The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a public interest plea (PIL) seeking registration of an FIR into the alleged recovery of a huge amount of cash from the outhouse of the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, now recommended to be transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
Terming the plea by petitioner advocate Mathews Nedumpara and others as “premature” since the in-house inquiry is going on, a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said that after the report of the in-house inquiry, all the options are open.
Declining to entertain the PIL, the bench remarked, “After the in-house inquiry is over, several options are open. CJI can direct the register of the FIR or refer the matter to the Parliament after examining the report. Today is not the time to consider this petition. After the in-house report, all options are open. The petition is premature.”
On March 22, 2025, the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, constituted a three-member committee consisting of High Court judges to conduct an inquiry into the allegations.
The committee comprises the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice GS Sandhawalia, and a judge of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Anu Sivaraman.
Not entertaining the plea, the bench said in its order, “Heard petitioner in person. As far as the grievance regarding the third respondent is concerned, as can be seen on the Supreme Court website, the in-house inquiry proceedings are underway. After the report is submitted by the committee, there will be several options open for the CJI. Therefore, it is not correct to entertain the plea at this stage… Plea disposed of.”
During the hearing, when petitioner advocate Mathews Nedumpara asked why FIR was not registered and no arrest was made into the incident, the bench said, “Today, we cannot interfere at this stage. Let the in-house procedure be over, and after that, all options are open to the Chief Justice of India.”
The petition had challenged as “per incuriam”, the top court judgment in K Veeraswami case, which mandates prior consultation with the Chief Justice of India before filing a criminal case against a sitting High Court or Supreme Court judge.
It further called for a declaration that the recovery of cash constitutes a cognisable offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, warranting a police investigation. The petitioner sought the enactment of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, to address judicial corruption.
Justice Yashwant Varma is at the centre of controversy after an alleged recovery of a stash of cash from the outhouse of his official residence in Delhi, following an outbreak of fire on March 14, 2025.
According to reports, the cash was found initially by firefighters who had come to extinguish the fire at Justice Verma’s residence. Justice Verma was not present at his residence when the fire broke out.
The Supreme Court had released the report of an inquiry conducted into the incident by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya. Justice Upadhyaya has said that he is of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a “deeper probe”.
The top court had also released the response of Justice Varma, who has denied the allegations and said that it clearly appeared to be a “conspiracy to frame and malign” him.
While taking away judicial work from Justice Verma, the Supreme Court Collegium had also recommended his transfer back to his parent high court, the Allahabad High Court.