CJI BR Gavai Recuses Himself from Hearing Justice Yashwant Varma’s Plea in Cash Recovery Case

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who challenged the in-house committee report that indicted him in a cash recovery case.

Justice Varma’s plea came after a large amount of unaccounted cash was recovered from his official residence in Delhi. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Justice Varma, mentioned the matter before the CJI for urgent listing. However, CJI Gavai declined to hear the case, citing his involvement as a member of the in-house committee that prepared the report. He agreed, however, to list the matter before an appropriate bench.

The CJI was heading a bench that included Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi. Justice Varma also sought the quashing of the May 8 recommendation made by then Acting CJI Sanjiv Khanna, urging Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

A three-judge committee headed by Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu conducted the investigation over 10 days, examining 55 witnesses. The committee also inspected the site of a fire incident that occurred on the night of March 14 at Justice Varma’s official residence.

Earlier this week, over 200 Members of Parliament submitted a memorandum to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding the removal of Justice Varma under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution. The impeachment motion received signatures from 63 Rajya Sabha MPs and 145 Lok Sabha MPs.