Cash discovery row: Justice Varma urges SC to accord urgent hearing on his plea

Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday requested the Supreme Court to grant an immediate hearing on his petition aiming to annul a report from an internal inquiry committee that deemed him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery matter.

“I will have to constitute a bench,” Chief Justice B R Gavai told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who mentioned the matter for Varma.

The CJI was heading a bench which also comprised Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi.

Sibal urged the bench to schedule the case promptly, indicating they have presented certain constitutional questions in the petition. Varma has likewise requested the annulment of the May 8 suggestion by former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna prompting Parliament to commence impeachment proceedings against him.

A three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu from the Punjab and Haryana High Court carried out the investigation over 10 days, looked into 55 witnesses, and inspected the site of the accidental fire that ignited at approximately 11:35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, who was a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court at the time and is currently in the Allahabad High Court.