नवीनतम
SC rebukes lawyer for addressing HC Judge without honorific
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Monday expressed discontent when a lawyer referred to Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma by taking his last name only without honorific.
Justice Varma was indicted by an in-house inquiry report over the discovery of cash in a fire incident in March at his official residence. After the controversy erupted, he was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.
Advocate Mathews Nedumpara made a plea before a bench led by the CJI and urged the bench to urgently list his plea seeking an FIR against Justice Varma. While making submissions on his matter, Nedumpara referred to the accused judge as just “Varma.”
The CJI told the lawyer that he is still a judge of a high court. CJI Gavai said that he has to be addressed as a “Justice.” “This is the third writ petition,” Nedumpara said. “You want it to be dismissed right now?” CJI Gavai asked him.
The lawyer insisted that the FIR should be registered in the matter, and now Varma seems to be asking for just that. “There has to be an FIR, an investigation,” said Nedumpara. CJI objected to Nedumpara addressing the judge as only “Varma.”
“Is he your friend? He is still Justice Verma. How do you address him? Have some decorum. You are referring to a learnt judge. He is still a judge of the court,” CJI said. The lawyer requested that the bench list the matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also expressed his discontent with Nedumpara referring to Justice Varma as “Varma.” The plea seeks directions to the Delhi Police to register an FIR against Justice Varma and investigate the cash recovery.
Last week, Justice Varma moved the Supreme Court against the validity of actions initiated against him, which also includes a recommendation for his removal.
On March 22, 2025, the then CJI Sanjiv Khanna had set up the committee headed by Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, and comprising Justice G. S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge of the High Court of Karnataka.
The plea by Justice Varma said the invocation of the in-house procedure was improper and invalid, since it was done in the absence of any formal complaint against the petitioner.
The plea by Justice Varma said that he is seeking the indulgence of the apex court, challenging the process culminating in the communication of the then CJI to the president and the prime minister by way of his communication dated May 8, 2025, seeking the initiation of his removal proceedings as a judge of a high court.
“The Petitioner seeks a declaration that the recommendation by the Hon’ble CJI vide letter dated 08.05.2025 to the Hon’ble President and the Hon’ble Prime Minister for initiation of his removal as a High Court Judge is unconstitutional and ultra vires,” said the plea.
