New Delhi, 23 July

Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to accord urgent hearing on his plea seeking to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row.

"I will have to constitute a bench," Chief Justice BR Gavai told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who mentioned the matter for Varma.

The CJI was heading a bench which also comprised Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi.

Sibal requested the bench to list the matter as early as possible, saying they have raised some constitutional issues in the plea.

Varma has also sought quashing of the 8 May recommendation by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment against him.

The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm on 14 March at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court.