Supreme Court Rejects PIL Seeking FIR Over Cash Discovery at Delhi HC Judge Yashwant Varma's Residence

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and an investigation into the alleged discovery of cash at the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. The Court cited the ongoing in-house inquiry as the reason for not intervening. The matter was heard by a bench consisting of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday had refused to grant an urgent hearing after lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara brought the issue to their attention. Nedumpara, along with three others, had filed the plea on Sunday, seeking a direction for the police to register an FIR regarding the alleged discovery of cash at Justice Varma's residence. The petition also challenged a 1991 ruling in the K Veeraswami case, which stated that no criminal proceedings could be initiated against a High Court or Supreme Court judge without the prior approval of the Chief Justice of India.

The alleged discovery of cash occurred following a fire at Justice Varma's residence in Lutyens' Delhi on the night of March 14, around 11:35 pm. The fire triggered a swift response from fire officers, who rushed to the scene to manage the situation. In response to the incident, a three-member committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, visited Justice Varma’s residence on Tuesday to begin an in-house inquiry. Meanwhile, following the controversy surrounding the case, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended that Justice Varma be transferred back to his parent Allahabad High Court. Additionally, Justice Varma was de-rostered from his duties at the Delhi High Court on the instructions of the Chief Justice of India.

However, Justice Varma has strongly denied the allegations, asserting that neither he nor his family members had ever placed any cash in the storeroom.​