Allahabad High Court Bar Association ends strike against Justice Yashwant Varma transfer

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA), which has been protesting the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court, suspended their strike on March 29, Saturday, until the completion of an in-house inquiry against the judge..According to a resolution passed that day, the lawyers' strike will remain suspended until the three-judge inquiry committee concludes its investigation into Justice Varma and the unaccounted cash recovered from his residence by firefighters on March 14. .The following resolutions were passed during the March 29 HCBA meeting:- The direction of the protest was altered, and a new strategy was adopted. It was unanimously decided to suspend the ongoing judicial work boycott by the High Court Bar Association until the inquiry report on Justice Yashwant Varma is received. Further decisions will be made based on the report. Judicial work will resume as usual from Tuesday, April 1, 2025.- A proposal was passed to establish a Photo Identification Center to benefit litigants and advocates, ensuring smoother judicial proceedings.- It was also unanimously decided to hold a national-level press conference at the High Court Bar Association in Prayagraj on April 26-27, 2025, to strengthen the movement and garner support from High Court Bar Associations across the country..A fire at Justice Varma's house on the evening of March 14 had inadvertently led to the recovery of unaccounted cash by the firefighters. Justice Varma and his wife were not in Delhi and were travelling in Madhya Pradesh on the said day. Only his daughter and aged mother were at home when the fire broke out.The recovery of the cash sparked controversy, including calls to impeach the judge.On March 21, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna initiated an in-house probe into the matter and tasked three High Court judges with carrying out this inquiry. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also published a report of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice on the incident, along with Justice Varma's response..Notably, amid strong opposition, the Supreme Court Collegium also decided to transfer Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court to his parent High Court of Allahabad.The Allahabad HCBA reacted by declaring that they would go on an indefinite strike.The Central government cleared Justice Varma's transfer to the Allahabad High Court on March 28. The same day, the Supreme Court asked the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma for now..Supreme Court asks Allahabad High Court Chief Justice to not assign work to Justice Yashwant Varma.Following these developments, the Allahabad HCBA has decided to suspend their agitation for now, until the inquiry report on Justice Varma is submitted.The Bar Association has also resolved that lawyers will not attend Justice Varma's oath-taking ceremony at the Allahabad High Court..[Read Resolution]