The Union government is preparing to introduce an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. This move comes after an internal judicial inquiry found Justice Varma guilty of misconduct following the discovery of unaccounted cash at his residence.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has confirmed that discussions are ongoing with various political parties to garner cross-party support for the impeachment motion. Rijiju emphasized that this is a non-political issue and efforts are being made to ensure all parties are in agreement, although he did not disclose the parties that have been approached so far.
The controversy surrounding Justice Varma dates back to March when a fire broke out at his Delhi residence while he was serving on the Delhi High Court. During the response to the fire, officials uncovered a significant amount of unexplained cash in an outhouse, leading to an internal probe. Subsequently, Justice Varma was transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
A three-judge in-house inquiry panel, appointed by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, recommended Justice Varma’s removal after conducting an investigation from March 25 to May 4. Despite the recommendation, Justice Varma has refused to resign, prompting CJI Khanna to write to the President and Prime Minister urging steps for his removal.
High-level meetings have taken place throughout the day with Home Minister Amit Shah meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later meeting with Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar along with Health Minister J.P. Nadda. Discussions suggest that the impeachment motion may be introduced first in the Rajya Sabha.
Under Article 124(4) of the Constitution, an impeachment motion requires support from at least 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha or 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Typically, a three-member inquiry committee is formed after the motion is admitted, but officials suggest that this may not be necessary in this case given the completion of the in-house committee’s investigation led by the CJI.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has welcomed the Centre’s decision to move forward with impeachment proceedings. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has rejected an RTI application seeking access to the committee’s report and related correspondence, citing the confidentiality of the in-house mechanism.
