Supreme Court Deliberates on Impeachment Inquiry Against Justice Yashwant Verma

Supreme Court's Decision on Impeachment Inquiry

The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment regarding a writ petition filed by Justice Yashwant Verma of the Allahabad High Court. This petition challenges the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to form an inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, following the discovery of unaccounted cash at the Speaker's official residence, which is linked to an impeachment motion against him.

A bench comprising Justices Deepankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma heard the case. During the proceedings, the court noted that there are certain deficiencies in the inquiry committee established by the Lok Sabha Speaker, and it will consider whether these issues are significant enough to warrant the termination of the proceedings. On December 16, 2025, the court had issued a notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker's office regarding the writ petition.

Court's Observations on the Inquiry Committee

The Supreme Court orally remarked that, at first glance, there is no impediment to the committee formed by the Lok Sabha Speaker to investigate corruption allegations against Justice Yashwant Verma under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, despite a similar proposal being rejected in the Rajya Sabha. This observation was made by the bench led by Justices Deepankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma.

Justice Verma has challenged the validity of the parliamentary inquiry committee constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, in connection with the alleged discovery of a significant amount of cash at his government residence. The Supreme Court had previously issued a notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker's office regarding this petition on December 16, 2025.

Debate Over Committee Formation

Following the rejection of the proposal in the Rajya Sabha, the question arises whether the Lok Sabha can independently form a committee. The bench, led by Justice Deepankar Dutta, expressed disagreement with some arguments presented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi on behalf of Justice Verma. Rohatgi contended that if impeachment proposals are introduced in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the same day, the inquiry committee should be constituted jointly by both houses. Since the proposal was rejected in the Rajya Sabha, he argued that the Lok Sabha does not have the authority to form the inquiry committee alone.