New Delhi [India], July 21 (ANI): Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said that he has received a notice of motion, signed by 50 MPs, seeking the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma, who was indicted by an in-house inquiry committee after semi-burnt wads of cash were found at his residence following a fire incident when he served as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
The Chairman stated that the notice meets the numerical requirement of MPs’ signatures to set in motion the process for removal of a High Court judge. Dhankhar explained that under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, the process differs depending on whether the motion is presented in one House or both Houses of Parliament.
He asked Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who was present in the House, if a similar motion had been presented in the Lok Sabha. The Law Minister confirmed that about 152 Lok Sabha MPs have submitted a similar resolution to Speaker Om Birla.
“I need to inform you that I have received Notice of Motion…to constitute a statutory committee for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma…This has been received by me today. It has been signed by 50 members of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and thus it meets the numerical requirement of signing by MPs for setting in motion a process for removal of a High Court judge…Since the Law Minister has indicated that a similar motion has been presented by more than 100 MPs of Lok Sabha to the Speaker, the provisions of Section 3(2) will come into effect and the Secretary-General will take necessary steps in this direction,” Dhankhar said.
Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha MPs submitted a memorandum to Speaker Om Birla seeking Justice Varma’s removal in connection with the cash discovery. A total of 145 Lok Sabha members signed the motion.
MPs from several parties, including BJP, Congress, TDP, JD(U), JD(S), Jan Sena Party, AGP, Shiv Sena, LJSP, and CPI(M), are among the signatories. Notable names include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party MP KC Venugopal, BJP MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and PP Chaudhary, and NCP(SP) member Supriya Sule.
Congress MP K Suresh said the party extended its support to the impeachment move, joining hands with INDIA bloc parties. “The INDIA bloc parties are also supporting this and are also signing the letters to the Speaker,” Suresh told ANI.
Justice Yashwant Varma has approached the Supreme Court challenging the in-house three-judge inquiry committee’s report and former CJI Sanjiv Khanna’s recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
In his petition, Justice Varma argued that he was denied a fair opportunity to respond to the inquiry committee before it presented its findings, alleging the committee operated in a pre-determined manner, drew adverse inferences without concrete evidence, and reversed the burden of proof.
He also sought a declaration that the recommendation made by the CJI to the President and Prime Minister for his removal as a High Court judge was “unconstitutional and ultra vires.”
The petition contends that the in-house procedure, adopted by a 1999 Full Court Resolution, unjustifiably extends beyond its intended scope of self-regulation and fact-finding, creating a parallel, extra-constitutional mechanism that undermines the role of Parliament under Articles 124 and 218 of the Constitution.
Justice Varma also alleged that the committee denied him access to evidence, withheld CCTV footage, and examined key witnesses in his absence, violating principles of natural justice.
The committee was constituted on March 22 by then CJI Khanna and comprised Justices Sheel Nagu (then Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court), GS Sandhawalia (then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Anu Sivaraman (Judge, Karnataka High Court).
The inquiry followed a fire at Justice Varma’s Lutyens’ Delhi home on March 14, during which semi-burnt wads of cash were reportedly discovered. (ANI)
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