NEW DELHI: Justice Yashwant Varma, currently facing a parliamentary motion for removal after large amounts of cash were discovered at his official residence in Delhi, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court while concealing his identity. In his plea challenging the in-house inquiry report and the then Chief Justice of India’s recommendation for his dismissal, he has identified himself only as "XXX".
The petition—titled XXX vs Union of India—is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih. The use of such anonymised initials is typically reserved for protecting the identities of sexual assault survivors, juveniles, or individuals involved in sensitive matrimonial disputes, as per established judicial practice and multiple SC directives.
Filed on July 17 and officially registered on July 24 after curing procedural defects, this is the 699th civil writ petition filed in the SC this year. The Union government is named as the first respondent, while the Supreme Court itself is listed as the second.
Notably, another petition related to the same controversy—filed by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara—is also scheduled before the same bench on Monday, listed as item number 59. Nedumpara has sought the registration of an FIR against Justice Varma to investigate the circumstances surrounding the discovered cash, its reported burning, and subsequent disappearance.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha has accepted a notice for Justice Varma's removal, signed by over 150 Members of Parliament. The Speaker is expected to write shortly to Chief Justice B R Gavai, requesting the nomination of a Supreme Court judge and a high court chief justice to form a judicial inquiry committee under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. The Speaker will also nominate a distinguished jurist to complete the three-member panel.
Justice Varma, who was recently repatriated to the Allahabad High Court from the Delhi High Court amid the ongoing controversy, has asked the SC to declare the in-house panel’s findings and former CJI Sanjiv Khanna’s May 8 recommendation to the President and Prime Minister as unconstitutional.
