Delhi high court judge, in the spotlight and under the scanner
Justice Yashwant Varma, known for limiting ED investigations, has been repatriated to Allahabad HC amid cash found at his home, raising corruption concerns.
Until Friday, Delhi high court judge Justice Yashwant Varma was known as the man who curbed the Enforcement Directorate’s zeal for investigation by ruling that the federal agency cannot probe any offence other than money laundering and that it cannot presume that there is an underlying crime (what is called a predicate offence).
Justice Varma delivered the verdict on January 24, 2023 in a case filed by Prakash Industries Limited, aggrieved by ED’s action of passing a provisional attachment order in November 2018.The case is currently being heard by a bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta.
But late on Thursday, the Supreme Court collegium, in an emergency meeting, decided to repatriate Varma, 56, to his parent court, the Allahabad HC, after it emerged that first responders seeking to douse a fire at his Delhi home -- he wasn’t present there at the time -- found a huge amount of cash.
Varma’s fate is now up to the report the Delhi HC’s chief justice DK Upadhyaya hands over to the Chief Justice of India, and whether or not the CJI deems it fit to set up a committee to investigate him, perhaps as a precursor to parliamentary action impeaching him.
Justice Varma went on leave Friday.
Born on January 6, 1969 at Allahabad, justice Varma, graduated with a commerce degree from Hansraj College, Delhi, and obtained a law degree from Rewa University, Madhya Pradesh. His legal journey spans three decades, beginning with his enrolment as an advocate on August 8, 1992.
He began practising law specialising in civil, constitutional, labour, industrial legislations, corporate and tax matters. He also served as a special counsel for the Allahabad high court from 2006 till his elevation and also held the office of the Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 till 2013, when he was designated senior advocate by the Allahabad high court.
Appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad high court in 2014 and confirmed as a permanent Judge in 2016, justice Varma took over as a Delhi high court judge on October 11, 2021. He has fiveyears and ninemonths of service left.
Following his appointment as Delhi high court judge, justice Verma headed various benches dealing with tax, arbitration, RTI, and land acquisition . From the day he was appointed, he headed a bench dealing with the Public Premises (Act) and land acquisition matters till February 2022. From March 2022 till November 2022, he held a miscellaneous roster in the high court and dealt with various cases relating to RTI, Delhi Transport Corp, and sports. During his tenure he was also the judge in charge of Delhi high court’s original side and dealt with arbitration cases from November 2022 till July 2023. From July, 2023 he headed various benches dealing with income tax appeals, direct tax, service tax, and the Central Excise Act.
When he was an advocate in the Allahabad high court, he also served as non-executive director of the Uttar Pradesh-based company, Simbhaoli Sugars. He resigned from the position upon his elevation as additional judge of the Allahabad high court in 2014.
In 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case against the company for alleged financial irregularities in repayment of bank loans during 2012-13. Initially, the first information report named Varma as one of the 10 directors. But CBI later dropped Varma’s name after realising that he was a judge who had resigned his position in 2014, said people aware of developments. Last year, the Supreme Court overturned a directive by the Allahabad high court that CBI should look into why seven banks gave Simbhaoli Sugars several loans even though they knew the company had a history of defaults.
Notable rulingsDuring his tenure as a Delhi high court judge, justice Varma delivered significant rulings in the area of taxation law. In March 2024, he made headlines after refusing to stay a notice issued by the Income Tax (I-T) department to the Congress party for recovery of over ₹105 crore outstanding tax for assessment year 2018-19, remarking that the party appeared to have fallen into deep slumber and stood reawakened only in January 2023 when a notice of demand came to be raised. In January this year, he held that Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea- based Samsung Electronics Co is not eligible to pay tax in India. A month later, he quashed ₹2,000 crore reassessment notice issued by the IT Department against car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Ltd .
He also dealt with various cases involving non-government organisations such as Oxfam India, CARE India. In January 2024, he stayed the order passed by the Income Tax department cancelling the tax exemption status of two non-government organisations, Oxfam India and CARE India, while in February this year he refused to entertain a plea filed by news portal News Click challenging IT department’s order directing it to pay over ₹19 crore as outstanding tax demand, on or before March 2.
While heading the miscellaneous roster, in January 2023 had ruled in favour of Netflix, while refusing to grant a stay on the release of the film “Trial by Fire” based on the 1997 Uphaar Cinema Tragedy.
But it was the ED ruling that propelled him to the headlines -- till Friday.
The issue has sparked discussions across the legal fraternity.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) on Friday opposed his transfer saying it raises a “serious question as to whether the Allahabad High Court is a trash bin”. In a letter, HCBA said corruption is unacceptable and that it “was taken aback” by the decision to transfer justice Verma to his parent high court.
