Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih asked lawyer and petitioner Mathews Nedumpara to follow the mentioning procedure. “Please go through the mentioning procedure,” the CJI said.
New CJI’s Bench Refuses Urgent Listing Of Plea Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma Based On Inquiry Committee’s Report
The Supreme Court today refused to list for urgent hearing a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against the Allahabad High Court’s Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash discovery row. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih asked lawyer and petitioner Mathews Nedumpara to follow the mentioning procedure. “Please go through the mentioning procedure,” the CJI said.
Former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had said no to oral mentioning for urgent listing and hearing of cases and said that the lawyers or the litigants will have to write an email and move the apex court registry first. After an in-house inquiry panel indicted the judge, the former CJI had nudged Justice Varma to resign. The ex-CJI wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Justice Varma refused to resign. Also Read – Supreme Court: Bail Cannot Be Granted To Murder Accused Merely Because No Overt Act Is Attributed To Him In FIR The petition, filed by Nedumpara and three others, called for immediate initiation of criminal proceedings, saying the in-house committee found the allegations against Justice Varma to be prima facie true. The plea emphasised that while the internal inquiry might lead to judicial disciplinary action, it was no substitute for a criminal investigation under the applicable statutes. In March, the same petitioners had approached the apex court, challenging the in-house inquiry and demanding a formal police investigation. However, the Apex Court had then dismissed the plea as premature, citing the pending nature of the internal proceedings. With the inquiry now concluded, the petitioners asserted that a delay in criminal action was no longer tenable
