Justice Abhay S Oka-led SC Bench To Hear Plea Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma

New Delhi: Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka-led Supreme Court bench will hear the plea seeking FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma, being probed in the Delhi judge cash scandal case on Friday. The petition has been filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mathew Nedumpara.

Mathew Nedumpara's petition seeking FIR in Justice Yashwant Varma's case claims that there is no justification for the Supreme Court to form a committee of 3 judges in this case, seeking that the investigation should now be done by the police.

The petition sought direction to the government to take effective and meaningful action to prevent corruption at all levels of the judiciary, including reintroduction of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 which had lapsed.

What is Delhi judge cash scandal case?

Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma is being probed after piles of burned cash was allegedly recovered from his residence after a fire incident. Reportedly, both Justice Varma and his wife were not present at their house when the incident took place as they were in Bhopal. Someone from their residence called the fire department following which firefighters arrived at his home and doused the flame. The incident took place on March 14, during the Holi weekend.

What action Supreme Court took initially?

The Supreme Court Collegium initially transferred Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court, however, the court objected the move saying that they were not a trash bin.

As the case snowballed, country's top legal experts and members of the judicial fraternity raised questions on Supreme Court's decision to transfer the judge saying the case was far more serious and demanded that the judge should have been asked to resign or impeached.

The Supreme Court then issued a clarification that Justice Varma's transfer was not related to the alleged cash recovery incident. Later, the top court constituted a 3-member committee to probe the case.

The Supreme Court also uploaded Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya's report on the alleged cash scandal on its website. The 25-page report consisted of documents, photos and video, showing sacks of burned cash, allegedly at Justice Varma's residence.

Several High Court Bar Associations raise voice against Justice Varma's transfer

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association, which objected the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma to its court, has gone on strike as so far the Supreme Court has not accepted its request of not to transfer the judge to Allahabad or any other court in the country. 

Meanwhile, after directions from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya withdrew all judicial work from Justice Varma.