On Monday, the Supreme Court declined an urgent listing of a petition seeking registration of an FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court in connection with the cash discovery incident at his official residence.
A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran turned down the request made by advocate Mathews Nedumpara, who sought an immediate hearing of what he claimed was his third petition on the issue. "Do you want it to be dismissed right now?" the Chief Justice asked, noting that the matter would be listed in due course.
The bench expressed strong disapproval when the advocate repeatedly referred to the sitting high court judge simply as "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. He is still a judge of the court," the CJI said. In response to the lawyer’s insistence that an FIR was mandatory and the matter needed urgent listing, the Chief Justice curtly remarked, "Please don’t dictate to the court."
The development comes in the wake of a report by a three-member in-house judicial inquiry panel which found Justice Varma guilty of misconduct in connection with the discovery of a large amount of half-burnt cash at his official residence in March. The incident occurred when Justice Varma was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court. He has since been transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
The inquiry panel, headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, conducted a 10-day probe, during which it examined 55 witnesses and inspected the premises where the fire broke out around 11:35 PM on March 14. The panel concluded that Justice Varma and his family members had covert or active control over the store room where the cash was found, which, according to the report, constituted serious judicial misconduct warranting his removal.
Pursuant to the findings, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna recommended Justice Varma’s impeachment, writing to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 8. The government is expected to table a motion seeking his removal during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, beginning July 21.
Justice Varma has since approached the Supreme Court seeking to quash both the inquiry panel's findings and the impeachment recommendation, arguing that the proceedings violated principles of due process and natural justice.
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