Cash recovery row: Amid probe, Justice Yashwant Varma takes oath as Allahabad HC judge

Amid controversy over the alleged discovery of cash at his Delhi residence, Justice Yashwant Sharma took oath as judge of Allahabad High Court on Saturday. Justice Varma was transferred from Delhi to Allahabad High Court despite protest from the bar association.

According to reports, unlike usual oath-taking ceremonies, Justice Varma was sworn in within the chamber, in a private setting. However, Justice Varma has not been allotted any judicial work yet as per directions from Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

The Centre notified Justice Varma’s transfer to Allahabad High Court on March 28. The Supreme Court collegium, in two meetings held in March, recommended the transfer of Justice Varma. The apex court however maintained the transfer was separate from the in-house probe underway against Justice Varma over the alleged discovery of cash from his residence. On Wednesday, a PIL was moved in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court seeking a directive to the chief justice to refrain from administering the oath.

Justice Varma got caught in a row after huge amounts of unaccounted cash were allegedly recovered from the residence of Justice Varma in Delhi on March 14th night. Firefighters who rushed to Justice Varma’s residence to douse a fire stumbled upon the huge stash of cash. Justice Varma was reportedly not available at the residence at the time of the incident.

Delhi High Court chief justice conducted an in-house inquiry and based on the report, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed a three-judge panel to probe the allegations. In an unprecedented move, the inquiry report and evidence, including photos and videos, were published on the apex court’s website. In his statement, Justice Varma alleged the whole row was a conspiracy to malign his image.