Today, On 19th May, Supreme Court to hear petition demanding FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma in alleged cash scandal. The plea seeks criminal action in connection with the controversy, raising serious questions over judicial conduct and accountability.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list for urgent hearing a plea requesting the registration of an FIR against Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma regarding the cash discovery controversy.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih acknowledged the submission from lawyer and petitioner Mathews Nedumpara, stating that the case could be heard on Tuesday if any defects in the petition are corrected.
The CJI noted,
“It can be listed tomorrow if defects (in the petition) are cured,”
Nedumpara responded that he would address any issues in the petition but requested that the hearing be scheduled for Wednesday as he would be unavailable on Tuesday. The bench agreed to list it for Wednesday, contingent upon the defects being resolved.
Following an in-house inquiry that found the judge to be at fault, former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had urged Justice Varma to resign. After Varma refused, the former CJI wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the matter.
The petition, filed by Nedumpara and three others, called for the immediate initiation of criminal proceedings, asserting that the in-house committee found the allegations against Justice Varma to be prima facie true.
The plea emphasized that while the internal inquiry may lead to judicial disciplinary action, it does not replace the need for a criminal investigation under applicable laws.
In March, the same petitioners had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the in-house inquiry and demand a formal police investigation.
However, the court dismissed their plea at that time as premature due to the ongoing internal proceedings. Now that the inquiry is complete, the petitioners argued that any delay in pursuing criminal action is no longer justifiable.
On the evening of March 14th, a fire erupted at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence. While Justice Varma and his wife were traveling in Madhya Pradesh, his daughter and elderly mother were present when the fire broke out. Firefighters responding to the scene reportedly discovered a substantial amount of unaccounted cash.
A video subsequently emerged depicting bundles of currency engulfed in flames, sparking allegations of corruption against Justice Varma. He refuted these accusations, suggesting a conspiracy to discredit him.
In response, the Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) launched an internal investigation, forming a three-member committee on March 22nd to conduct an inquiry.
The Delhi Police Commissioner shared the video of the burnt cash with the Chief Justice of the High Court. The Supreme Court later released the video to the public. In an unusual move, the Supreme Court also published a report from the Delhi High Court Chief Justice concerning the incident, along with Justice Varma’s reply.
The Supreme Court Collegium’s decision to transfer Justice Varma amid this controversy faced significant opposition from lawyers’ associations in Uttar Pradesh. However, the Central government approved the transfer on March 28.
The Central Government announced the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court back to his original position at the Allahabad High Court.
This decision followed a recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium made on March 24.
Additionally, The Supreme Court of India directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial responsibilities to Justice Yashwant Varma.