Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Wednesday said a special bench would be constituted to hear a petition filed by Justice Yashwant Varma, who has challenged the findings of a three-judge in-house committee that indicted him after a large amount of cash was recovered from his official residence.
The Chief Justice also said that he was part of discussions with his predecessor, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and recused himself from the case.
The matter was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi. When senior advocate Kapil Sibal sought urgent listing of the petition, Chief Justice Gavai said, “It would not be proper for me to take up that matter. We will take a call and constitute a bench.”
Sibal, along with senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sidharth Luthra, and Siddharth Aggarwal, and advocates George Pothan Poothicote and Manisha Singh, appeared for Justice Varma.
We have filed the petition on behalf of the Allahabad High Court judge. Some constitutional issues are involved. I request you to constitute a bench as soon as possible,” Sibal said.
Justice Varma was divested of judicial work and sent back to the Allahabad High Court in April after a fire broke out at his official residence in Delhi. During firefighting operations, bundles of cash were found in March, prompting an inquiry.
A three-judge panel comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu (Punjab and Haryana High Court), Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka High Court) was constituted to look into the matter.
The committee examined over 50 witnesses and concluded that the cash was under the “covert or active control” of Justice Varma or his family. It noted that Justice Varma did not offer a convincing explanation and instead claimed he was being framed.
Justice Varma has now approached the Supreme Court challenging the procedure adopted by the in-house committee and the findings of the report.
The petition also questions the recommendation made to the President and the Prime Minister to initiate impeachment proceedings. It alleges violations of natural justice and procedural irregularities, stating that crucial video footage was not examined and that Justice Varma was denied access to evidence and the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses.
Meanwhile, impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma were formally set in motion earlier this week.