Allahabad High Court Bar on indefinite strike after Collegium recommends repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma

Aggrieved by the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma from Delhi High Court to Allahabad High Court, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has declared an indefinite strike starting today..The Bar Association head has also urged the Central government not to clear the Supreme Court Collegium's decision."In the General Assembly of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association held today, on 24.03.2025, a proposal was passed unanimously stating that we will strongly oppose any future attempts to transfer Hon'ble Justice Shri Yashwant Varma of the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court. However, despite this, the Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting today, ignored the demand of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association and passed an order for the transfer of Hon'ble Justice Shri Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Deeply upset by this, we have unanimously decided to abstain from judicial work until further notice," the Bar body's resolution passed on March 24 said..The Bar Association also announced that the Photo Affidavit Centre will remain closed indefinitely from March 26 due to the suspension of judicial work and no fresh cases can be filed.The Association also cautioned that if any oath commissioners or government advocates continue their duties on Tuesday, it will not oppose any action taken against them..In the line of fire: A timeline of the Justice Yashwant Varma controversy.Yesterday, the Bar Association had also passed a resolution calling for impeachment proceedings to be initiated against Justice Varma.The developments took place in the wake of the recovery of unaccounted cash from an outhouse at Justice Varma's residence last week after firefighters went there to douse a fire. The incident led to allegations of corruption against Justice Varma, who has denied such accusations and maintained that it appears to be a conspiracy to frame him.The CJI on March 22 initiated an in-house inquiry, and tasked a panel of three High Court judges to examine the allegations against Justice Varma.The Allahabad HCBA expressed appreciation for this gesture but said that this is not enough as judges cannot be the judge of their own cause..Notably, on March 20, the Collegium had met to discuss the repatriation of Justice Varma back to his parent High Court, the Allahabad High Court. An official statement was not released right away, but the Allahabad Bar was quick to oppose any such transfer.On March 24 evening, the Collegium published an official statement recommending Justice Varma's transfer to the Allahabad High Court.However, the Allahabad HCBA, which had already vowed to oppose this proposal tooth and nail, decided to go on an indefinite strike starting today as soon as the Collegium's notification was issued..[Read Resolution]