SC Declines Urgent Hearing on Plea Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma in Cash Row
The Supreme Court declined an urgent listing of a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court, who is at the center of a major controversy involving the discovery of a large amount of half-burnt cash.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran refused to expedite the hearing, despite persistent requests by petitioner and advocate Mathews Nedumpara. “Do you want it to be dismissed right now?” the CJI asked, making it clear that the plea would be heard in due course.
Nedumpara argued that this was his third petition on the issue and that immediate action was necessary. “It is impossible to be dismissed. An FIR has to be registered. Now Varma seems to be asking for that only,” he asserted. However, the bench was unimpressed, particularly taking issue with the petitioner’s repeated reference to the high court judge as simply “Varma.”
“Is he your friend? He is still Justice Varma. How do you address him? Have some decorum. You are referring to a learned judge,” the Chief Justice admonished, urging respectful conduct in court.
This development comes on the heels of a recent petition filed by Justice Varma himself in the Supreme Court, challenging the findings of an internal judicial inquiry panel that held him guilty of misconduct. The panel’s report linked him and his family members to control over a storeroom where a significant amount of half-burnt currency was discovered following a late-night fire on March 14, at his official residence in Delhi.
The three-member inquiry committee, led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, conducted a 10-day investigation, examined 55 witnesses, and visited the scene of the fire. Based on its findings, the panel concluded that the misconduct was grave enough to warrant Justice Varma’s removal.
Acting on the report, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 8, recommending impeachment proceedings. Justice Varma has since moved the top court, seeking to quash the recommendation and the panel’s findings.
The government is expected to introduce a motion for his removal during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, which began today.
The case has triggered intense debate within legal circles, raising concerns about judicial accountability, institutional decorum, and the process of handling allegations against sitting judges.
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