The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, over the alleged discovery of burnt wads of cash at his official residence. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan termed the PIL “premature,” pointing out that an in-house inquiry into the matter is currently underway.
The court emphasized that once the inquiry is concluded, several options would be available to the Chief Justice of India, including the possibility of directing the registration of an FIR or referring the matter to Parliament. Advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, who filed the PIL, argued that the investigation should be handled by the police, not an internal committee, but the court instructed him to wait for the ongoing inquiry to conclude. The petition was disposed of, with the court assuring that further steps could be taken based on the inquiry’s findings.
