Fri Mar 28 08:48:41 UTC 2025: ## Supreme Court Defers Action on FIR Against High Court Judge
**New Delhi, March 28, 2025** – The Supreme Court on Friday deferred a decision on whether to register a First Information Report (FIR) against High Court Justice Yashwant Varma, whose official residence was the site of a fire on March 14, during which allegedly half-burnt currency was discovered.
The court ruled that the matter is premature, pending the outcome of an internal inquiry being conducted by a three-member committee appointed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The committee’s report will then be reviewed by the CJI, who may subsequently decide on registering an FIR or referring the matter to Parliament for possible removal proceedings.
Advocate-petitioner Mathews J. Nedumpara argued that the police were hampered by a 1991 Supreme Court ruling requiring prior consultation with the CJI before initiating criminal proceedings against judges. He questioned the lack of an FIR, arrests, seizure of the money, and the delay in public disclosure of the incident. He also called for the revival of the lapsed Judicial Accountability Bill of 2010.
The Supreme Court, however, rejected these arguments, stating that it was inappropriate to entertain the petition while the internal inquiry is ongoing. The court emphasized that the internal inquiry, based on established judicial ethics guidelines, is investigating the source of the money, how Justice Varma accounts for it, and who removed it from the scene. The court noted that the internal process aims to balance the sensitivity of probing allegations against a judge with the need to uphold institutional integrity and follow principles of natural justice.
First Piper 