Over 50 matters in the Delhi High Court that were being heard by a division bench headed by Justice Yashwant Varma will be heard afresh, the court has notified. Justice Varma, who has been at the centre of a storm after cash was found at his New Delhi home during a fire on March 14, has been repatriated to the Allahabad HC — although with no judicial work allotted following instructions from the Chief Justice of India to this effect. A three-judge in-house inquiry is also underway against Justice Varma. Notifying the decision in the daily causelist (list of cases slotted for hearing for a day) issued for April 21, the notice states, “It is notified for information of all concerned that following matters which were listed before the division bench comprising Hon’ble Mr Justice Yashwant Varma and Hon’ble Mr Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar in which next date of hearing has been given but no orders have been drawn therein shall be listed and heard afresh before the roster bench on the respective dates already given.” The notice lists 52 such matters, including civil writ petitions. The matters date from 2013 to 2025. These include a batch of at least 22 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions of the NDMC Act pertaining to taxation on properties. Since the withdrawal of judicial work from Justice Varma — officially from March 24 — advocates had been routinely making an oral mention before Delhi HC Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, seeking directions on their matters heard by the division bench and where orders or verdicts were reserved. At the time, CJ Upadhyaya had orally suggested to lawyers to give an application to this effect to either the HC Registrar General or CJ Upadhyaya’s private secretary, with an assurance that their grievance will be looked into.
