The Supreme Court refused to entertain a petition seeking registration of an FIR and a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged recovery of burnt currency from the official residence of former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The Court dismissed the plea at the threshold, observing that it was filed merely for "cheap publicity."
A Bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe declined to interfere with the matter while hearing a petition filed by advocate Ghanshyam Upadhayay.
Background of the Case
The controversy traces back to March 2025, when a fire broke out at Justice Varma's official residence in Delhi. At the time of the incident, Justice Varma and his wife were away, while his daughter and elderly mother were present at the house. Videos circulating later appeared to show bundles of burnt currency notes, triggering allegations and public scrutiny.
Justice Varma denied any involvement and maintained that the allegations were part of a conspiracy to falsely implicate him. Following the incident, the then Chief Justice of India initiated an in-house inquiry. The committee later submitted its report, after which Justice Varma resigned from judicial office before the parliamentary removal process could conclude.
Court Observation
During the hearing, the petitioner argued that Justice Varma's resignation did not extinguish any criminal liability and submitted that a fresh complaint had already been lodged with the investigating agencies after an earlier petition was dismissed on technical grounds.
The Bench, however, remained unconvinced.
Justice Narasimha remarked,
"This is all cheap publicity. We are not inclined to entertain this."
The Court dismissed the petition without issuing any directions.
The petitioner had also argued that since a High Court judge is treated as a public servant and Justice Varma had demitted office, there was no legal immunity from prosecution.
Decision
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition seeking directions for registration of an FIR and a court-monitored SIT investigation into the alleged burnt cash incident involving former Justice Yashwant Varma, holding that it was not inclined to entertain the plea.
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