Colleagues recall him as meticulous and sharp—never one to shy away from complexity, always pursuing clarity.