Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has instructed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma, who is currently under an in-house inquiry. The investigation stems from allegations of illicit cash being discovered at his official residence.

The directive follows the Central Government's notification regarding the repatriation of Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court back to the Allahabad High Court. In light of this, the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court has been advised to refrain from assigning judicial duties to Justice Varma upon his resumption of office at the Allahabad High Court. The decision has led to protests from the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, which has voiced strong opposition to his transfer.

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Last week, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had similarly directed the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to withdraw judicial work from Justice Varma. The controversy surrounding Justice Varma escalated after reports emerged on March 21 about a fire at a storeroom in the outhouse of his official residence. This fire incident reportedly led to the discovery of large sums of cash stored in sacks.

"On March 22, CJI Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma under the judiciary’s in-house procedure."

Following this, the Supreme Court took an unprecedented step by making public the video footage of the fire incident, the report submitted by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, and Justice Varma’s formal response. Justice Varma, in his defense, has denied any wrongdoing and claims that the allegations are part of a conspiracy against him.