SC To Consider Plea Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma

The Supreme Court on Monday granted assent to hearing a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma pertaining to the cash discovered at his home during a fire. The petition was submitted by lawyer Mathews Nedumpara who urged the court to schedule the hearing for Wednesday as he would not be available on Tuesday. 

The bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih agreed to hear the matter on Wednesday if the “defects in the petition are cured”. 

The petition was filed by Nedumpara along with three others that asked for the immediate initiation of criminal proceedings against Justice Varma. The petitioners argued that the allegations levelled against him were found to be prima-facie true in the investigation conducted by the in-house committee. The petitioners asserted that the internal inquiry might lead to judicial action but the applicable statutes call for a criminal investigation to also be undertaken. 

The petitioners had earlier approached the court in March demanding a criminal investigation against the accused. However, the plea was dismissed by the court claiming the plea to be premature while also citing the pending nature of the internal proceedings. With the inquiry now being complete, the petition for conducting a criminal investigation has been filed again. 

The report concerning the allegations against Justice Varma was sent to the President and the Prime Minister by the then CJI Sanjiv Khanna on May 9.