SC refuses urgent listing of plea for FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma in cash row
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to list for urgent hearing a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against the Allahabad High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash discovery row.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih asked lawyer and petitioner Mathews Nedumpara to follow the mentioning procedure.
"Please go through the mentioning procedure," the CJI said.
Former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had said no to oral mentioning for urgent listing and hearing of cases and said that the lawyers or the litigants will have to write an email and move the apex court registry first.
After an in-house inquiry panel indicted the judge, the former CJI had nudged Justice Varma to resign. The ex-CJI wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Justice Varma refused to resign.
The petition, filed by Nedumpara and three others, called for immediate initiation of criminal proceedings, saying the in-house committee found the allegations against Justice Varma to be prima facie true.
The plea emphasised that while the internal inquiry might lead to judicial disciplinary action, it was no substitute for a criminal investigation under the applicable statutes.
In March, the same petitioners had approached the apex court, challenging the in-house inquiry and demanding a formal police investigation.
However, the top court had then dismissed the plea as premature, citing the pending nature of the internal proceedings.
With the inquiry now concluded, the petitioners asserted that a delay in criminal action was no longer tenable.
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3 Indians injured after fire breaks out in UAE's Fujairah due to drone attack
Dubai (PTI): Three Indian nationals were injured on Monday after a fire broke out on the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone (FOIZ) in the UAE following a drone strike originating from Iran, according to local media reports.
The relevant authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah confirmed that a fire has broken out in the FOIZ, resulting from a drone attack coming from Iran, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
Fujairah Civil Defence teams immediately responded to the incident and are continuing efforts to bring the fire under control, it added.
Three Indian nationals sustained moderate injuries after the fire broke out on the FOIZ, the Khaleej Times reported, quoting authorities in Fujairah.
The injured were taken to the hospital for treatment, it added.
In a post on X, the UAE's Ministry of Defence said that Iran launched four missiles toward various areas across the country. "Three were successfully engaged over the country's territorial waters, while one fell into the sea," it said.
The ministry urged the public to comply with all public safety procedures when warning messages are issued to the public.
Authorities have urged the public not to circulate rumours and to rely only on official sources for information, Gulf News reported.
