Government Likely to Initiate Impeachment Motion Against Justice Yashwant Varma
The Indian government is reportedly preparing to bring an impeachment motion in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament against former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma. This significant step follows his indictment by a Supreme Court in-house inquiry panel and a subsequent recommendation for impeachment by the then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, concerning allegations of undeclared cash discovered at the judge's official residence.
Supreme Court Inquiry and Findings
The controversy began after a fire broke out at Justice Varma's official Delhi residence on March 14th, leading to the reported discovery of "wads of currency notes." Following this, the Chief Justice of India constituted a three-member panel on March 22nd, comprising Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana), Justice G.S. Sandhawalia (Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge of the High Court of Karnataka). After recording statements from various witnesses, this panel submitted its report on May 3rd, reportedly finding "credence" in the allegations against Justice Varma.
CJI Recommendation and Judge's Status
Upon receiving the panel's report, then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, in line with established in-house procedure, is understood to have advised Justice Varma to resign. After Justice Varma reportedly refused to do so, the CJI, on May 9th, forwarded the inquiry report along with his recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is understood that the President has now referred this recommendation to the heads of both houses of Parliament. Justice Varma was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court on March 20th and took his oath there on April 5th, but he has not been assigned any judicial work since the allegations surfaced. Justice Varma has reportedly denied any wrongdoing and any connection to the cash found.
The anticipated move by the government to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Varma underscores the gravity of the findings by the Supreme Court's in-house panel and the recommendation from the former Chief Justice of India. This development represents a critical step in the established procedure for addressing serious allegations against a member of the higher judiciary, with the government now likely to seek cross-party consensus for the motion in Parliament.
