PIL Filed Before Supreme Court Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma: Know Details [See PIL Copy]

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court by Advocate Mathews J. Nedumpara and 2 other lawyers and 1 CA seeking the directions for registering a First Information Report (FIR) against Justice Yashwant Varma.

The petition states that in Justice Yashwant Varma’s case no FIR has been filed to the knowledge of the Petitioners. The public perception is that very effort will be made to cover up the issue, to the extent even the initial statements regarding recovery of money is now being refuted.

However, the Supreme Court uploading on its website the report of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi along with the explanation from Justice Varma and the video of the fire force dousing huge volumes of currency notes, has to some extend helped public trust to be restored.

However, the common man and media channels, not lawyers and judges who comment on public platforms, keep asking the same question, why no FIR was registered on 14th March, on the day of the occurrence. Why no arrests were made, why the money was not seized, why no mahazar prepared, why the criminal law was not put into motion. Why it took over almost a week for the public to know about the scandal. Why did the Supreme Court and its collegium not tell the public at large that such a shocking incident had happened and that it is in possession of the videos and records sent to it by the Ministry of Home and other agencies, so also, why did the Chief of the fire force go on to deny that no cash was recovered and thereafter contradict it.

Justice Varma in his explanation has stated that it is not his money, that he never kept any money, he is fully taken aback by it. Then why did he not report to the police and seek the registration of an FIR of an attempt to falsely implicate him. Why did he not at all report the matter to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and the Chief Justice of India. 

“The case at hand is an open and shut case. It is a case of holding black money accumulated by selling justice. Even attempting to believe Justice Varma’s own version, the question still remains as to why he did not file an FIR. Filing an FIR even belatedly is absolutely necessary to enable the police to enable the police to investigate the conspiracy aspect,” the PIL read.

About The Petitioner Who Are Lawyers 

The Petitioner, Advocate Mathews J. Nedumpara is an advocate and has been spearheading a campaign for transparency and reforms in judiciary, titled the National Lawyers’ Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms, which is an NGO registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act. The other Petitioners are also lawyers practicing in the High Court of Bombay and are the General Secretary and Joint Secretary, respectively, of the NLC. 

The another petitioner is a Chartered Accountant and the President of the MSME Association.

The Petitioner’s being lawyers and citizens consider that they have locus standi, nay, that is their bounden duty to take up the issue before this Hon’ble Court to ensure that if Justice Varma has in fact committed the offence of accumulating wealth through corrupt means, he shall be subjected to criminal prosecution, even an impeachment by itself will not suffice.

Prayer In PIL

1. To declare that the incident of recovery of huge sums of unaccounted money, reportedly Rs. 15 crores, from the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, by the fire force/police when their services for sought to douse fire, constitute a cognisable offence punishable under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and that the police is duty bound to register an FIR and that the observations in paragraph 60 of the judgment of the Supreme Court in K. Veeraswami v. UOI prohibiting that no criminal case shall be registered against a judge of a High court or Supreme Court without the prior permission of the Chief Justice of India is one rendered per incuriam and sub silentio.
2. To declare that the observations in paragraph 60 of the judgment in K. Veeraswami v. Union of India that no FIR shall be registered against the judges of the High Court or Supreme Court without the prior permission of the Chief Justice of India is one rendered per incuriam and sub silentio and that the police is duty bound to register an FIR when it receives information of a cognisable offence.
3. To declare that the 3-member Committee constituted by the collegium has no jurisdiction to conduct an investigation into the incident that occurred on 14th March, 2025, at the official resident of Justice Yashwant Varma where heaps of currency notes were by chance recovered in a fire constituting various cognisable under the BNS, and that the resolution of the collegium investing the Committee the power to conduct such an investigation is one rendered void ab initio inasmuch as the collegium cannot confer jurisdiction upon itself to order so where the Parliament or the Constitution has conferred none.
4. To issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondents/Delhi Police to register an FIR and cause an effective and meaningful investigation;
5. To issue a writ in the nature of prohibition or any other writ, order or direction, restraining and prohibiting any person or authority, even authorities as contemplated in K. Veeraswami’s case, from interfering with the sovereign policing function of the state, nay, in registering an FIR and investigating the crime.
6. To issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Government to take effective and meaningful action for curbing corruption across all levels of judiciary, including the enactment of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, which had lapsed.

Read More: Unaccounted Cash Discovery: Delhi High Court Withdraws Judicial Work from Justice Yashwant Varma