Petition Seeks Criminal Probe Following In-House Committee Report on Cash Row
New Delhi, May 14 — The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to urgently list a petition demanding the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court over allegations stemming from a recent cash recovery controversy.A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih directed the petitioner and advocate Mathews Nedumpara to adhere to the court’s formal mentioning procedure. “Please go through the mentioning procedure,” Chief Justice Gavai said, referring to the current protocol requiring litigants to email the Supreme Court registry for urgent listings.
The plea, filed by Nedumpara and three others, seeks immediate criminal proceedings against Justice Varma. The petitioners argue that the internal inquiry panel, which has already concluded its review, found the allegations against the judge to be prima facie true. They stressed that while the internal judicial process may prompt disciplinary measures, it cannot replace the need for a formal police investigation under criminal law.
Earlier, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had declined oral mentions for urgent hearings and had emphasized adherence to the written submission process through the registry.
Following the findings of the in-house committee, Justice Varma was reportedly encouraged to resign. However, upon his refusal, the former CJI wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the issue.
The current petition follows an earlier plea filed in March, in which the same petitioners challenged the validity of the in-house inquiry and demanded a criminal investigation. At that time, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea as premature due to the ongoing nature of the internal inquiry.
With the inquiry now concluded, the petitioners argue that further delay in initiating criminal action is unjustified.
