'Why Not Notified': Allahabad Bar Association Raises Question on Justice Yashwant Varma's Oath-taking in 'Clandestine' Manner

Justice Yashwant Varma, who was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court amid allegations of cash being found at his residence, was sworn in on Saturday in what the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) described as a "clandestine" manner. The lawyers' body, which had opposed his transfer, condemned the move and questioned why the oath was not officially notified to the Bar.

In a letter dated April 5 to Chief Justice Arun Bhansali of the Allahabad High Court, HCBA secretary Vikrant Pandey said, "legally and traditionally, the oath administered to Justice Varma is fallacious and unacceptable." Pandey urged the Chief Justice not to assign any judicial or administrative work to Justice Varma.

"The entire Bar Association is at pains to learn about the clandestine manner in which Justice Yashwant Varma has been administered the oath of his office at Allahabad," the letter stated.

Pandey also referred to a meeting between the Bar and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in which the CJI had assured the Bar that appropriate steps would be taken to maintain the dignity of the judicial system. "We are given to understand that the system is taking every step in a fair and transparent manner, but why this oath is not notified to the Bar, is a question which again eroded the trust of people in the judicial system," he wrote.

The HCBA strongly condemned the way the oath was administered without the Bar’s knowledge. There has been no official statement from the high court regarding the swearing-in.

The controversy began after an in-house inquiry was ordered by the CJI into the discovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks" of Indian currency notes at Justice Varma’s residence following a fire last month in Holi. Justice Varma has denied knowledge of the money.

Pandey said that traditionally, oaths are administered in an open court and that excluding the legal community from this process could erode their confidence in the judiciary. "Subscription to oath has traditionally and continuously been conducted in open court," he wrote, adding that the majority of the judges were reportedly not informed about the swearing-in.

Pandey also said that the HCBA had passed a resolution condemning the oath and questioned its constitutional legitimacy. "Lawyers being equal stakeholders in the institution, cannot be kept away. The High Court Bar Association passed a resolution saying therein that this oath is against the Constitution of India and therefore, the members of the Association do not want to be associated with unconstitutional oath," he said.

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