Supreme Court Dismisses Justice Yashwant Varma's Challenge Against Impeachment Inquiry

Supreme Court's Ruling on Justice Varma's Petition

On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Justice Yashwant Varma, which contested the legitimacy of the inquiry committee established by the Lok Sabha speaker to investigate corruption allegations against him.

A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma concluded that Varma was not entitled to any relief and that there was no need for judicial intervention.

The court was addressing a petition from Varma aimed at nullifying Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's decision to form the committee under the 1968 Judges Inquiry Act, which pertains to the impeachment process linked to the unaccounted cash issue.

Allegations surfaced regarding unaccounted cash being found at Varma's official residence in Delhi during a fire emergency response on March 14, while he was serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court. Varma claimed he was in Bhopal at the time and denied ownership of the cash.

Following these events, he was reassigned to the Allahabad High Court.

In his legal challenge, Varma argued that impeachment notices had been filed in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, but Birla acted unilaterally in forming the committee without waiting for the Upper House's chairperson to acknowledge the motion.

He asserted that this action violated Section 3(2) of the Judges Inquiry Act, which mandates that both Houses must admit the impeachment motion.

The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on this matter on January 8.

The bench noted the need to balance the rights of the judge facing proceedings and the rights of members to initiate and admit a motion, as reported.

A report from the inquiry committee, released on May 3, indicated that there was substantial evidence supporting the allegations against Varma, suggesting that his misconduct warranted the initiation of removal proceedings.

To initiate impeachment in Parliament, a motion must be endorsed by 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. If the motion is accepted in both Houses, a three-member judicial committee investigates the claims. Should the committee find misconduct, Parliament votes on the impeachment, and if two-thirds support it, the president is advised to remove the judge.

On July 25, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister stated that the decision to impeach Varma was unanimous, with 152 MPs from both the ruling coalition and opposition signing the motion.

He emphasized that the removal process should be a collaborative effort, with the Lok Sabha addressing the proceedings before they transition to the Rajya Sabha, as per the Judges Inquiry Act.

On August 12, the Lok Sabha speaker established a three-member committee, including Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, and advocate B Vasudeva Acharya, to investigate the allegations.

In November, the committee requested a written statement from Varma regarding the charges. In his response, Varma sought authenticated copies of the motions submitted to both Houses in July and any related orders.

However, the Lok Sabha's secretary general indicated that the Rajya Sabha had not yet admitted the impeachment motion.

Previously, Varma had also contested the in-house committee's report that found him culpable, along with the recommendation made by Sanjiv Khanna, the then Chief Justice of India, to the president and prime minister to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

In August, the Supreme Court dismissed both of Varma's petitions.