The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused an oral plea for an urgent hearing into a petition seeking directions to Delhi Police to file a complaint and investigate the burnt bundles of cash found earlier this month at the home of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
Responding to the urgent listing plea, a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna told advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, one of the petitioners, to not make "public statements" and said "sorry..." when asked for an out-of-turn hearing, adding it would be listed in due course.
In raising the issue in court, the petitioners had flagged the non-registration of a FIR, or police complaint, on the day the burnt money was found, i.e., on Holi, when Delhi firefighters were called to put out a blaze in an outhouse on the grounds of Justice Varma's bungalow.
The burnt pile of cash was found in that outhouse.
The petitioners said the delay in filing the FIR and, therefore, make records of the recovered cash available to the public, 'leads to the irresistible inference (of) an attempted cover-up".
"Why were no arrests made... why was the money not seized... why was no recovery document prepared... why was criminal law not put into motion... why did it take almost a week for the public to know about this scandal?" they asked, prompting the "no public statements" caution.
The petitioners also wanted to know why Justice Varma - who has distanced himself from the cash, and has spoken of a "conspiracy" against him - did not file a police case himself.
Burnt piles of money were found in Delhi judge Yashwant Varma's home.
"The case is open-and-shut... it is a case of holding black money accumulated by selling justice..." the petitioners contended, arguing also, "Even attempting to believe Justice Varma's version, the question remains - why did he not file a FIR?"
"The public perception is that every effort will be made to cover up this issue... to the extent that even initial statements regarding recovery of money are being refuted," they claimed, possibly referring to Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg, who first said no money had been found.
He later said he had made no such remark.
The petitioners, meanwhile, also challenged the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court's three-member in-house inquiry committee - led by the sitting chief justices of three high courts.
Specifically, they challenged a 1991 Supreme Court judgement that held no criminal case could be registered against a high court judge (or other senior figures, including the chief justice of a high court or a Supreme Court judge) without consulting the Chief Justice of India.
The controversy surrounding Justice Varma and the recovered bundles of cash have sparked serious discussions on several topics, including investigations and disciplinary action against judges, functioning of the Supreme Court Collegium, and the need for a transparent judiciary.
The Supreme Court last week decided to transfer Justice Varma to his parent court - the Allahabad High Court - in a move that was first connected to the cash but later de-linked.
READ | In Cash-At-Home Row, Delhi Judge Sent To Allahabad High Court
The top court, meanwhile, has also received a report from the Delhi High Court, which, in an unprecedented act, was made public (except for certain redactions) to ensure transparency.
In his first comments on the matter, Justice Varma firmly distanced himself, and members of his family, from the money, pointing out it was recovered from an outhouse that was kept unlocked and could be accessed by anybody entering or exiting the bungalow grounds.
Also, Justice Varma has been withdrawn from active judicial duty.
The recovery of the cash has also led to a political discussion, with the union government on Tuesday night reaching out to all political parties to hear their views and concerns.
READ | On Judge Cash-At-Home Row, Centre Calls All-Party Meet: Sources
This was after Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar's met various floor leaders , including the Congress, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, BJD from Odisha, BRS and YSRCP from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena.
With input from agencies
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