New Delhi, March 27: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday assured representatives from various bar associations that the collegium would consider their request to withdraw the recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma. This assurance came after a meeting with bar leaders, including Anil Tiwari, the president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association.
The meeting, which took place at the Supreme Court, involved representatives from six bar associations across different high courts. In addition to CJI Khanna, Justices B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S. Oka, and Vikram Nath were also present. The bar leaders presented a memorandum to the collegium, expressing their concerns, and were assured that their demands would be given due consideration.
Tiwari indicated that the Allahabad High Court Bar Association would reassess whether to continue with its indefinite strike in light of the meeting. The association had been on strike since March 25, protesting the proposed repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent high court, Allahabad High Court.
Earlier in the day, the representatives from bar associations in Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka, and Lucknow submitted a memorandum to the CJI's office, seeking a meeting with him. The memorandum raised concerns about an alleged tampering of evidence following a fire incident at Justice Varma’s official residence on March 14, where burnt wads of cash were reportedly found. The bar associations questioned why an FIR had not been filed in connection with the incident.
