Bharat-Monsoon Session of Parliament Begins Judge Varma Impeachment Process

• The impeachment process for Justice Yashwant Varma has begun in Parliament with a memorandum signed by 145 MPs.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to form a three-member inquiry committee (Supreme Court judge, High Court Chief Justice, jurist) to investigate.

Dr Kumar Rakesh
The process for the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma, a former Delhi High Court judge now at the Allahabad High Court, has officially commenced in Parliament. This follows the submission of a memorandum signed by 145 Members of Parliament, initiating proceedings after “piles of burnt Rs 500 notes” were reportedly discovered at his home. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to move the process forward tomorrow by forming a high-level inquiry committee.

This will be a new chapter against judiciary in India after long time. Before this many impeachment process has done in the parliament. Justice V Ramaswamy & many more. For Ramaswamy case, Sr Advocate Kapil Sibal had tried hard to save Mr Ramaswamy, but couldn’t succeeded. .In Rajya Sabha the judge of Calcutta High Court Justice Saumitra Sen was removed ,but on the last day of Rajya Sabha final discussion & order by the chair, he  was technically resigned from his post.

In the history of Judiciary, no one forget the impeachment cases with corruptions like  Justice S. K. Gangele Case (2015) Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Case (2017) Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra Case (2018) Justice P.D. Dinakaran Case withy recently Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav Incident, in which Justice Shekhar  Yadav had advocated for Hindus & Hindutva.

The proposed inquiry committee is anticipated to comprise a serving judge of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of a High Court, and a reputed jurist. This committee will investigate the serious allegations against Justice Varma, with its report expected to be submitted during the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

Following the submission of the report, a detailed process of investigation and hearing will ensue. The committee will formally lay down the allegations, providing a copy to Justice Varma, who will be given an opportunity to respond in writing. This may be followed by interrogation or cross-examination of witnesses before the committee presents its final conclusions to Parliament.

The committee’s report will then be debated in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, where Justice Varma will also be accorded a chance to present his defence. The culmination of this intricate procedure would be the actual voting for impeachment in both houses of Parliament.

For an impeachment motion to pass, it requires either a simple majority of the total number of members or a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in each house. A successful vote in both houses is mandatory before the President of India issues an order for the removal of the judge.

This complicated and stringent process is the primary reason why no judge has ever been impeached in independent India. In most of the five cases that have come close to impeachment, the judges in question resigned before the proceedings reached their final phase.

Justice Yashwant Varma first came under intense scrutiny after a fire broke out at his official residence on March 14, leading to the discovery of wads of half-burnt cash. The incident caused a significant furore and raised questions about judicial probity, despite Justice Varma denying any wrongdoing.

In light of the controversy, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna initiated an in-house inquiry, appointing a three-judge panel to conduct an investigation. After the committee confirmed the presence of cash at Justice Varma’s residence and submitted its report, Justice Khanna forwarded the findings to the Prime Minister and the President, recommending the initiation of removal proceedings as per the Judges Inquiry Act and Article 124(4) of the Constitution.